Cultural Office 

Taken into account the absence of an Italian Institute of Culture in Latvia, a Cultural Office works within the Italian Embassy, in cooperation with the Italian language teachers at the University of Latvia.  
The Cultural Office’s goal is obviously to support Italian culture, paying particular attention to the promotion of the study of Italian language, which is probably the most effective way to approach the Italian culture.  
The Cultural Office works on the implementation of the provisions contained in the Cultural Agreement between Latvia and Italy. Scientific cooperation and youth exchange projects promote the cooperation between universities through cultural events, organized meetings, exhibitions of Italian artists and other cultural events. Moreover, students are encouraged to translate the works of Italian authors, further strengthening the relations between Italian culture and Latvian milieu.  
Italian language and culture courses, co-financed by the Italian Government, are also available at Riga Secondary School n.2 (Kr. Valdemara Street n.1, more info: Tel. +371 / 73 23 820  

Cultural Events
The Embassy’s activities in the cultural sector are oriented to the organization and/or the financial support of cultural initiatives (exhibitions, conferences, cinema festivals and concerts) that rely on funds provided by the Agreement for cultural, scientific and technological cooperation between Italy and Latvia.

Here is a list of some recent initiatives promoted by the Italian Embassy:

October 2005: during the Week of the Italian Language and Culture, exhibition about the work of the Italian photographer Mario Nunes Vais (Florence, 1856-1932), who described the society of that period in all its nuances, becoming a friend and favourite photo artist of Gabriele D'Annunzio. Among the portrayed subjects, met during his career, there were also the Futurists, Benedetto Croce, Giovanni Giolitti, Eugenio Montale, Giacomo Puccini, Vittorio De Sica and many other famous personalities. The photographer portrayed the Italian society of the 1920's and 30's, including scenes of everyday life that perfectly describe the conditions at that time. The exhibition represented a good occasion to let the local audience know a not so well-know period of Italian history, in the beautiful setting of the BlackHeads House (where, in 2004, an exhibition took place, dedicated to the abstract art movement "Forma 1", visited by President Ciampi during his official visit in Riga on April).

March, 2006: on March 15th the exhibition "I nuovi mecenati" was opened, sponsored by ABI (Associazione Bancaria Italiana) and organized by the Embassy in cooperation with the Latvian Academic Library. There were almost 450 art books coming from the collection of many Italian banks and 29 anastatic editions of antique volumes and codes. The exhibition, which witnesses the important historical relationships between patrons and artists over the centuries, has taken place in many European capitals and not only. 

    On March 7th, in the beautiful frame of the Museum of Riga and Navigation History, the Concert of the Italian Ensemble Zefiro took place, within the 6th edition of the Festival dedicated to Bach, organized in Riga by Mrs. Aina Kalnciema, President of the Music Centre "Bach". The audience truly appreciated the concert, which was co-sponsored. The Ensemble Zefiro, led by Maestro Alfredo Bernardini, proposed a varied repertoire, touching not only upon classic composers of the Baroque style but also on less-known artists.

April 2006:  Screening of the films: “Il Miracolo” by Edoardo Winspeare and “L’uomo in più” by Paolo Sorrentino, within the festival “And the world became film”, promoted by the Italian Embassy. This non-competitive event has taken place every year since 1999. During the first edition the programme included films like “Francesco, giullare di Dio” by Rossellini, “Il Vangelo secondo Matteo” by Pasolini and “La strada” by Fellini.  

June 2006:  Concert “Colours of music”, by duo De Bonfils (violin) – Guerriero (piano). The concert took place at Riga’s Latvian Society. The programme included pieces by Vivaldi, Donizetti, Puccini and Nino Rota (lyrics from Fellini’s movies).  

September 2006:  Contribution to Film Festival “Baltic Pearl”, which has been organised in close collaboration with this Embassy for several years. A retrospective was devoted to Pasolini; films by Fellini and Antonioni were also featured in the programme. The festival is composed of several sections. Since 1995 the event has been realised yearly, involving guests such as Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Gina Lollobrigida and Catherine Deneuve. The most relevant sections are dedicated to movies from international festivals as Cannes, Venice and Berlin. Every edition presents also a retrospective of Russian cinema and two more sections on foreign films.

 

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