Yesterday morning (Thursday 31 October) in Sala Bazlen the following were presented to the press: the series of meetings “History Lessons” and “Science Lessons”. The press conference was attended by the municipal councilor for Culture and Tourism Policies Giorgio Rossi, Lodovico Steidl and Lia di Trapani for Editori Laterza, Francesco Peroni for the CrTrieste Foundation.

"This is a beautiful and extraordinary initiative. - he has declared Councillor for Culture and Tourism Policies Giorgio Rossi - and given its undisputed success, at the end of last year's cycle we thought of implementing the initiative with "Science Lessons": today I am happy to present them together with History Lessons, because I really believe in this event."

"Our Administration – he continued George Rossi - wants to continue to guarantee free admission to the meetings, because knowing history and having references in a world full of uncertainties is fundamental. I remember that the free admission is also made possible by the extraordinary patronage of the Fondazione CrTrieste. I also thank “Il Piccolo” and the Teatro Verdi for their concrete collaboration."

Francesco Peroni highlighted the remarkable cultural depth of History Lessons and the importance, also social, of the informative aspect of the event, and recalled that Fondazione CrTrieste has been staunchly supporting the initiative since the first edition.

Lodovico Steidl for Editori Laterza then illustrated in detail the program of both cycles.

History Lessons Return to Trieste with a New Cycle, “The War of the Sexes”, which will be held at the Teatro Verdi starting from November 17, 2024.

In the history of humanity, the conflict between women and men has taken many different forms, involving all dimensions of life: from the family to politics, from the economy to culture. The six “Lessons” of this cycle will explore the conflict between the sexes from antiquity to the contemporary age, showing all the differences of each era but also the recurrences in the ways and themes of the relationship between women and men.

Opening The War of the Sexes on November 17, 2024 will be Francesca Cenerini and the story of Messalina, meretrix augusta: What lies behind the black legend that has defamed the memory of this young aristocrat? On December 1st, Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli will talk about the passion and determination of Clare of Assisi, often unjustly remembered only in the shadow of Francis. On January 19th, 2025, Lisa Roscioni will lead the public in the parable of the life of Marianna de Leyva, the Nun of Monza, from the abyss of crime to exemplary atonement.

 

On January 26th we will ask ourselves, together with Alberto Mario Banti, if it is possible to love Madame Bovary – the propensity to daydream, the vocation to emotional disaster, but also, perhaps, a lucid diagnosis of what it means to be a woman according to the dominant morality. At the center of Loris Zanatta's lesson, on February 2, will be the figure of Eva Perón: disfigured by myth, exalted by the media, venerated and ruthless, in death and in life she was as hated as she was loved. Finally, Costantino D'Orazio will close the cycle on February 23, with a lesson on Frida Kahlo, who, exploring the complexity of gender identity, painted her body, scars, pain and vulnerability.

To accompany the story of these six incredible lives, a new initiative by Editori Laterza is also coming to Trieste: the first cycle of Lezioni di Scienze.

Today, in the face of accelerating progress in science and technology and the risks associated with it, it is urgent to try to break down the barriers that have marked the mutual distrust between scientific and humanistic cultures. From this belief, the Science Lessons were born: each appointment is an opportunity to reconstruct a compelling chapter in the evolution of our knowledge and to reflect on the origin of knowledge and practices that have then entered our daily lives.

“The great masters” is the title of this first cycle: because if it is true that science, especially contemporary science, is a mission that takes place in the plural thanks to the collaboration of different research teams, it is equally true that we owe some extraordinary progress to the commitment and brilliant intuitions of individual personalities.

See you then on March 2, 2025 with Piero Martin and a journey into the figure of Albert Einstein, a brilliant physicist who revolutionized our understanding of the universe, but also a tenacious anti-racist and a man immersed in contemporary humanity and its contradictions.

Telmo Pievani's lesson on March 23 will be dedicated to Charles Darwin: Why, one might ask, did he keep his ideas hidden for more than 20 years? What was so disruptive about them? His way of conceiving the evolution of life is still uncomfortable today, and teaches that diversity is the engine of change and creativity. Finally, Guido Barbujani will close this first cycle of Science Lessons, on March 30: he will tell how Rosalind Franklin's work was fundamental to understanding the nature of DNA, the great book of life, and why she was unable to get to the bottom of her research.

The History Lessons series “The War of the Sexes” and the Science Lessons series “The Great Masters”, conceived and designed by the Laterza Publishers and promoted by the Municipality of Trieste, are organized with the contribution of the CRTrieste Foundation. Media partner: “Il Piccolo” – Nord Est Multimedia.

The lessons will be introduced by journalists from “Il Piccolo”.

History Lessons Program – “The War of the Sexes”

Sunday, November 17, 2024, 11:XNUMX a.m.

Francesca Cenerini, Messalina, meretrix augusta

Meretrix Augusta, or imperial prostitute. With this unenviable epithet the satirical poet Juvenal handed down through the centuries the image of Messalina, wife of the emperor Claudius and a figure of great importance in first-century Rome. What lies behind the black legend that has defamed the memory of this young aristocrat? Francesca Cenerini teaches Roman History and Roman Epigraphy and Institutions at the University of Bologna.

Sunday, December 1, 2024, 11:XNUMX a.m.

Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli, Clare of Assisi, passion and determination

Chiara's life was marked by her encounter with Francis and her story often ended up in the shadow of the extraordinary "madman of God". We must highlight her very strong personality and her undoubted political ability in opposing the ecclesiastical leaders in a world that assigned women very limited roles. She wanted for the sorores a model of life like that of the fratres following Francis; She fought, she didn't win, but she wasn't defeated either. Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli taught Medieval History, History of Cities and History and Cultural Heritage of Fashion at the University of Bologna.

Sunday, January 19, 2025, 11:XNUMX a.m.

Lisa Roscioni, Marianna de Leyva, the Nun of Monza

Transfigured by Manzoni in The Betrothed, she was in reality a woman of flesh and blood, with her desires, dreams, frustrations. Forced to enter a convent at the age of thirteen, she became a woman of power, at times arrogant and even violent. Restored to their historical truth, his complex personality and the parable of his life – from the abyss of crime to exemplary atonement – ​​allow us to grasp the dramatic and disturbing attempt of someone who sought to escape a destiny already written. Lisa Roscioni teaches Modern History at the University of Parma.

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 11:XNUMX a.m.

Alberto Mario Banti, Madame Bovary and Bourgeois Morality

Can you love Emma Bovary? Her propensity to daydream, her vocation for emotional disaster? Maybe not. And yet Emma, ​​despite her romanticism, knows well what world she lives in. She would like a son, because "a woman is continually frustrated. Inert and flexible at the same time, she has the weaknesses of the flesh against her." Is Madame Bovary a banal self-absolution or a lucid diagnosis of what it means to be a woman according to the rules of dominant morality? Alberto Mario Banti is a professor of Contemporary History at the University of Pisa.

Sunday, February 2, 2025, 11:XNUMX a.m.

Loris Zanatta, Eva Perón, the wrath of God

Without Perón, there would be no Evita; but without Evita, Perón would have been another. He was the messianic soul of his regime, the object of unconditional admiration for his tireless commitment to the rights of workers, the poor, and women. Disfigured by myth, exalted by the media, the real, Catholic and traditional Eve fades away in front of the legendary, feminist and fatal Eve. Venerated and ruthless, she was as hated as she was loved, in death and in life. She lived a short time, but a long time. Loris Zanatta teaches Latin American History at the University of Bologna.

Sunday, February 23, 2025, 11:XNUMX a.m.

Costantino D'orazio, Frida Kahlo, hand to hand with painting

Teacher of freedom, revolutionary, fierce opponent of the patriarchal Mexican society. Thanks to her courage, many stereotypes that nailed women to a few limited roles were eradicated forever. She did this by painting her body in a raw way, showing scars, pain and vulnerability, challenging conventional ideals of beauty with a painstaking exploration of the complexity of gender identity. and addressing issues related to sexuality, motherhood, and a proudly lived femininity. Costantino D'Orazio is the Director of the National Museums of Perugia.

Science Lesson Program – “The Great Masters”

Sunday 2 March 2025, 11 hours

Piero Martin, Einstein and the Revolution of Relativity

Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the universe, relativity had a huge impact on culture at large, and his findings helped found quantum physics. But he was not just a brilliant and unconventional physicist: tenacious anti-racist, promoter of the Manhattan Project (which led to the creation of the first atomic bombs) and then repentant for its results, his figure has immersed itself in the humanity of his time and in its contradictions. Piero Martin is a professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Padua.

Sunday 23 March 2025, 11 hours

Telmo Pievani, Charles Darwin and the Revolution of Diversity

Why did Darwin keep his ideas hidden for more than 20 years? What was so groundbreaking about them? What did he fear? The answer to these questions is surprising and reveals some stereotypes about the thought of the great English naturalist that should be dispelled. His way of conceiving the evolution of life, in fact, is still uncomfortable today. He teaches us that diversity, in the sense of the radical and irreducible uniqueness of each biological individual, is the engine of change and creativity. Telmo Pievani teaches Philosophy of Biological Sciences at the University of Padua.

Sunday 30 March 2025, 11 hours

Guido Barbujani, Rosalind Franklin and the DNA double helix

DNA as the great book of life, DNA as an element common to all living organisms: a molecule that, if you know how to read it, tells the story of the world and our history. When Jim Watson and Francis Crick propose that DNA forms a double helix in our cells, they are not working on experimental data produced by their laboratory, but on that of a woman who will die before seeing her contribution recognized, Rosalind Franklin. We will tell how Franklin's work was fundamental to understanding the nature of DNA, and we will ask ourselves why she was unable to get to the bottom of her research. Guido Barbujani teaches Genetics at the University of Ferrara.

Free admission subject to availability.