"When Pinocchio Met Socrates. Growing up through ancient wisdom in the book by Antonio Calisi" by Carlo Coppola
https://www.bariconnessa.it/news/cultura/antonio-calisi-rilegge-pinocchio-carlo-collodi/3242
A liar puppet and a philosopher condemned to death, separated by twenty-five hundred years, become traveling companions in Antonio Calisi's latest book, What Wood Are You Made Of? Nine Months with Pinocchio and Socrates to Bring Out the Best in You, self-published by the author.
The cover already hints at the journey's meaning: four Pinocchios in a row, from the most puppet-like to the most human, walk toward the light filtering through the window of Geppetto's workshop, leaving wood shavings and carpenter's tools behind them. It's the perfect image of a gradual transformation, not a sudden one.
The literary approach is as simple as it is effective: rereading Collodi's adventures through the lens of Socratic maieutics. The result is a journey in nine stages — like the months of a gestation — that guides adolescents from impulsive flight to conscious freedom, from the illusion of shortcuts to the discovery of the truth about themselves.
The heart of the method is the art of the midwife: not filling a mind with notions, but helping to bring out what already exists. An approach that deliberately clashes with an era that asks young people only for performance and visibility.
The comparison between the two freedoms is telling: Pinocchio's, who runs away from Geppetto's strings with no destination, and Socrates', who stays in his cell even though he could flee. The book doesn't resolve the dilemma, but it distinguishes a freedom "from" constraints from a freedom "for" something worthwhile.
Alternating narrative, questions, and exercises, the volume speaks to young people as much as to parents, teachers, and educators, restoring dignity to an age too often dismissed as "difficult." The final message is clear: to educate does not mean telling someone who to become, but accompanying them toward who they can become.
