Guest lecture gives DU Italian program a glimpse of Rome through eyes of the media

Dr. Raffaello Palumbo Mosca answers questions following his Lecture. [photo by Lincoln Roch]

Dozens of students and professors flooded into an auditorium at the University of Denver on Wednesday, May 4 to hear guest lecturer Dr. Raffaello Palumbo Mosca talk about media depictions of modern Rome.

Mosca holds a Ph.D. in romance languages from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from the University of Turin. He now works as a professor at the University of Turin in Italy.

The lecture was based on his 2nd book published in 2017 “Roma di carta. Guida letteraria della città.” The book looks at famous literary and cinematic depictions of the city in the 20th and 21st centuries. The book was written for the general public which pushed Mosca out of his academic comfort zone.

“It’s the least academic of my books, it’s a personal experience of my discovery of Rome through my favorite authors,” said Mosca.

Mosca gave the talk to students, alumni, and professors of the Italian program at DU. He was initially scheduled to speak in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the event until this year. Several professors expressed their excitement for the talk after two years of anticipation. 

The first book looked at in the lecture was Gabriele D’Annunzio’s 1889 book “Il Piacere” (The Pleasure). The book is a love story about an author who’s in love with a married woman named Elena and takes place in Rome. Mosca saw the City used as its own character in the book to convey the themes of love.

“Elena and Rome exist in symbiosis and one is not where the other is also. Both the woman and the developed city in other words are love in their purest form,” said Mosca

Mosca believed that D’annunzio’s depiction of Rome throughout the book, comparing it to the love interest, showed the author’s true love for the city.

“Rome is in short for Annunzio is the only place in which the stylized yet sensual image of Elena, the Woman, created only to exist as Love, is possible,” said Mosca.

Mosca analyzed a few other pieces of literature including the movie “La Grande Belleza” (The Great Beauty). He used two scenes from the movie to show that the people who live in the city can often forget the beauty that surrounds them 

“The beauty of Rome can only be shown when all parties there are appreciative,” said Mosca.

Concluding his lecture he pointed out that none of the writers he mentions in his book were born in Rome. Just like him, they were all at one point visitors. They also all held a love for Rome they found along the way.

“Every modern writer who has attempted a description of a city, has had to first remove it, but not erase it completely, to discover its history and meaning,” said Mosca.

Some students in the audience looked confused throughout the entire lecture which required significant knowledge of Italian literature and history. One student fell asleep towards the end. Professors and alumni were engaged throughout the entire lecture and asked ten minutes of questions after it concluded. 

Mosca thanked the University of Denver for the opportunity to share his knowledge and hopes to return in the future.