Turin, at Palazzo Madama exhibition on Primo Levi with unpublished correspondence

From January 24 to May 5, 2025, Palazzo Madama in Turin is hosting the exhibition Giro di posta. Primo Levi, the Germanies, Europe, an exhibition that explores Primo Levi’s private correspondences, made public for the first time. Sponsored by the International Center for Primo Levi Studies and curated by historian Domenico Scarpa, the exhibition unfolds as a narrative that weaves together documents, letters and messages to tell the story of postwar Europe, divided and in search of reconstruction. Central to the exhibition are the letters Levi exchanged with readers, writers, former fellow prisoners and even Germans who were “on the other side” during the Auschwitz period. The German translation of If This is a Man in 1961 marks the beginning of an epistolary dialogue that spans nearly half a century of history, raising crucial questions about the Shoah and its meaning in postwar Europe. Levi particularly reaches out to correspondents furthest away in mentality or geography, in an ongoing effort to understand and compare.

The title of the exhibition, Giro di posta, reflects not only the breadth of Levi’s epistolary connections, but also the complexity of the cultural and linguistic networks they represent. The letters, written in Italian, German, French and English, cover the entire continent, with a focus on divided Germany.

An unprecedented and accessible itinerary

The exhibition project is developed in five thematic sections (1. Primo Levi. An Early European Thought; 2. Hermann Langbein. A formidable man; 3. Heinz Riedt. An anomalous German; 4. Giro di posta; 5. Readers) that analyze Levi’s main interlocutors: the writer’s early European thought, his relationship with Hermann Langbein, his correspondence with Heinz Riedt, the section that gives the entire exhibition its title(Giro di posta), and finally a space dedicated to Levi’s readers and readers.

The layout, curated by Gianfranco Cavaglià and Annarita Bertorello, with graphic support from Ars Media, also offers an accessible route for people with visual impairments. Through maps and tactile QR-codes, visitors will be able to access audio content dedicated to each section, ensuring an inclusive and innovative fruition.

The LeviNeT project and the philatelic cancellation

The exhibition is part of the European project LeviNeT, coordinated at the University of Ferrara by Martina Mengoni and funded by the European Research Council. The project involves the progressive digitization of Levi’s “German” correspondences, which will be made available in open access at www.levinet.eu by 2027.

To mark the inauguration, the International Center for Primo Levi Studies, in collaboration with the Italian Postal Service, is presenting a dedicated philatelic cancellation. On Jan. 23 and 24, it will be possible to obtain the commemorative stamp on philatelic postcards made for the occasion, a symbolic tribute to the “mail round” that characterized the life and thought of the Turin-based writer.

Turin, at Palazzo Madama exhibition on Primo Levi with unpublished correspondence

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