Eterni, fanciulli, alati: neotenia, leggerezza e letteratura per l’infanzia.

Children’s literature is rich in carachters that share a common light and winged destiny. Between them classic icons as Peter Pan, The Little Prince, Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò, Mary Poppins, Nils Holgersson, Viperetta. Referring to the con- cept of neotenia and the junghian archetype of Puer Aeternus the essay proposes a reflection about symbols and metaphors of childhood and lightness as combined in those classics. The neverending dialectic among Puer and Senex, the perspective of the Lightness as lirical quality are the keywords of this work.