Sonia Calvari, one of the best-known researchers and experts on volcanoes and earthquake forecast in Italy, came to Debrecen through a cooperation project with Associazione Italiana Cultura Sport (AICS), an Italian NGO recognised by the Italian government for its work in the field of Italian culture and sport, and the Department of Italian Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen (UD).
“The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum but, in fact, it also preserved them for posterity. This duality has accompanied seismic phenomena throughout the course of history, and it has always been a topical subject for researchers because of the volcanoes that are still active today,” said László Pete in his opening speech. The head of the Italian Department of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen noted that the interactive event would provide an opportunity for students of Italian to acquire scientific knowledge and to practice Italian language skills at the same time.
In addition to DE students of Italian studies, the lecture was attended by students and teachers of Italian language studies from the high schools of Debrecen (Ady Endre High School, Csokonai Vitéz Mihály High School, Svetits Catholic Kindergarten, Primary School, High School and College Tóth Árpád High School) and Italians living in the city.
The speaker and the audience were welcomed by Giovanni Colosimo, President of AICS Ungheria, recalling the lecture organised a year ago, also in collaboration with the Italian Department of the DE Faculty of Arts. At that time, the history of the bronze statues of Riace was presented in an Italian-language lecture that could only be seen and heard in two places in Hungary: the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest and the University of Debrecen.
During this 60-minute lecture, Sonia Calvari described the seismic phenomena in the Mediterranean, the formation and characteristics of volcanoes, with special reference to Etna, the dynamics and dangers of eruptions, and the types of lava flows. In particular, he stressed the importance of monitoring and forecasting, since, for example, around Etna, one and a half million people could be at risk in the event of an eruption. He also gave an insight into his daily work, which involves non-stop monitoring of Etna with permanently installed thermal cameras to predict the location and intensity of lava eruptions, so that in an emergency the affected population can be evacuated in time.
The head of the Italian Department of the DE BTK and the president of the AICS Ungheria discussed the continuation of the series after the lecture, so those interested in Italian language, culture and science can expect to learn about new interesting scientific news.
Press Center – BZs
