Cultural institute shows Italian treasures

Masterpieces from Florence’s Uffizi Museum set to be exhibited in Seoul in 2013

This is the fourth of the series introducing cultural centers of different countries in Seoul. ― Ed.


Italian cuisine needs no further explanation. Like in many other parts of the world, pastas and pizzas are adored here. So is the southern European country’s fashion industry. Many of the luxury brands thriving in South Korea are from Italy.

Lucio Izzo, director of the Italian Cultural Institute Seoul who has lived and worked here for about five years, said that the center’s job is to promote less familiar sides of Italy, other than the already-famous cuisine, fashion and design sectors.

“Our task is to further promote all possible perspectives of Italian culture. We are very committed to promoting things that Koreans are not very much aware of. For example, Koreans know less about Italian contemporary music like jazz, or Italian films, while everyone knows about Italian opera,” he said.

The Italian Cultural Institute Seoul located in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, has been holding at least three to four jazz concerts every year. This year, a jazz concert “Quartetto Terra” will be held next month at the live jazz club Once in a Blue Moon in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, and Italian jazz musicians will participate in the Jarasum International Jazz Festival in October.

“Jazz is mainly based on improvisation. Improvisation is also something related to a form of music that you do not learn, but something that has to be in your culture. Because Italians, like Koreans, have natural talent for music, improvisation comes natural to them,” said Izzo. 

The center lined up many cinema-related programs this year as well, including the huge retrospective event of the legendary Italian film director/writer Michelangelo Antonioni at Seoul Art Cinema in June; the Month for Italian Cinema in September at Korea Foundation Cultural Center; and also the screenings of Italian films in the 17th Busan International Film Festival in October.

On the theater front, Italian Theater Company Instabili Vaganti will perform during the 9th Busan International Performing Arts Festival in May, and acclaimed writer Dacia Maraini’s play “Letter d’amore-Love Letters” will be showcased during the Seoul Performing Arts Festival in October. Also in October, Koreans will get a chance to see a variety of Italian contemporary dances during the Seoul International Dance Festival.

An ambitious project the center is working to hold as early as 2013 or in 2014, is a huge art exhibition featuring Italian Renaissance artwork from four renowned museums in Italy, including the Uffizi Museum in Florence. Not less than 100 works including masterpieces by Raffaello and Michelangelo will be showcased at the monumental exhibition at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-dong, central Seoul.

“Uffizi Museum lends its artworks to overseas museums very rarely and not in large numbers,” said Izzo.

Teaching Italian, of course, is another important task the center is in charge of. It installed six language classes in many universities throughout the nation including Sogang University in Seoul and Pusan National University in Busan, and is planning to open one in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, this spring.

The center contains about 9,000 Italian books and 400 DVDs which visitors can freely browse and rent. Students can also take official language proficiency tests there, without having to go all the way to Italy.

The scholarship program provided by the center to Korean students who hope to study in Italy is notable. About 25 to 30 scholarships are offered each year to students who enroll in the center’s language classes.

For more information about the center, visit www.iicseoul.esteri.it.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldcorp.com)