Ambassador Terracciano visits the Universities of Bath and Bristol to meet the students and staff of the Italian departments, discuss Brexit and inaugurate the International Week of Italian Language in the UK.
The Italian ambassador, Pasquale Terracciano, travelled to Bath and Bristol on 16 October, to visit the cities’ universities. He was received in Bath by the vice-chancellor, Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell; Adalgisa Giorgio, a senior lecturer in the Italian department; Enrico Ciccone, Language Coordinator for Italian and Elena Trincanato, a lettore from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ambassador’s visit began with the screening of The Domitiana, a short film by the photographer Giovanni Izzo, which will also be shown at the European Parliament and at the Senate of the Republic and which shows the illegal, decaying conditions into which the Via Domiziana has fallen. The ambassador then gave a speech before an audience of 250 students to inaugurate the seventh edition of the International Week of Italian Language in the UK (16-22 October 2017). His address was followed by a discussion entitled “Anglo-Italian relations: from the Roman Empire to Brexit”. The ambassador analysed the relations and dynamics between Italy and the UK since the first Roman settlements, which left significant traces in the town of Bath, until the present day.
The ambassador then travelled to Bristol, whose university has the largest Italian department in the UK. Following a meeting with the staff and students, the ambassador attended a short recital of music by Giovanni Bellini for piano, cello and voice, and gave a speech on Italy and its contribution to the European project. At the end of his visit, he was invited to write a word on a wall of the Italian department where important notices are displayed. He chose the world “together”, to invite reflection on the complex current situation.
