“India: the ancient roots of the future” is the title of the initiative being planned at the Trevi Centre by the Culture Bureau of the Department for Italian Culture.

The “On the Way to New Cultures” project, under the auspices of the Culture Bureau of the Department for Italian Culture of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Alto Adige, will resume in the autumn with “India: the ancient roots of the future”.

From 20 October to 17 November, the Trevi Centre in Via Cappuccini 28 will host a programme of themed meetings with academics and experts, a festival dedicated to one of the most famous film industries in the world and an evening devoted to the history of Indian dance. Entrance is free.

The ongoing project “On the Way to New Cultures” was started up in July 2001 with the aim of bringing cultures from far away – still little-known to us but with an ever-greater presence in our countries, and with roots that very often intertwine with our own - to the attention of a wider audience. The project also intends to take a look at new cultures that are currently in the process of taking shape, arising from mutual interactions.

At the introductory evening (on 20 October) devoted to India, there will also be a presentation of the book “Sguardo a Oriente.  Asia centrale, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turchia” (Looking east. Central Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey), published by Marsilio, regarding the 2005 events which had the common title “Transiti tra spazio e tempo” (Crossing between space and time) and illustrated many different aspects of this area.

India, the new subject of “On the Way to New Cultures” is a country with great geographical and intellectual fascination.
Ever since the Bronze Age, the Indian sub-continent has been transforming the cultures that established themselves there, and has been one of the sources of the great cultural and religious systems of Eurasia. If we look beneath the surface of the images that India projects into our modern-day consciousness, we discover extremely varied worlds - deep but by no means exotic.

After independence, this part of the world underwent some quite dramatic transformations that have had repercussions in many areas of life. Today, it appears as a melting pot in which cultural, religious, political and economic traditions come together to determine its prospects for the third millennium. The lectures in the programme will deal with the main aspects mentioned above, which make up a kaleidoscope of traditions and contradictions.

The scientific consultant of “On the Way to New Cultures” and author of the programme is Mario Nordio of the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, while the section devoted to the Indian cinema, its contents and aesthetic language is supervised by Cecilia Cossio, one of the most important European experts on Indian cinema; operational coordination of the cinema festival is by Filmwork, Trento.
Of the many high-level lecturers who will be contributing, one of the most noteworthy is Lucio Caracciolo, Director of the Limes review and leader-writer of “La Repubblica”.

The “On the Way to New Cultures” project has, right from its beginnings, received the patronage of the European Commission.

For information: Culture Bureau +39 0471 411230, Dr. Laura Kob +39 0471 411236 e-mail: laura.kob@provincia.bz.it; versonuoveculture@provincia.bz.it