Five appointments scheduled on Saturday mornings at the Donizetti Theater from Jan. 18 to March 1, 2025: after the success of the past Season, “Lezioni di Storia,” a series of meetings conceived by Editori Laterza and produced in co-production with the Donizetti Theater Foundation of Bergamo and with the support of Cassa Lombarda, returns. The new edition is entitled Rebels: an unprecedented program that focuses on the thought and action of some great figures of the past and is intended as an exhortation to cultivate hope for change that is always possible. Opening the cycle will be theologian Vito Mancuso on January 18 with the lecture Jesus: the Breaking of the Law. On Feb. 1 it will be the turn of Francesca Cenerini who will talk about the figure of Cleopatra and the influence Egyptian culture had on the taste of the Romans. The following Saturday, Feb. 8, Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli will take the Donizetti stage to recount the historical figure, charisma and complex personality of Joan of Arc. On Feb. 15, Luigi Mascilli Migliorini will offer a profound reflection on Robespierre, at the heart of the French Revolution, while to close, on March 1 Loris Zanatta will present Fidel Castro and his revolutionary “political religion.” All meetings will begin at 11 a.m. and will be introduced by journalist Max Pavan, Bergamo TV news director. Tickets 10 euros, with a reduction for schools to 8 euros. Sales open from Oct. 23. At the end of all meetings, the authors will stop with the audience for a firmacopie at the Ridotto Gavazzeni of the theater.
Sergio Gandi, Councillor for Culture of the City of Bergamo, offers the Administration’s greetings, emphasizing the value of the initiative: “In a City as rich in history as Bergamo, the “Lessons” promoted by the Donizetti Theater Foundation are an added value, an original way of reliving the past through the eyes of the present. The confirmation of interest by Laterza, one of the most significant publishers on the national territory and of greater authority in the field of educational publishing, is a confirmation of the positioning of our City. And of the Donizetti Theater, which broadens its function and mission, becoming a 360-degree space of culture: it opens its doors not only to entertainment but also to different forms of community involvement, such as historical popularization, ready to welcome a curious audience always looking for new insights.” Giorgio Berta, president of the Donizetti Theater Foundation, confirms how “this initiative is a broadening of our scope, complementing the many proposals in the spectacular sphere, from prose to opera to jazz. The “History Lessons” therefore fully correspond to that diversification of the offer that allows us to involve ever new audiences, with a focus on young people.”
Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Foundation, comments, “We are pleased to reintroduce ‘History Lessons,’ on the back of the great success of the first edition: this initiative sees us in collaboration with a prestigious publishing house such as Laterza and is a valuable opportunity to open the Donizetti Theater to everyone on an unusual day such as Saturday morning. The audience of all ages, including many students, who packed the stalls, boxes and galleries last Season has induced us to continue on the path we have set. The Donizetti is therefore increasingly a place for meeting, for in-depth study, not just a place for spectacular enjoyment: it is the City’s house of culture.” Giuseppe Laterza, President of Gius. Laterza & Figli S.p.a., recounts, “In almost twenty years, the “Lessons in History” designed by Laterza have reached hundreds of thousands of spectators in about thirty cities, in Italy and abroad: since last year Bergamo has been added, thanks to the sensitivity of the General Director of the Donizetti Theater Foundation Massimo Boffelli. “Lessons in History” is the manifestation of a thirst for knowledge intercepted by a growing sensitivity of cultural operators in using in a plural way the splendid theaters of our cities and of a pleasure of people in finding themselves to share an experience of knowledge of history in a mode of popularization far from any form of trivialization. An original blend of research, learning, beauty and a sense of community.” Going into the specifics of the new edition of “Lezioni di Storia,” Lia Di Trapani of Editori Laterza specifies, “In current language the word ‘rebel’ can have a negative or positive meaning: rebels are the insurgents, the subversives, those who question and endanger the established order. But they are also the diehards, the courageous, the dissidents who assert their ideas. To the men and women who succeeded in radically changing the course of events, to those who tried and to those who imagined different paths from those beaten up to that moment is dedicated this new cycle of “Lessons in History” designed for the Donizetti Theater. From Jesus to Fidel Castro via Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and Robespierre, we will meet some of the figures who have determined important ruptures in history and who, by questioning customs, mentalities and rules, have opened unprecedented horizons.” “Cassa Lombarda for the second year is presenting partner of the History Lessons. After the success of the first edition, we are really excited to support again for 2025 the project that Editori Laterza brings to the Donizetti Theater,” says CEO
Paul Vistalli, “We chose to tie ourselves to this format, which for years has been promoting the dissemination of history and culture to the general public in an exciting way, to concretely demonstrate the commitment and closeness of our Private Banking institution to the city of Bergamo and its citizens, with special attention to the youngest. But also because history fascinates us as the sum of everyone’s individual stories, thus also of our client families, whom we have been following and guiding for over a hundred years with care and attention in the management of their assets.”
