If in May you are around the interior of the country and come across a white van, with colourful drawings and marked with the words Biblioteca Itinerante and “VIAGEM ao INTERIOR dos livros, das pessoas e do país”on its side, approach it and take the opportunity to listen to a story and take a book to share later. The initiative is the idea of journalist and writer João Ferreira de Oliveira, who embraced the challenge of travelling through the countryside for a month at the wheel of a mobile library, similar to those used by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation between 1958 and 2002 to take stories, adventures and dreams to all parts of the country.

The Aldeias do Xisto, which welcomed this initiative from the very first moment, are the first destination of this journey,  which departs from Lisbon on 6 May.  Until the 10th, there will be reading sessions in schools, in the open air, in the centre of villages, in the middle of the street. In short, wherever there is an audience and a desire to hear and tell stories. In Figueira, Proença-a-Nova, João Ferreira de Oliveira will talk with librarian Nuno Marçal, from the Municipal Library, and also learn about the close connection that the inhabitants of the village develop around the traditional community wood-burning oven. In Sarzedas, Castelo Branco, a visit to the Primary School is scheduled, as well as in Janeiro de Cima, in Fundão, where you will also enjoy reading on board a boat, on the Zêzere river.  In Cerdeira, in the municipality of Lousã, the story of Kerstin Thomas,  a German woman who learned to speak Portuguese from books is shared. The Contos de Fajão and the Dark Sky Aldeias do Xisto serve as the motto for a visit to Fajão, Pampilhosa da Serra. 

Programme

7 May

• Aldeia do Xisto of Figueira, Proença-a-Nova: Meeting with Nuno Marçal, librarian of Proença-a-Nova and conversation with the inhabitants of the village;
• Visit to the Primary school of the Aldeia do Xisto of Sarzedas.

8 May

• Aldeia do Xisto of Cerdeira, Lousã: Conversation with Kerstin Thomas;
• Aldeia do Xisto of Fajão, Pampilhosa da Serra: Reading session with the inhabitants.

9 May

• Aldeia do Xisto of Fajão, Pampilhosa da Serra: Book offering and storytelling session in the churchyard;
• Aldeia do Xisto of Janeiro de Cima, Fundão: Reading session on a boat.

10 May

• Aldeia do Xisto of Janeiro de Cima, Fundão: visit and reading session at the Primary School.

For Rui Simão, Executive Director of ADXTUR, "this initiative will mix the stories in books with the stories and knowledge of the people and places they pass through. This is also a 'literary' region because the inspiration of each person's life story is intertwined with the memories of the landscapes where they live, whether related to the sky, with traditional tales or with arts and crafts. Knowing how to read the landscape and interpret the culture of places is also an important literary skill that Aldeias do Xisto wants to promote."

The focus is on children's literature, but the van's doors and shelves are open to everyone, including older people. “The aim is not to sell books, but to give them away. Returning home with the van empty, but full of stories", he adds. The 500 or so titles that fill the shelves of the van were donated by several Portuguese publishers and Citroën, which joins this initiative because of its own legacy: remember the image of the old mobile libraries was the icon of this make of car, the HY. Now, João Ferreira Oliveira continues his journey at the wheel of a Citroën Jumper.

After the Aldeias do Xisto, the trip goes through Rota da Terra Fria (Trás-os-Montes), the Alentejo Interior and the Algarve Interior.The whole trip, which you can follow on Instagram, will be recorded, giving rise to a set of reports and a four episode documentary series, one for each destination. And, of course, books.