(18 May 2017) There is no Brexit that could burn the cultural bridges built by great literature. "Italian Inspirations" is a series of eight events promoted by the Italian Institute of Culture in London. A British author will talk about a classic or contemporary Italian writer who admires in a particular way. Curated and moderated by Boyd Tonkin, each event is an opportunity to discover the ways in which an author reads and dialogues with his illustrious forerunners, or with his contemporaries. Hanif Kureishi's lecture on Italo Svevo, guest of the second event (Wednesday, 24 May 19:00 to 21:00 at the IIC) will be followed by Sarah Dunant, who will discuss Maria Bellonci and her novels set in Renaissance Italy. Maria Bellonci (1902-1986), writer and translator, was the creator with Guido Alberti of the Strega Prize. The next sessions will take place on Wednesday, June 7 and June 21 and September, 6 and 20, and October 4 and 18.

SARAH DUNANT

Sarah Dunant is a writer, journalist, radio show host, and critic. She is part of the Royal Academy Magazine's editorial board and writes for The Times, The Guardian, and The New York Times. She collaborates regularly with the BBC, so she occasionally hosts the BBC Radio 4's, "A Point of View". She holds a Renaissance Studies degree from Washington University in St. Louis and is author of numerous books on Renaissance Italy, which got her the nomination for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction in 2010.