Wednesday 21st April 2010
- AUBREY KNOWLES, Anglo Italian Society - THE ITALIANS IN CLERKENWELL
-
Italians have been coming to Britain for hundreds of years
for a variety of reasons. Our relative affluence in the nineteenth century
meant that immigration reached a peak, many coming in through London and
settling in the area around St. Peter's Church in Clerkenwell. Consequently
this became known as 'Little Italy'. Some were penniless and scraped a living
by selling ice-cream or roasted chestnuts, while others were skilled craftsmen
making picture frames and scientific instruments such as barometers. My
great grandfather, Giuseppe Pepe was one of them. While many have moved
on, there is still an Italian community in Clerkenwell, and I will try to
capture the spirit if it.
Wednesday 19th May 2010
- ITALIAN OPERA HITS - KATY BINGHAM
- Hear a selection of favourite and tuneful operatic
arias performed live. These will be punctuated by nuggets of information to set
the scene in the drama, and to highlight other intriguing details. Find out
which Italian heroine won her suitor by threatening to make a splash, which
monarch serenaded his trees, and whose gourmet dish would horrify a healthy
eater!
Wednesday 23rd June 2010
- VILLAS OF THE VENETO
- An
illustrated lecture in Italian by Claudia Daniotti
- The
Veneto region has been for centuries the favourite "summer resort" of
the Most Serene Republic of Venice. Between the 16th and the 18th
century, more than 4,000 villas were built for Venice's patricians,
providing them with the perfect setting to ride, hunt, cultivate the
lands and relax, far away from the claustrophobic capital. Mirrored in
the Brenta Canal, dotting the countryside or overlooking the valleys
from the top of the hills, these grand palaces were enhanced by
fountains and gardens and decorated with beautiful frescoes. Claudia
Daniotti, who was born and grew up in the Veneto, will lead us in a
fascinating ourney into these outstanding beauties of her native
land.
Other 2010 conferences:
-
22 September - Valentina Casaroli - Milan
27 October - Pietro Urso - Italian Squares
17 November - Dr Kate Mitchell - Women in nineteenth-century Italy.