The third edition of Modena's Philosophy Festival will explore how fantasy feeds the body and mind during a three-day marathon of events later this week.
Art, music, science and food will all play a role in the festival, which involves the neighbouring towns of Carpi and Sassuolo and features over 200 free events between September 19 and 21.
Among the top names slated to attend are philosophers Emanuele Severino and Jean-Luc Nancy, author Vincenzo Cerami, sociologist Marc Auge' and Isabelle Stenger, who worked closely with the Ilya Prigogine, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977.
Elio Fiorucci, founder of the world-famous Fiorucci label, will discuss masculine elegance, on the theme of ''appearance and fiction in fashion''.
Transcripts of some of the most important talks will be available in the form of booklets sold at vending machines around the main site.
Another development at this year's event is ''travelling with philosophy'', which will see philosophers engage in on-board discussions with train passengers travelling between Modena, Carpi and Sassuolo.
The programme divides the events into five main areas: The nature and function of images; Territories of the imagination; Utopia and the Future; Second Life; and Appearance and Fiction.
