Алессандро Барикко: писатель, режиссер, художник слова.

Italian writer, director and performer

Alessandro Baricco (; born 25 January 1958) is an Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a number of languages.

Baricco was born in Turin, Italy. In January 2022, Baricco announced he had been diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

Totem, a literary and musical happening staged in various locations throughout Italy with varying structure and contents. Mostly it consisted of a two night theatrical event in which Baricco himself, helped by director Gabriele Vacis, actor Eugenio Allegri and musician Daniele Sepe, would read and comment on bits of literature from all centuries and countries, accompanying them with music. In 2001 Rizzoli published the video of Totem recorded in Milan in 1997. Novecento, Feltrinelli 1994; The Legend of 1900 (1994) – originally a monologue for theatre staged by director Gabriele Vacis, adapted in 1998 into a film by Giuseppe Tornatore, La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, with music composed by Ennio Morricone. Davila Roa, staged only once by director Luca Ronconi. Reportedly a huge fiasco, it was never published in written form. Omero, Iliade, Feltrinelli 2004; An Iliad, Vintage International 2004 ( ) – a rewriting of Homer's Iliad consisting of 24 chapters, each telling a part of the story through the eyes and words of a prominent character in the poem. The theatrical event from which the book originated was staged only twice due to its logistic difficulties: it spanned over three nights during which the best contemporary Italian actors would impersonate one character each, eight per night. Palamedes the cancelled hero, 2016; a theatrical event about Palamedes translated from ancient Greek by Andrea Marcolongo and staged by Baricco himself and the Italian actress Valeria Solarino.

Partita Spagnola, Audino Editore 2003 (screenplay never shot). Lecture 21, 2008 (written and directed).