August 2017
Dr. Marco Abbondanza, an ophthalmic surgeon with more than 30 years' experience, talked about the most recent advances in ophthalmology at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), discussing the latest research dealing with refractive errors, keratoconus, glaucoma, retinopathies and cataracts, with the aid of data, pictures and videos from his own surgical experience. Ophthalmologists, academics, orthoptists, biostatisticians, journalists and university students attended Dr. Abbondanza's conference at UTS, contributing to a long and pleasant Q&A session. Dr. Abbondanza's website is www.abbondanza.org.
Read MoreSeptember 2017
The ARA PACIS is a monumental altar located in Rome and dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of Peace, built in 13 B.C. to honour the return of Emperor Augustus to Rome.
Read MoreOctober 2017
A talk by Dr. Francesco Bailo, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sydney. Dr. Bailo received his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2017 and has published on political participation and political communication. With a methodological interest in big data and quantitative analysis, his current research focuses on the Internet as a platform for political organisation, participation and deliberation. His website is www.francescobailo.net.
Read MoreNovember 2017
Join us for a fun evening with live entertainment by well known singer songwriter Carlotta Centanni.
Read MoreFebruary 2018
A talk by Australian economist and author Bruce Bland on celebrated architect Francesco Borromini, a leading figure in the emergence of Baroque architecture and a legendary rival of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Read MoreMarch 2018
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was notoriously fascinated with Italy and set several of his plays there. Some even claim he lived in Italy and was an Italian himself. Poet Mark O’Connor brings several of these strands together in a rare public address on this topic. Mark O’Connor is a very well known Australian poet, Shakespeare and English poetry scholar, and environmentalist.
Read MoreApril 2018
Literary historian Susannah Fullerton delighted us in August with a talk on why Italy has been such a magnet to writers over the centuries.
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A presentation by a delegation of the city of Foligno of a faithful replica of the first printed edition in 1472 of the Divina Commedia by Dante Alighieri. On April 11th 1472, the city of Foligno (Umbria region) saw the first ever printed edition of Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia. The printing was carried out by the master printer Johann Numeister, a pupil of Gutenberg, with the collaboration of the Foligno minter Emiliano Orfini. Why exactly in Foligno? What kind of…
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No appreciation of Italian language and culture could be complete without an understanding of historic Rome and the ways of the ancient Romans. The extremely-rich archaeology of Rome provides extensive information on how the ancient Romans lived, governed, and made community decisions on their civic and private amenities. Richard Mann is a Sydney-based architect with extensive international experience. His practice at Ecosystem Architecture employs principles of design and building that have foundations in Roman times and beyond. Richard has studied…
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Dr. Alice Loda, a Lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Technology Sydney, talked about immigrants' poetry in Italy. Traditionally a country of emigration, over the past four decades it also increasingly became one of destination and transit. Her talk described the progressive emerging of migrant voices in contemporary Italian literature, and explored their positioning within the relevant literary debate. It then presented and analysed a selection of works produced in Italian by authors born in non-Italophone countries, focusing…
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