On the initiative of the Italian Embassy in Prague and the Eleutheria Foundation, the evocative spaces of the Strahov Monastery, a few steps from the Czech capital's Castle, are today hosting - in the presence of Ambassador Mauro Marsili - the presentation of the new publishing project realised by Eleutheria. This was reported in a press release by the Italian Embassy in Prague.
"Italians in the Bohemian Lands. History of a centuries-old community' is the title of the volume in Czech and Italian, rich in a vast photographic apparatus, edited by Francesco Augusto Razetto, Ottaviano Maria Razetto, Flavio R.G. Mela and Genny Di Bert, with the aim of deepening the historical and artistic relations between Italy and the Czech Republic through the studies and testimonies of numerous specialists.
An adventure introduced by historian Franco Cardini that starts from the first Italian contacts with the Bohemian lands as far back as the 10th century, and continues to the present day under the sign of the friendship between the two countries, in what can be considered one of the first forms of cultural integration that Europe has experienced. From art to architecture, from music to literature, the book reveals how numerous tangible and intangible treasures of the Czech cultural landscape are directly connected with Italy thanks to the influx of architects, masons, stonemasons and masters of art in general, as well as men of letters, scientists and artists, who from the Peninsula wished to apply their skills in this European area.
Thus, the famous names of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Jacopo Strada, Giovanni Santini, Pietro Andrea Mattioli and the Miseroni family, famous in European courts for their talent in the carving of precious stones, are accompanied by other lesser-known ones who, with their work, nonetheless contributed to enlivening and strengthening the union between Italy and the Bohemian lands.
A special focus is dedicated to the "Italian Congregation of Prague", founded in 1573 and active until 1947, whose historical memory is still tangible in the buildings of the Mannerist chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed into Heaven, in the very central Karlova street, and the former Italian Hospital of Malá Strana, today seat of the Italian Institute of Culture. A chapter is dedicated to the latter - the oldest in the network - in which the characteristics of Italian cultural diplomacy in the Bohemian lands since 1922 are explored. Eleutheria's book closes with a look at the contemporary world, giving voice to some representatives of the Italian community who have established themselves at the level of excellence in the Czech national context.
The book was produced with the support of Architectural Consulting, Assicurazioni Generali - Generali Česká pojišťovna, Brazzale Moravia, Manghi Group, Mattoni 1873 and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia. The European Parliament, the Czech-Italian Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Rome, the Czech-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAMIC), the Municipality of Prague Capital, UNESCO Czech Republic, the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague, Charles IV University, the National Institute of Monuments of the Czech Republic, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) of the Czech Republic and the Committee of Italians Abroad (Comites) of the Czech Republic are sponsoring the book.
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