Alcibiade, la critica e il secolo di Pericle lettera di Felice Cavallotti a Yorick figlio di Yorick

In this lively epistolary essay, the author addresses a fellow critic, Yorick, with a blend of irony and earnestness, defending the beleaguered Alcibiades against a chorus of reproaches. He sketches how ministers, philosophers, mothers, and even artists all marshal defenses for their own causes, while the world of criticism itself teeters between impartiality and self‑importance. Through fragrant metaphors—cave‑dwelling bears, solemn Solonian laws, and the hungry “divine maidens”—he paints a vivid picture of the cultural battlefield where art, politics, and personal ambition collide.

The piece then turns its gaze to the contemporary Italian press, diagnosing a class of critics who, lacking true artistic insight, hide behind a façade of “impartiality.” Their judgments become the performance, while the creators of the works fade into the background. By exposing this paradox, the author invites listeners to reconsider how we value artistic discourse and to question who truly holds the power to shape an artwork’s legacy.