Italiaans in Leiden - Italian in Leiden

26/08/2026

18/08/2026

In het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden is op donderdag 27 augustus een Italiaanse avond rond kunst, muziek en de figuur Odysseus. Het museum is van 19.00 tot 22.00 uur geopend voor het avondprogramma.

16/08/2026

Hoe kijken Italianen en Nederlanders naar Italië als land?

Rosa van Gool was correspondent voor de Volkskrant in Italië. Daar viel het grote verschil op tussen hoe Italianen en Italiëfans naar het land kijken. Terug in Nederland geeft ze een kijkje in Italië’s tegenstrijdige ziel en zelfbeeld.

15/08/2026

Met ons aller Daniela Tasca

06/08/2026

Dov'e il gatto ?

08/06/2026

A few more days to go...

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "The Universality of Literature"
Can one person read the world?
Long before algorithms recommended books and shaped cultural visibility, Giacomo Prampolini attempted to organize world literature through anthologies, translation and multilingual networks.

Who was Giacomo Prampolini?
A linguistic prodigy, translator of more than sixty languages, winner of the Nijhoff Translation Prize, friend of major Dutch authors - and today almost forgotten.

Join us at Leiden University on 12 June to rediscover the man who tried to map world literature.
https://forms.gle/pawVRoxNZ8Vc8kNE9

LeidenGlobal LUCL - Linguistics in Leiden Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society Istituto Italiano di Cultura Amsterdam Italian Professionals Netherlands Italiaans in Leiden - Italian in Leiden Italië Studies Amsterdam Italiaans Universiteit Utrecht Italian Studies • Utrecht University International Literature Festival Utrecht - ILFU Literatuur Vlaanderen Flanders Literature Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde Dante Alighieri Nederland Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Rome - KNIR Mediterraned Translations into Italian Werkgroep Italië Studies Sophia Aeterna Leiden, Studievereniging GLTC
Literatuur Vlaanderen

The Universality of Literature: Giacomo Prampolini, Translator and Mediator

04/06/2026

OPROEP

Voor mijn scriptie aan de Universiteit Leiden zou ik een aantal vragen willen stellen aan mensen met Italiaanse origine die een terrazzo familiebedrijf hebben/hadden in Nederland. Wie niet met terrazzo te maken heeft, graag deze lijst NIET invullen.
De antwoorden zullen anoniem worden verwerkt.

(Isa Westing, studente Italiaanse Taal en Cultuur, Universiteit Leiden)

Om deel te nemen aan de enquête, klik hier:

https://forms.gle/XD4wSRe7Yijy3tTy6

(c) Terrazzowerkers in Leiden, ca. 1925 (Bron: Il Giornale)

24/05/2026

International Conference
"The Universality of Literature"

June 12, 2026 (Leiden University)

Can one person read the world? Can one person organize world literature?

Giacomo Prampolini was the man who tried. Through pocket anthologies and a monumental Universal History of Literature, he sought to bring the literatures of the world into a single intellectual landscape. From his home in Italy, he attempted to make the literary world readable.

Translator, editor, polyglot and cultural mediator, Prampolini shaped world literature through translation and canon formation. His ambition was to read all the literatures of the world in their original languages. Minority languages were central to this vision; he described them as “a tree in springtime”, vibrant, living and unfolding and studied them with particular care.

In recent decades, Prampolini (once celebrated as a linguistic prodigy and translator of more than sixty languages) has largely faded into obscurity in Italy, in the Netherlands and beyond. Yet in the twentieth century he attracted major attention. He was a highly respected figure in Dutch literary circles, received the Nijhoff Translation Prize, and was nominated by the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde. The novelist Arthur van Schendel reportedly preferred no Italian translator other than Prampolini. More than one hundred newspaper articles by writers such as Greshoff, Braasem, Ypes and others testify to this fascination.

Recently, he has been rediscovered through the Mappi-Ned research project (NWO-funded), together with extensive correspondence with Dutch, Flemish and Frisian writers. This has revealed new, unpublished materials and opened fresh perspectives on his work.

His legacy is vast and diverse: 1) miniature anthologies in many languages: from Dutch, Indonesian and Frisian to Afrikaans, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. 2) alongside the "Storia universale della letteratura", a bulky literary history of seven volumes and 3) a three-volume anthology of translations into Italian, covering more than sixty traditions.

Yet no literary history can ever be fully universal or exhaustive. Every representation of world literature depends on selection and interpretation. How did Prampolini choose his materials? Which traditions were included or excluded, and why? To what extent did he rely on networks of informants and collaborators?

These questions will be discussed on 12 June at the Academy Building of Leiden University, in a symposium bringing together scholars of literary history, translation and multilingualism. The day will conclude with a pop-up exhibition of Prampoliniana: rare books, archival documents and recent discoveries.

Registration via QR code. Participation is free. Linguists, literary historians, translators, polyglots, and all interested in literature across borders are warmly invited.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQ7IHgaT1bhzaY9YoMJQQTE2xyU69hQUGRITdiQyIgCXwdNw/viewform

13/05/2026

Wat doe je eigenlijk met een studie Italiaanse taal en cultuur? Veel meer dan vaak gedacht wordt: van diplomatie tot academie, van internationaal bedrijfsleven tot cultuursector en toerisme - en zeker niet alleen tot het beroep van leraar of vertaler.

In deze video vertellen zes alumni van de opleiding Italiaans in Leiden over hun heel verschillende loopbanen. Met bijdragen van Chiara van Leeuwen, Stephan Blom, Gabriella Sancisi, Marie Florence van Es, Irina de Rie en Julian Brusse laat deze video zien dat een talenstudie niet leidt tot één vast carrièrepad.

Een inspirerende blik op de veelzijdigheid van talenstudies en de vele mogelijkheden die eruit kunnen groeien.

Met dank aan
De organisatoren Lieke Bitter (studievereniging Le Tre Corone) en Carmen Van den Bergh (Docent en opleidingsvoorzitter Italiaanse taal en Cultuur, Universiteit Leiden)
Sanderien de Jong (Alumni office Leiden University) en Loes Nordlohne (Career Service Leiden University)
De videomaker Robin van Duin, i.s.m. C Rita Vitiello

Wat doe je eigenlijk met een studie Italiaanse taal en cultuur? Veel meer dan vaak gedacht wordt.In deze video vertellen zes alumni van de opleiding Italiaan...

09/05/2026

Ieri lo scrittore Davide Morosinotto è stato ospite all’Università di Leiden. Ha presentato i suoi libri più recenti e quelli ancora in fase di lavorazione. Ha spiegato come si svolge il processo creativo della scrittura: dal generare delle idee nella writing room fino alla riscrittura attraverso diverse versioni, per arrivare alla versione finale, illustrando anche il lavoro del suo team dietro le quinte. Ogni libro richiede anni di lavoro, molto studio e ricerca e, naturalmente, anche il contatto con i lettori.

Che Davide sia uno scrittore amatissimo dai giovani è apparso evidente dall’entusiasmo con cui è stato accolto durante il suo tour in Belgio e nei Paesi Bassi. Anche all’Università di Leiden, gli studenti non vedevano l’ora di rivolgergli domande su come sviluppa i suoi personaggi, sulle tecniche narrative che utilizza e di leggere insieme un brano tratto dalle sue opere.

Auguriamo a Davide il meglio per le sue prossime tournée e aspettiamo con entusiasmo tutti i bellissimi libri che pubblicherà in futuro!

Pelckmans Uitgevers
Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities
Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society
Italiaans in Leiden - Italian in LeidenLeiden Istituto Italiano di Cultura Amsterdam