Italian Studies at Durham

21/09/2026

“Just one Cornetto”? 🍦

The story behind this iconic Italian brand is anything but simple. Founded in postwar Rome by Italian gelatiere Italo Barbiani and Alfred Wiesner, a Jewish engineer who had fled Nazi-occupied Austria, been interned at Ferramonti di Tarsia, escaped and joined the Resistance, Algida has deeply transnational roots.

And the Cornetto itself? Born in Naples, before becoming a global icon.

A fascinating history of migration, war, entrepreneurship and globalisation, all behind an ice cream. 🇮🇹🌍🍦

Max Corona di storie di brand ci racconta la storia del cornetto e ...

08/09/2026

🍽️ From medieval Catalonia to the contemporary table

What can a 14th-century recipe teach us about the future of gastronomic heritage?

On 25 September at 18:00, Durham University and the RELISH project will bring Escabetx: Between History and Gastronomic Future to Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2026 in Turin.

Participants will taste and compare historical and contemporary versions of escabetx, a recipe whose story connects ancient Persia, the medieval Mediterranean and present-day cuisine.

Drawing on the 1324 Catalan cookbook Llibre de Sent Soví and working with Fundació Alícia, the workshop will explore culinary memory, historical recipes and the ways food traditions continue to evolve.

🍷 The tasting will also feature wines from Serra Ferdinandea, part of the Banca del Vino network.

📍 Turin city centre
📅 25 September 2026
🕕 18:00
🎟️ €35 | €30 for Slow Food members and UNISG students
⚠️ Only 8 places available

A fascinating meeting point between medieval history, gastronomy and the future of food heritage.

More info: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/modern-languages-cultures/about-us/news/from-medieval-recipe-to-contemporary-table-durham-and-relish-at-terra-madre-turin-italy/

07/09/2026

Dante, AI, international research and award-winning scholarship

It has been an exciting year for Dr Lorenzo Dell’Oso, Assistant Professor in Italian Studies at Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

A new Meet the Staff video introduces Lorenzo’s research on Dante, the Middle Ages and AI, including his work exploring how technology can help us imagine medieval soundscapes and reconsider how Dante made knowledge accessible to a wider audience.

Lorenzo is also Principal Investigator on a new Notre Dame–Durham Seed Grant project with Professor Theodore Cachey of the University of Notre Dame. The two-year project, Dante Among Theologians, will investigate the scholastic and theological soundscape surrounding the formation of Dante’s Commedia and will include two international workshops.

His 2026 book, Il poeta alle «scuole delli religiosi», has also received major recognition, including the Pontremoli “Pier delle Vigne” Prize for Medieval Studies – Young Scholars Category and the “Leva la testa e fa che t’assicuri” Prize 2026. These follow the Kleinhenz Prize for Publication from the Dante Society of America in 2025.

🎥 Watch the Meet our Staff video and discover more about Lorenzo’s research:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuNNXAL2Nbo

Read more here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/modern-languages-cultures/about-us/news/delloso/



.durham

04/09/2026

Dal 2024 è iscritto all’Albo degli Enti Gestori/Promotori per lo svolgimento di corsi di lingua e cultura italiana del Consolato di Manchester.

26/08/2026

14/08/2026

Today, the is on Ava Siena Cohen! 💫

Ava is a Barker Doctoral Student on the project ‘Daphne and her Sisters: Framing Gendered Violence' at IMEMS. Her PhD research, in Art History and Italian Studies, focuses on reception of Artemisia Gentileschi in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on her legacy as an artist, feminist icon, and survivor of sexual assault.

As well as her affiliations with Durham Modern Languages and Cultures and IMEMS, Ava is part of the Medieval and Early Modern Student Association (MEMSA) serving on the executive board as their conference co-convenor in 2025/26 and vice chair in 2026/27. Her research interests include early modern visual culture (Renaissance, Counter-Reformation, Baroque) in Italy, Caravaggism, history of feminism, and women’s cultural history.

Read more about the project team here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/research/inventing-futures/daphne-and-her-sisters-framing-gendered-violence/

10/08/2026

La lingua sarda viene erroneamente chiamata dialetto, vi spieghiamo il perché: https://geopop.it/86r5N