The Italians: How the Italians perceive themselves ... and are understood by others.

In his recently published book Il Complesso di Calimero (The Calimero Complex), career Italian diplomat and former counsellor of the comune di Firenze, Marco del Panta poses the following question:

Why does a people who have shaped the history of Europe and the world have such low self-esteem? Why do Italians always think they're the small, black, ugly duckling—Calimero, in fact— in an environment of big, beautiful, white swans?

Calimero, a beloved cartoon character in Italy

Meanwhile John Hooper, Italy correspondent for The Economist, has written the best-selling The Italians, giving the perspective of the sympathetic foreigner — described by one critic as:

A sophisticated portrait of the Italians at their best and their worst: charming, imaginative, generous, full of life but also unreliable, more or less corrupt and often downright infuriating.

Marco and John will discuss their different perspectives and sharply contrasting understanding of the true nature of the glorious enigma that are the Italians. There may be controversy...

If you are in Florence and would like to attend the lecture in person at the British Institute Library, please register here and select the option IN PERSON or send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it.

The registration fee for in-person participation is €10 per person.

If you would like to attend the lecture online via Zoom, please register here and select the option ONLINE or send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it.

The registration fee for online participation is €5 per person.