Slovenian, Italian artists celebrate Pasolini with friendly football match

Slovenian and Italian teams of artists, philosophers and writers faced off in a friendly in Nova Gorica in tribute to Italian poet, writer and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) half a century after his tragic death, celebrating his passion for football.

Taking place under the banner of the cross-border European Capital of Culture in Nova Gorica and Gorizia, the fixture unfolded in sunny weather in the style reminiscent of the Azzurri from Pasolini's time, according to a report in the newspaper Slovenske Novice, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The Italian side put up enviable teamwork. Writer Pier Franco Brandimarte converted their initial initiative into the sole goal of the match. After that, they set up an ironclad defence and waited for their chance at counterattacks.

Slovenian goalkeeper Darko Brljak - a coder who used to be a professional goalie - was kept quite busy and so was referee Drago Kos as he had to show several yellow cards to players on both sides.

In the dying moments of the game, set designer Matic Gselman sent a high shot from afar in an attempt to equalise, but the Italian goalkeeper saved it.

"It showed we'd only played one preparatory match against the Olimpija women's team - and not even in today's line-up, while Italian writers meet regularly and have played several matches this year," Joker Out frontman Bojan Cvjetićanin commented.

Pasolini, who spent a large portion of his childhood in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Italian province bordering Slovenia, and even a short while in Idrija in today's Slovenia, once wrote that football was "the last great ritual that remains to us".

After the match, an exhibition focusing on Pasolini's passion for football opened in the Epic centre, a major venue of the European Capital of Culture project. The display is on loan from the Pordenone arthouse multiplex Cinemazero.

The venue also hosted a presentation of the Slovenian translation of Il calcio secondo Pasolini (Football According to Pasolini), a book by Valerio Curcio about Pasolini's understanding of football as a cultural phenomenon, art and poetry.

Published a year ago by the Idrija-based publisher Bogataj, the book was discussed by editor Milanka Trušnovec and filmmaker Majda Širca, one of the greatest experts on Pasolini in Slovenia.

The day wrapped up with music and poetry readings performed by the artists who took part in the football match.

Even though the events took place 50 years to the day when Pasolini was buried in Friuli Venezia Giulia, they did not mark his death but celebrated his passion for poetry, film and football, according to GO2025 programme director Stojan Pelko.

The events were also attended by a group of some 50 participants of this year's international school dedicated to Pasolini and organised by the Pier Paolo Pasolini Study Centre in Casarsa della Delizia, the birthplace of Pasolini's mother.

In part, this year's international school took place in Idrija, a small town east of Nova Gorica, where Pasolini lived for a year as a child.

Pasolini's father was a lieutenant in the Royal Italian Army and the family moved around a lot due to the father's postings. Most of their time was spent around Friuli Venezia Giulia, which extended into what is now Slovenian territory between the World Wars.

Photo: European Capital of Culture on Facebook