As part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome (1957-2017) around the world, the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute of Pretoria presented the travelling exhibition “Ever closer union – The Legacy of the Treaties of Rome for Today’s Europe” from 24 to 26 March. The exhibition was set up in the “Daniele Nanna” room of the Dante Alighieri Society in Johannesburg and the event programme was as follows:
- On Friday, 24 March, at 6:30 p.m., the exhibition was inaugurated with a speech by Italian Ambassador Pietro Giovanni Donnici. There followed a presentation by Prof. Luigi Robuschi of the Italian Studies Department of Witwatersrand University, who set the exhibition in its context with a historical overview of the birth of the European Union. The guests of honour included the Consul General of the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg, Marco Petacco, First Counsellor of the Italian Embassy in Pretoria, Mirta Gentile, the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria, Anna Amendolagine, the Vice President of the Dante Alighieri Society in Johannesburg, Prof. Alida Poeti, the President of Co.Mi.Tes Cavaliere, Salvatore Cristaudi, and the President of CGIE, Grand Officer Riccardo Pinna. Refreshments were served at the end.
- On 25th March, at 9:00 a.m., the exhibition was visited by around 50 young people of various ages currently enrolled in the annual Italian language classes run by the Dante Alighieri Society in Johannesburg and the Springs High school for girls, accompanied by their parents and teachers. Prof. Alida Poeti acted as an expert guide to the exhibition for the girls from Springs High, who visited between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., showing them a PowerPoint presentation on the European Union and testing their knowledge of the Treaties of Rome with a short quiz.
- On 26th March, at 12:30 p.m., the members of the Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society in Johannesburg enjoyed a 4-course Sunday lunch in honour of the exhibition on the Treaties of Rome, to which their students and members were invited. The many participants very much enjoyed the comprehensive explanations provided on the illustration panels.
