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Italian ministry makes valuable book donation

5 October 2005

Representatives of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage visited Monash last week to formalise a large donation of Italian books to the university.

From left: Dr Francesco De Conno, the Hon. Nicola Bono, Professor Homer Le Grand, Dr Mirna Cicioni, and Ms Christine Cooze, Monash University Library.

Over the past two years the ministry has donated more than 2000 books to Monash, including encyclopaedias, reference texts and cultural works on opera, painting, classical and contemporary literature. It has also donated films, DVDs, CD-Roms, cassettes and other teaching and research materials.

The book donation was only the third made by the Italian government to universities in cities outside Europe with large Italian communities. The other recipients have been universities in Alexandra, Egypt and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Members of the Italian delegation included the deputy minister for Cultural Heritage Mr Nicola Bono and head of the Department for Books and Archives at the ministry, Professor Salvatore Italia.

Melbourne's Italian community was represented by Dr Francesco De Conno, Consul General of Italy in Melbourne, and Dr Simonetta Magnani, director of the Italian Institute of Culture.

Dr Mirna Cicioni, senior lecturer in Italian Studies at the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, coordinated the visit.

It is hoped the collection will form the basis of an Italian Studies Research Centre at Monash's Clayton campus to be headed by Dr Cicioni.

"The donation by the ministry is an invaluable gift and a tremendous resource for the Italian community," Dr Cicioni said.

"We hope that this collection, which consists of five separate donations from the Italian government, will provide the basis for the establishment of a centre to enable research in Italian studies and culture, facilitating interdisciplinary research projects, and expanding contacts with the Melbourne community through lectures, seminars conferences and exhibitions."

Dr Cicioni said plans were being made to put together an exhibition of selected materials and promote the collection to local communities and libraries.