Italian Ambassador visits Cardiff University

Last Friday, the Italian department was delighted to welcome the Italian Ambassador to Cardiff University, cementing the close collaboration between the Italian Embassy and the School of Modern Languages.

During his visit, Ambassador Terreciano enjoyed a light lunch with Cardiff students learning Italian as part of their degree, Italian students studying at Cardiff as part of the Erasmus exchange programme, staff from the School of Modern Languages and the Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Engagement, Hywel Thomas.

In a short speech to students around the table, he acknowledged the importance of young people in developing a true understanding of modern Italy in the UK and expressed his hopes for a mutually-beneficial future relationship between the two countries, as part of a strong and prosperous Europe.

The Ambassador also expressed his admiration at the level of fluency of the Cardiff students studying Italian, and his pleasure at the way the Italian students had integrated into the Cardiff community.

Cardiff is one of a select few universities in the UK to benefit from the prestigious ‘lettore di ruolo’ programme, whereby the Embassy provides an Italian tutor to the Italian department to support language learning and cultural studies. This year Franca Viglione took up the 5- year post of lettore di ruolo at Cardiff, replacing Anna Fochi, who has returned to Italy at the end of her 5 year secondment to the UK.