Culture on Tracks: The Literary Train of Rome.

Have you ever found yourself on a train wishing that journey was a bit more... interesting? Well, in Rome, they have thought of that and transformed one of the trains on Line A into a literary train! Each carriage is decorated with quotations from famous authors and represents a different literary genre. It’s like travelling in a small bookstore on wheels! The project is called “Every Book is a Journey” and invites us all to rediscover the pleasure of reading, especially in an age dominated by social media and increasingly brief and frantic messages.

And that’s precisely the point. In a world full of hashtags and tweets, I believe it’s more important than ever to help our children – particularly those of Generation Z – rediscover the beauty of reading. Narrative, unlike social media, allows one to immerse themselves in new worlds, to reflect, and to slow down. And this brings us to a challenge that many parents, myself included, face: how to engage young people with books?

I’ll confess something: in my family, my eldest daughter loves to read and often loses herself in the pages of a book, while my two boys... well, for them, reading seems like a punishment. But I’ve learned that perhaps the trick lies in finding books that reflect their personal interests or creating shared reading moments where we can discuss the stories together. Who knows, maybe taking them on a literary train or to a special café could make reading feel less "forced" and more enjoyable.

Speaking of cafés: around the world, spaces are emerging that combine a passion for coffee with a love for reading. For instance, Caffè Florian in Venice, frequented by historical figures like Casanova and D'Annunzio, or the Café de Flore in Paris, a true symbol of Parisian culture, frequented by intellectuals such as Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. In Oslo, Tim Wendelboe is the perfect haven for those who enjoy sipping quality coffee while reading or reflecting.

Initiatives like the literary train in Rome and the literary cafés scattered around the globe demonstrate that every journey or coffee break can transform into an opportunity to grow and discover new worlds through books.

And what about you? What do you think of these initiatives? Do you have a literary café you’d love to visit? And what are your tricks for getting your children excited about reading?