A conference organised by the Italian Embassy at the Holy See and the Vatican Secretariat for Communications for Friday, 15 December 2017 is called “Interference”.
The conference takes its cue from the commemorations for Guglielmo Marconi 80 years after his death on 20 July 1937. It will look at the relevance of radio in today’s digital world and the strong links between Marconi and Vatican communications. Prominent academics and experts will retrace the development of the radio as an instrument of communication which is still used today. Opening remarks will be by S.E. Pietro Sebastiani, Italian Ambassador with the Holy See and Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications.
Speakers will also include Professor Enrico Menduni of the Roma Tre University and Professor Raffaella Perin of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan (author of the book “La radio del papa: propaganda e diplomazia nella seconda guerra mondiale” (The Pope’s radio: propaganda and diplomacy in WW2). Presentations will also be made by Gerardo Greco, manager of Giornale Radio Rai and Radio1, Pierluigi Diaco, journalist and host on RTL 102,5, Paolo Salvaderi, CEO of RadioMediaset and Fabio Volo, host on Radio DeeJay. Riccardo Cucchi from “Tutto il calcio” will give the final remarks. Laura De Luca, a journalist with Radio Vaticana Italia will preside.
The conference will also make a brief excursion through the work of Marconi at the Vatican, featuring priceless photos and artefacts such as the famous microphone built by Marconi and used by Pope Pius XI on 12 February 1931 for the first radio message to the world by Vatican Radio upon its opening.
