The Festival of Philosophy in Ischia is a unicum in the international landscape of philosophical events. It has in fact the form of a conference open to the public, whose aim is to underline the need for philosophers to engage with the public sphere. This means creating new methods and expressive forms, but also new professional approaches.

The event aims to be a meeting point for all the different professional identities emerging from the philosophical field. One of the main objectives of the event is to rethink philosophy as a professional endeavour and to think new ways to reduce the lack of employment for those who have a philosophical background. For this reason the Festival has also gained interest from many international universities that are eager to support the pursuit of new careers for their graduates.

The Castle and the Tower symbolize the philosopher as one enclosed in his academic stronghold. Philosophy today has a need for relation and exchange with other institutions and forms of knowledge. It is a philosopher’s duty to operate in the public sphere, according to that humanistic tradition that has been and still is at the core of our Italian and European culture.

Since its first edition in 2015 the Festival has registered great success, thanks both to its peculiar form and to the high calibre of the guests. La Filosofia, il Castello e la Torre is the first international philosophical event in the Neapolitan area that is open to the public and completely free. During the first year the event had more than 3,500 visitors (between students, speakers, locals and tourists); the second edition had more than 4,500 visitors; and the third edition (2017) registered more than 5,300 visitors. In just the last two years the event has gathered more than 200 experts from all over the world (including Canada, USA, Portugal, Spain, England, France, Germany, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Russia and China) to share their research in a high-profile research context and to visit one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean Sea.