(ANSA) - VILNIUS, 04 OTT - The international conference “Bridges of Culture between the Vilnius University Faculty of Philology and Italy” will take place on Monday, October 5, and Tuesday, October 6, at Vilnius University. It is organized to mark the tenth anniversary of the Lithuanian university’s dialectological expeditions to Liguria and its collaborations with Italian universities and institutions.
The conference, which will be attended by leading figures from the Italian academic world—including Pietro U.
Dini, full professor at the University of Pisa and one of the world’s foremost experts in Baltic philology—will be dedicated to in-depth explorations of various aspects of Italian culture, linguistics, and literature.
The collaboration between Vilnius University (UV) and numerous Ligurian cultural organizations and associations began more than two lustri ago, starting with the initial ties established between the Department of Italian Linguistics and Literature at Vilnius University —the leading center for Italian studies in the Baltic States—the International Institute of Ligurian Studies (IISL), the “San Matteo” Association of San Bartolomeo al Mare, and the “Cà de Puiö” Cultural Circle. As this collaboration gradually took root, this collaboration has fostered an increasingly multifaceted dialogue between the Lithuanian academic community and the Ligurian region, featuring training internships for Lithuanian students at the IISL and for Ligurian researchers at the University of Vilnius, as well as the joint organization of conferences, seminars, and cultural initiatives.
All of these activities were subsequently brought together under the project “Bridges of Culture between the Faculty of Philology of the University of Vilnius and Liguria,” launched in 2021.
A particularly significant milestone in the exchange and collaboration promoted by the project occurred during the most recent editions of “Italian Language Week in the World” in Lithuania, organized by the Department of Italian Linguistics and Literature, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the Italian Embassy in Vilnius. On these occasions, the University of Vilnius hosted leading figures from the Italian cultural scene, such as the president of the Accademia della Crusca, Paolo d’Achille; the winner of the 2024 Campiello Prize, Federica Manzon; the director of the “Cà de Puiö” cultural club, Federico Fedozzi; and the curator and creator of the literary festival “Cervo in blu d’inchiostro,” Francesca Rotta Gentile Cavigioli.