The year 2025 marks the 650th anniversary of the death of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), author of the Decameron and foundational author of the European narrative prose tradition. To commemorate this milestone, the American Boccaccio Association (est. 1974) and the Newberry Library, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, will celebrate the Certaldese author with a series of scholarly events.
Paleography Seminar: September 16 – 17
Newberry Library
Led by Maddalena Signorini (University of Rome Tor Vergata)
This two-day intensive workshop introduces participants to the reading and transcription of handwritten Italian vernacular texts from the late medieval through the early modern periods. While the emphasis is on building paleographical skills, the course also offers an overview of materials and techniques and considers the history of scripts within the larger historical, literary, intellectual, and social contexts of Italy. Participants will practice on a wide range of documents, including literary, personal, legal, notarial, official, and ecclesiastical works. The course allows participants to work with manuscripts, letters, diaries, and other primary source materials from the Newberry Library.
The course will be taught in Italian.
Registration
Conference: September 18 – 19
Newberry Library
Plenary Session with Simone Marchesi (Princeton University) and Timothy Kircher (Guilford College) in conversation with the audience.
Registration
Keynote Address: “When Old Stories Are Given New Life: Boccaccio, Pasolini, and the American Boccaccio Association” – September 20
Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago
Keynote Lecture by Millicent Marcus (Yale University).
