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l'Armadio degli alberi library

Address Via Cavour, 7, 14011 Baldichieri d'Asti AT, Italia
Tel 0141 66271
Email atic810006@istruzione.it

A small library, the only one of its kind in the Asti region, on the world of plants: it is the Tree Cabinet that Baldichieri Mayor Gianluca Forno, wearing the tricolor sash to give solemnity to the moment, inaugurated on Friday, November 15, 2019, at G. Goria Middle School.

Before him were the more than 100 students, invited to “get lost” among the paper stories signed by writers, poets, essayists, naturalists, gardeners, and researchers. Trees and gardens are mostly protagonists of the plots or draw the context within which the characters move.  

It starts with an endowment of some 50 volumes purchased by the municipality and donated by private individuals, Biblioteca Astense Giorgio Faletti, and Parco Paleontologico Astigiano (manages the protected areas of the territory). “The Wardrobe,” said Forno, “is intended to become a small community library: it is meant to be an invitation to reading for our fellow citizens and an opportunity for training and information for teachers and students.

Among the fiction titles: “The Baron in the Trees” (Calvino), “The Garden of the Finzi Contini” (Bassani), “The Man Who Planted Trees” (Giono), “In the Garden You're Never Alone” (Pejrone), “The Girl in the Tree” (Hill), “The Song of Trees” (Hesse). It could not miss “The Seasons of Gim,” Laura Nosenzo's book recounting the extraordinary life of Giovanni “Gim” Giolito, to whom the review “Homage to the Man Who Planted Trees” is dedicated, in the framework of which the idea of the Wardrobe was born.

Very attentive students at yesterday's event: from next month, once the cataloging of volumes is finished, they will be able to sit in the school's reading room and discover the small specialized library. “It's a Wardrobe to be treated with care because it was once a tree,” the recommendation to the students from Roberto Ranieri, retired professor at G. Goria Middle School and volunteer librarian of the new service. “We could therefore also call it the Wardrobe of Life,” stressed school principal Silvia Montersino. For Gianfranco Miroglio, president of the Park Authority, the initiative is “an invitation to reflect on the importance of trees and books: unfortunately, these days, libraries, and trees are burning in the world.”

Mayor Forno hopes that the number of titles dedicated to nature can quickly increase: “All of us,” his invitation, “could bring to the Wardrobe duplicate books we have at home or make small donations to buy new volumes.

Meanwhile, the City Council (also present yesterday with city councilors Sara Arduino and Chiara Borello) donated the Poplar Wardrobe to the school. The new service, having finished cataloging, will open to the public on December 13: loans will be granted to the entire population.

With the realization of this initiative, the seventh verb (learn) of the nine into which the review “Homage to the man who planted trees” is articulated was given shape. Baldichieri is promoting it together with four other municipalities (Nizza Monferrato, Villafranca, Camerano Casasco, Chiusano), Parco Paleontologico Astigiano, Distretto Paleontologico dell'Astigiano e del Monferrato, and Associazione Quattro Passi a Nord Ovest.

Source: press release (originally written in italian)

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