Born and raised in the mountains of Colorado, in the United States, John Fante is now considered one of the most important American writers of his generation, not only in his homeland but also in the land that gave him his origins. Indeed, Fante, whose father Nick was originally from Torricella Peligna, a village in southern Abruzzo about 100 kilometers from Rome, has never hidden or forgotten his Italian origins, transporting his Abruzzese roots within his novels. The "oh-so-Italian-looking" writer, as he was called by his mother-in-law, was only rediscovered starting in the 1970s, when Charles Bukowski repeatedly declared how formidable Fante was; it was only in the 1990s that the American writer's work was successfully republished in many European countries, particularly France and Italy. The village of Torricella Peligna, for its part, has never forgotten one of its stars, albeit born elsewhere, and starting in 2006 it established the "John Fante Festival - My Father's God", which is renewed every year in August. Later, the Abruzzi town also inaugurated the John Fante Mediatheque, where it is possible to find the Italian-American writer's works, films he scripted and critical texts dedicated to him. Much more than a literary festival: this is a wide-ranging cultural event of international scope, structured around the figure of John, but then radiating toward an intercultural perspective. Thus, the initiative has become a place to enhance the cultural heritage of Italians around the world, promoting encounters between different cultures and encouraging that of young people on the themes of emigration and immigration. John Fante never detached himself from his Abruzzese roots, so much so that this influence can be found in several of his novels and short stories, occupying, in some cases, prominent places. A bond that the Festival renews every summer by giving space to Italian and Abruzzese literary production. As for the title of the event: "My Father's God", it is a reference to one of Fante's writings, in which the figure of the father with a "Torricellan" character stands out prominently, which, as elsewhere, becomes the iconization of his lineage.
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