Other activities

Lecturer in charge: Prof. Guido Borghi

Second semester. Starts Friday 10 April 2026, 5.00–7.00 pm, and on subsequent Fridays, 4.00–7.00 pm, until 29 May (seven sessions totalling 20 hours).

Prerequisites: a degree in Linguistics; passive knowledge of Ancient Greek, Latin and English or German.

Place names are a kind of short text, usually highly informative from a historical and topographical point of view, but often – especially if ancient – impossible to interpret using the usual skills in modern or classical languages. The course on Prehistoric and Protohistoric Toponymy aims to equip students with the linguistic techniques of reconstructive analysis through which, as a rule, every place name becomes transparent regarding its original form and etymology (prehistoric or protohistoric, as the case may be), even in the not uncommon instance where the relevant literature is scarce, obsolete or even non-existent.

The workshop focuses on the origin of the main European ethnonyms (names of peoples) and hydronyms (names of rivers), an overview of ancient Celtic onomastics, etymological analyses of Palaeoligurian names (including Genoa) contained in the Polcevera Tablet (Sĕntĕntĭă Mĭnūcĭōrŭm, CIL V, 7749 = I2, 584) dating from 117 BC or from more recent sources (covering both maritime and Po Valley regions), onomastic evidence regarding the languages of the Veneti, the Raeti and the Similaun Man, a case of an Etruscan/Italic limnonym (Trasimeno), the interpretation of Rōmă and Bȳzắntĭŏn, the prehistoric toponymic stratification of Sardinia, Sicily, Apulia and Dalmatia; traces of a pre-Phoenician Indo-European language in Carthage; the question of Plato’s Atlantis; certain hydronyms and ethnonyms in Herodotus’ Scythian lógos ; the implications of the Homeric attestation of the Phrygians, the question of the astionym Troy and its presumed Hittite equivalents, Minoan place-names attested in Linear A and in Egyptian, the Greek and Hebraic names for Egypt, the problem of the pre-Israelite populations of Palestine.

taught by: Prof. Rosa Ronzitti

The Sanskrit Language Workshop, launched by the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Humanities for the 2025/26 academic year and recognised by the Master’s Degree Programme in Philology and Classical Studies, has the following programme:

Through the presentation of texts and images, the workshop aims to provide the fundamental tools for understanding ancient Indian languages (Vedic and Sanskrit) and their script (Devanagari). A particular aim is to show students how Greek, Latin, the Germanic languages and the Slavic languages are related to the linguistic varieties of northern India. Students will learn the Devanagari script (देवनागरी), which forms the basis of all modern scripts in the Indian Union, as well as in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The workshop will take place in the second semester.

Master’s degree students wishing to receive 3 CFU credits for the workshop must supplement the activities with the following bibliography:

Saverio Sani, Sanskrit Grammar, Serra, Pisa – Rome 2012 (selected topics)

Giuliano Boccali, Stefano Piano, Saverio Sani, The Literatures of India, UTET, Turin 2004, Chapter Two (Epic Poetry).

The final assessment consists of transcribing a text into the Devanagari script. Master’s students will also answer a number of questions on Indian epic poetry.

Lecturer in charge: Federico Santangelo

First semester 2026/2027: six sessions (12 hours); participation in the international conference “Pompey’s New Order 2. After Pompey: the imperium Romanum between the provincial system and ‘client’ kingdoms; individual work (preparation for face-to-face sessions and final essay).

Timetable and lecture theatres

The seminar will take place in Lecture Theatre 4, Via Balbi 2, according to the following schedule:

Wednesday 4 November, 9–11

Thursday 5 November, 11–13

Friday 6 November, 17–19

Wednesday 9 December, 9–11

Thursday 10 December, 11.00–13.00

Friday 11 December, 11.00–13.00

Prerequisites: a pass in Roman History (essential); passive knowledge of Ancient Greek, Latin and English or French (recommended).

This seminar is devoted to the discussion of certain aspects of Roman imperialism: a theme that is largely synonymous with Roman history as a whole, and whose implications extend far beyond the political and military spheres. In a series of introductory sessions, following a preliminary reflection on the concept of ‘imperialism’, we will discuss a number of ancient sources (in translation, whilst keeping the original texts in mind) and some key contributions to the modern historiographical debate. 

Attention will then turn to a specific case which, in various respects, marks a turning point in the history of Roman imperialism: Pompey the Great’s conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean. Students are expected to participate in the conference Pompey’s New Order 2, scheduled to take place in Genoa in December 2026. Following a final meeting, students will submit a short essay (approx. 12,000 characters, including spaces) on a topic to be agreed with the lecturer, which will form the basis of a brief individual interview.

Lecturer in charge: Prof. Guido Borghi

Second semester

Learning objectives: Since there is neither a Western Pole nor an Eastern Pole, the only – relative – ‘West’ that can reasonably be recognised on the globe is the western half (or part) of the Euro-Afro-Asian supercontinent, characterised, from an anthropological perspective, by the prevalence of languages belonging to the (hypothetical) Nostratic superfamily or, more narrowly and precisely, to the Indo-European family. The workshop dedicated to the question of the Indo-European protopatria presents the data and methods of linguistic reconstruction techniques with which one can form, within the limits of current knowledge, form a first-hand judgement on the origin and prehistoric development (both territorial and linguistic) of the human community that settled in Western Eurasia.

Prerequisites: One Linguistics examination; passive knowledge of Ancient Greek, Latin and English or German.

Syllabus / content: Comparison of Indo-European languages and prehistoric reconstruction; names formed from typical Indo-European lexicon; diachronic transition from prehistoric Indo-European to (proto)historical Indo-European (proto)languages; the earliest attested examples of historical Indo-European languages; the oldest attested etymologically Indo-European place-names; the oldest Indo-European river names and the hydronymy of Indo-Europe; names whose diachronic phonology implies their coining during the prehistoric Indo-European phase: prehistoric Indo-European poronyms (names of fords); other place-names coined during the prehistoric Indo-European phase; the Theory of Lexical Self-Dating; palaeogeographic toponymic self-dating; toponyms with a prehistoric iconym as the most plausible etymology; adiagnostic toponyms compatible with a prehistoric chronology; Indo-European toponymy in the Levant and the Indo-European character of Anatolia; an Indo-Europeanist re-examination of ‘pre-Indo-European’ toponymy and lexicon (‘Mediterranean substrate’); the origin of ancient Celtic toponymy; isonymies within Indo-Europe; Europe and Aria as Ario-Europe; Glottocronology, Palaeogeo-toponymy, Ethno-geneo-glottology; Indo-European names for Neanderthal man (?); geological coincidences; some dates in (Indo-)European prehistory. 

Students may apply for recognition of 1 cfu for attending an advanced lectureship in translation from classical languages.

Information here: https://corsi.unige.it/corsi/11866/studenti-lettorati

The workshop, organised as part of the Ulysseus project, will take place on 23 and 24 September at the Società Ligure di Storia Patria in the Palazzo Ducale. In order to earn 1 credit, interested students must submit a report agreed upon with Prof. Santorelli.

Syllabus

Workshop: ‘Unpublished Fragments of Homeric Exegesis’ 3 June 2026, Lecture Theatre 6 (Via Balbi 2), organised by Professors Pagani and Perrone, with the participation of Professors Fausto Montana (University of Pavia) and Franco Montanari. Papyrus fragments will be discussed in preparation for their first edition.

In order to obtain 1 credit, students will also be required to submit a report.

Poster

Conference: “Cultures of Celebrity from Antiquity to the Present Day: Methodological Approaches and Case Studies” 20–21 May 2026 (20 May: Villa Durazzo, Piazzale San Giacomo 3, Santa Margherita Ligure; 21 May: Main Lecture Theatre of the School of Humanities), organised by the PhD Programme in Classical and Modern Literature and Cultures; programme coordinators: Professors Gazzano and Perrone.

In order to earn 1 credit, students will also be required to submit a report.

Poster and programme 

Lecture by A. Álvarez Melero (University of Seville) “The geographical mobility of women in Greco-Roman antiquity, in the light of some Egyptian examples”, 6 May 2026 at 3.00 pm, Lecture Theatre 4 (Via Balbi 2), supervising lecturers: Profs. Bonandini and Santorelli.

Poster

Students will also be required to submit a report in order to obtain 1 credit.

Thursday 26 March 2026  (Lecture Theatre 4, Balbi 2):

- 2.30 pm–4.00 pm (Discussant: Valentina Pestarino)
               Borja Diaz Ariño (University of Zaragoza): 
The Novallas bronze and Celtiberian epigraphy in the Latin alphabet.

– 4.30 pm–6.00 pm (Discussant: Giordana Amabili)
               Salvador Ordóñez Agulla – Sergio Garcia-Dils (University of Seville): 
Colonia Augusta Firma – Astigi: a city in Baetica and its epigraphy

In order to be awarded 1 credit, students must also submit a report agreed with Prof. Elena Cimarosti

25 February 2026, 3pm, Balbi 2 - Classroom 4
DOMENICO LOSAPPIO (University of Genoa) L' Ars dictaminis: alcune questioni preliminari
19 March 2026, 3pm, Balbi 2 - Classroom 7
MARCO PETOLETTI (University of the Sacred Heart, Milan) Real letters and fictitious letters in a collection
thirteenth-century Lombardy of exempla epistolarum
25 March 2026, 11am, Balbi 2 - Classroom 2
ELISABETTA BARTOLI (University of Siena) Rhetoric declined in the feminine as they give it back to us
letters. A few case studies
8 April 2026, 3pm, Balbi 2 - Classroom 4
BENOÎT GRÉVIN (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Recherches Historiques,
Paris) Thinking about the theory and practice of the'ars dictaminis in thirteenth-century Italy (1220-1330)
15 April 2026, 3pm, Balbi 2 - Classroom 4
ANTONIO MONTEFUSCO (Université de Lorraine) Dante's letters as an editorial case: a history
editions
April 22, 2026, 3pm, Balbi 2 - Classroom 6
DONATELLA MANZOLI (Sapienza, University of Rome) Women's Letters from Merovingian Gaul
PAOLO GARBINI (Sapienza, University of Rome) Why read the Boncompagnus
April 24, 2026, 3pm, Balbi 2 - Classroom 5
FULVIO DELLE DONNE (University of Naples "Federico II") Papal and Imperial Epistolary Collections of the
XIII century in the perspective of the dictaminal turn: literary texts or diplomatic sources?

1 CFU will be awarded to those who attend the lectures (signatures will be taken at the beginning and at the end of each lecture) and deliver a short written report (max 5000 characters including spaces) in which one of the issues raised during the seminar must be illustrated. The report will be handed over to Professors Losappio and Fossati for correction. In the event of a positive assessment, a certificate will be issued to be handed over to the other credits committee of the Arts degree course.

Training course on “The Metaphor: Between Rhetorical Doctrine and Fantastic Power”, nine sessions organised by Prof. Moretti between January and May 2026.

For further information https://celd.unige.it/corso_formazione.

In order to obtain 1 credit, students will also be required to submit a report.

On 15 and 16 December 2025, the conference Pre-Humanism and the Theatre: Texts, Tradition, Reception will be held in the Aula Cabella at Balbi 5.

Poster with programme.

In order to earn 1 credit, students will also be required to submit a short written report (max. 5,000 characters, to be sent to the following addresses clara.fossati@unige.it and domenico.losappio@unige.it) 

-October 1, 10.30-12 am "The Sisters of Alcesti", presentation of the volume The Name and the Genre. The satirical drama and the 'fourth drama' in Greek theatre, Venice 2024, by Laura Carrara (UniPi) in dialogue with Pia Carolla and Serena Perrone, Aula magna, Balbi 2 and on Zoom

- 13 November 13:15-14:45 Linda Aiazzi (UniPi), "Turning prose into poetry: the carme on Panteleemone, a medical saint", Lecture Hall 3, Balbi 2, and on Zoom

- 1 December 2025 15.30-17.00 "When History Becomes Poetry: Konstantinos Kavafis and Hellenism", discussed by Francesca Gazzano, Professor of Greek History (DIRAAS), and Amalia Kolonia, Professor of Neogreek (DIRAAS). Edited by Pia Carolla, lecture room 3 - via Balbi 2 and on Zoom UniGe.

For the award of 1 cfu Other activities students must have attended at least two of the three meetings and presented a paper on one of them of their choice to Prof. Carolla.

Programme available here: https://laughtracks.prin.unige.it/node/655

For the purposes of recognising 1 cfu, students must not only attend the conference proceedings but also present a paper agreed with Prof. Serena Perrone

the PROJECT
The text annotation carried out by PARSEME is part of the UniDive Cost Action (Working
group 1), a European project dedicated to the recording of multi-word expressions in
modern languages and some ancient languages (Greek, Latin, Ancient Egyptian), which have recently been
implemented. The data thus produced are published regularly and are open-access.
The launch of the first database in ancient Greek is planned by the end of 2024.

FORMATION AND GROUP MEETINGS (15 HOURS)
Participation in the project includes an initial training phase. A course in English is
available free of charge on the Udemy platform and the Italian contact person for the project will make herself
available for any clarification.
In addition, the annotation guidelines, are available in free access: they contain
diagrams of decision-making with exclusive answers (yes/no), which facilitate the choice of the correct classification
of the syntagma or, possibly, its exclusion from the category of multi-word expressions.
The Ancient Greek working group schedules a series of monthly meetings, on the zoom platform,
for the exchange of ideas and the discussion of possible problems. Finally, the annotators are given access
to a shared document, in which they can ask questions about the annotation of specific expressions.

ANNOUNCATION (60 HOURS)
On completion of the training, the annotators will be given the texts and a username to
access the FLAT (Folia Linguistica Annotation Tool) platform.
They will have to read the text on the platform, selecting syntactic structures belonging
to the mentioned categories. In order to annotate a syntagma, once its correct classification has been established
following the procedures learnt during the training, simply click on the lexemes that
constitute it and enter the correct markup in the interface that will open automatically.
The annotation will first allow students to read in full some texts of classical prose
actics. To date, texts by Lysias, Xenophon (Anabasis) and Plato (Republic) have been annotated,
but, for the next publication, the corpus will be extended to other Attic orators, Thucydides and Aristotle.
Participation in the project will also bring the students into contact with the rudiments of the
mechanisms underlying the creation of large digital databases for comparative linguistic study, in
a system that, while taking into account the distinctiveness of the classical languages, places them in direct dialogue
with many modern languages (the project includes more than 30 language varieties, to which
are added 10 dialects), highlighting elements of continuity and discontinuity.
From a more strictly philological point of view, such an annotated corpus facilitates the search for
parallel steps and the study of certain syntactic structures. In the long term, it also allows
the updating of dictionaries and grammar manuals.
The annotation work can be done entirely remotely, from any device (PC,
laptop, tablet) and within a flexible time frame (up to 6 months). The length of the texts will be determined
bearing in mind the reading of a text portion of approx. 650 words per hour. 60 hours correspond therefore to the annotation of texts of about 40000 words (a book of Plato's Republic has, for example,
about 9000 words).

The international Language leader of the project is Dr. Victoria Beatrix Fendel, University of Oxford (victoria.fendel@classics.ox.ac.uk)

Students interested in participating can contact the Italian contact person: Dr. Elena Squeri, Sapienza - University of Rome (elena.squeri@uniroma1.it)