In A Little-Known Case of Library Rivalry two libraries stand face to face on a mountain road in Trentino-Alto Adige. Desperate to attract readers, they abandon decorum: one hires a stripper to present Stories Written by Naked Women
by Stefano Rapone, the other displays Courbet’s scandalous painting The Origin of the World, revealing a woman’s intimacy in full view. The uproar is swift, local priests and radical feminists unite in protest. Then comes the final act: both libraries are set on fire by unknown vandals. Over ten thousand books go up in smoke, along with their wild, burning ambition.
