A Monash Renaissance

Monash University has responded to the lure of Tuscany by taking up residence in Prato, Italy, writes SUE MCALISTER

Over the past few months, the stately Palazzo Vaj in the centre of Prato, near Florence, has been the scene of hectic activity.

The spacious first floor of the palace, which dates from the early Renaissance, is being speedily – though carefully – transformed into a 21st century university.

The director of the new centre of Monash University in Prato, historian Professor Bill Kent, certainly doesn’t believe in wasting time.

"We signed the lease last November, and to show we meant business, we cleaned some of the major rooms and within weeks staged a high-quality, international gathering," he says.

But Professor Kent envisages the centre as more than a splendid venue for academic get-togethers or teaching young Australians about Italy – he sees it as a two-way cultural and intellectual street.

"Prato will also benefit from the Monash centre," he says. "For example, we’re hosting a multiculturalism conference. Thousands of Chinese have settled in Prato recently to work in textiles, and the Monash centre is well placed to help the city meet the challenges this level of immigration can present."

The Prato Commune (city council) has welcomed the Monash centre, and the Region of Tuscany is sharing the cost of the multiculturalism conference with Monash.

Professor Kent also plans to use the centre for exhibitions of art and design from Monash, and hopes eventually there will be an artist-in-residence. It is also hosting a workshop for the Advocacy Institute of Australia.

Professor Kent sees the Monash centre becoming "a smaller-scale version of the distinguished American and British academies in Italy, a gateway to a broad range of culture". One of Italy’s most avant-garde theatres, the Metastasio, is right next door, while the highly-regarded Luigi Pecci Museum of Contemporary Art is nearby.

With its roots in antiquity and its sights set firmly on the future, Prato is, in fact, part cultural repository and part industrial hub.

"Prato has a giant work by the 20th century sculptor Henry Moore, quite consciously placed right in front of its 15th century walls," says Mr Michael Anderson, the man charged with adapting the structure and decor of the Palazzo Vaj to meet the needs of the university.

Mr Anderson, senior lecturer in interior architecture at Monash, says his approach is in keeping with Prato’s juxtaposition of old and new.

"Parts of the Palazzo Vaj date from the 15th and 16th centuries, overlaid with 18th century additions … many of the spaces have to function in different capacities – as lecture theatres or film theatres, conference rooms or display galleries – and, at the same time, cohere into a visual and aesthetic whole.

"We decided on a refined, contemporary design, with no major architectural alterations and no attempt to disguise our interventions, which are mainly lightweight, multifunctional and removable. We want as far as possible to use the Monash centre as a showcase for Australian materials and craftsmanship," Mr Anderson says.

ACTION: For more details, contact Professor Bill Kent at bill.kent@arts.monash.edu.au, or contact the Prato centre on telephone +39 0574 448 073 or fax +39 0574 445 784, or see the Prato website at www.monash.edu.au/staff/prato