As part of the Days of Italian Culture at Lviv Polytechnic, an event with the participation of the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan and the Institute of Italian Culture in Kyiv was held at the University.
The event took place in the Assembly Hall of the main building. The organizers were the Leonardo da Vinci Center for Italian-Ukrainian Cooperation (head Orest Vasylko) and the Center for International Education (head Nataliia Hots). Great help in organizing the event was provided by the Institute of Italian Culture in Kyiv (director Carlo Colonnella), who also took part in the event.
Prof. Nataliya Chukhray, Vice-Rector for Education and International Relations, made a welcome speech on behalf of Lviv Polytechnic. She expressed her gratitude to the Italian partners for the cooperation with the Institute of Photography in Milan for over the past two years, recalling the joint competition-project for the best photos of Polytechnic students with the participation of the University Center for Italian-Ukrainian Cooperation and directly its head Vasyl Orest, who, by the way, was an interpreter at this meeting. Thanks to partners from Italy, Nadiia Samotii, the winner of the competition, the second-year student of Lviv Polytechnic, and Orest Vasylko, had the opportunity to spend a week in Milan at the expense of the Italian side, having visited the Institute of Photography.
Nataliya Chukhray also expressed confidence in further cooperation.
Carlo Colonnella, gave a welcome speech on behalf of the Institute of Italian Culture in Kyiv and the Embassy of Italy in Ukraine. He expressed satisfaction and gratitude for the organization of such an event and the cooperation between our countries. By the way, this event was held under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Ukraine and the Institute of Italian Culture in Kyiv.
Maurizio Cavalli, Director of the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan, also gave a welcome speech, expressing his gratitude for the work done. He also expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between the two educational institutions.
During this event, the Institute of Photography organized an online exhibition called «Tirittico. Italian writers under the lens». The exhibition told the story of three Italian literary masterpieces through photography: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, and The Cloven Viscount by Italo Calvino. The photographs were taken over many years by graduates of a two-year professional course on literature and photography, led by Roberto Mutti, curator, art historian and member of the scientific committee of the Milan Photofestival. Roberto Mutti also made a video presentation of the project for the students and faculty of Lviv Polytechnic present in the hall, mainly from the Institute of Architecture and Design and the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Institute of Jurisprudence, Psychology and Innovative Education.
Afterwards Carlo Colonella spoke about these three famous works – masterpieces of Italian literature – and their authors.
At the end, there was an official opening of the exhibition Young Talented Photographers of Anastasiia Zhdanova, the student from Ukraine, which took place online. This was a series of shots of places in Ukraine, destroyed by the war. The exhibition was very impressive, because Anastasia and her family experienced those events during the bombings by the Russian invaders.
Professor Nataliya Hots, Director of the Lviv Polytechnic Center for International Education, delivered the final speech.
