Event

The Center for Italian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania will host an important international conference to celebrate "Sicily: Language, Art, and Culture", 11-12 February 2016.

Renato Guttuso, Cactus nel golfo di Palermo, 1984, private collection

Sicily, land of culture, art, cinema, literature; land of travellers and dreamers, of artists and thinkers; land of division and unity. Sicily presents the peculiar characteristics of an island with its own complex reality, distinct from Italian "continental" reality and yet linked to it.

The conference aims at exploring Sicily in all aspects of its history and culture, in itself and in relation to the rest of Italy and to the world, from its most ancient traditions to present debates, to its hope for the future. 

Plenary Speakers: Daniela Bini, Alfonso Campisi, Gaetano Cipolla, Pietro Frassica, Fred Gardaphe, Lina Insana, Chiara Mazzucchelli

Click here for the two-day CONFERENCE PROGRAM, which includes a concert of eclectic Sicilian music with Allison Scola's group Villa Palagonia and the screening of Manuel Giliberti's documentary Bastava una notte - Siciliani di Tunisi (2012) on the migration of Sicilians to Tunisia at the turn of the 20th century.

While at the conference, do not miss the installation of Angela Lorenz' "Victorious Secret" - based on the famous mosaics of Piazza Armerina, Sicily -at the Education Commons, Franklin Field Football Stadium - 233 S. 33rd Street. View images of the installation at Penn-Art and Culture Flickr.

Attendance is free to the general public.

Scientific Committee: Alfonso Campisi, Marina Della Putta Johnston, Fabio Finotti, Pietro Frassica, Lillyrose Veneziano Broccia

View here Elisa Ruggiero's presentation, "L'uomo nel cinema di Vittorio De Seta"

I cortometraggi di Vittorio De Seta sono disponibili in Youtube: