London – Some words lie at the very foundations of our civilisation, reflecting the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. This is the subject of Venanzio Postiglione’s book The Ten Betrayed Words, which will be discussed on September 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute, where director Francesco Bongarrà will be in conversation with the author. In his latest book, Postiglione retraces the history of ten fundamental concepts, going back to their origins: from etymology to the great myths, from their original meanings to the transformations that have shaped them over the centuries. Published by Solferino in 2026, Le dieci parole tradite. Come abbiamo smarrito le radici della nostra civiltà: dalla democrazia al talento (The Ten Betrayed Words. How We Lost the Roots of Our Civilisation: From Democracy to Talent) traces the journey of ten words – democracy, happiness, fraternity, freedom, measure, peace, equality, planet, talent and truth – through history, thought and literature, and ultimately to the challenges of the present day. From the Iliad, where strength appears to prevail over every other virtue, to Donald Trump’s America, the book invites readers to consider how the meanings of these terms have changed and what those changes reveal about our society. During the event, the author will take the audience on a journey through the ten words that have helped shape the Western consciousness. They are words we once believed had become firmly established and universally shared, but which today need to be rediscovered if we are to imagine a future built on the values they represent. (9colonne)