\nUniversity Hall 7th Floor Conference Center<\/a>
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See media coverage for this event<\/a> See also:\u00a0<\/strong>RELATED STUDENT CONTEST<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Italy is the country with the highest number of UNESCO sites (51<\/a>) in the world, ranging from well-known historical centers (Venice and its lagoon) to monuments and art pieces (Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan with Leonardo\u2019s \u201cLast Supper\u201d), archeological (Pompei) and natural sites (the Dolomites), as well as\u00a0six additional intangible elements\u00a0(including the Mediterranean diet and the Sicilian puppet theater). The program is being held on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the foundation of UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), whose mission, among others, is the preservation of historic monuments, urban centers, and natural sites, along with traditional practices and contemporary art forms, that are deemed to be a source of identity, cohesion, knowledge, and vibrancy for societies. Italy\u2019s economy and its cultural role in the world pivots around this heritage in profound ways, although protecting and promoting this vast and frail patrimony in order to make it available to visitors is not without its challenges.<\/p>\n Italy continues to be a coveted destination for travelers, especially from the U.S., and the Italian Grand Tour is the first foreign language country of choice among American students (according to\u00a0Open Doors data<\/a>). To reflect on the central position that Italy holds in the American collective imaginary, this roundtable aims at further spreading knowledge of the UNESCO patrimony and its mission: through a set of critical and creative lenses the presentations will ultimately bring attention to Italy\u2019s rich heritage and the challenges as well as opportunities it offers.<\/p>\n Program<\/strong><\/p>\n PRESENTERS’ BIOS<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a>Ricardo de Guimar\u00e3es Pinto<\/strong>\u00a0is the Liaison Officer at UNESCO\u2019s representation to the U.N. Headquarters in New York, where in connection with the U.N. Security Council he brings to the attention of Member States and the international community the issue of protection of cultural heritage in conflict situations. He is also in charge of issues pertaining to freedom of expression, freedom of the press and media development. Before joining the UNESCO\u2019s Liaison Office in New York in December 2011, Ricardo was working on the communications of the Director-General of UNESCO at its Paris Headquarters. He started his career at UNESCO in 2006 as assistant to the Spokesperson of UNESCO. Originally from Brazil, he earned a Master\u2019s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy in France and a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Communication in the United States.<\/p>\n Deborah Chatr Aryamontri\u00a0<\/strong>is an\u00a0Instructional Specialist faculty member at Montclair State University as well a Research Associate of the Center for Heritage and Archaeological Studies, and has been a Visiting Lecturer in the College for Arts and Letters at Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ. Born and raised in Rome, she earned her Ph.D. in Ancient Topography from the University of Salerno, and her M.A. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Rome \u201cLa Sapienza\u201d. Her major expertise is in ancient Roman landscape archaeology, city planning and urban infrastructures, but her scholarly interests range widely, from Greek and Roman material culture to numismatics and ancient technology. Over the years, she has served as an archivist, a project archaeologist, and a technician on numerous projects both in a scholarly capacity and in salvage archaeology investigations. For her scholarly work, she has been the recipient of scholarships and grants from several academic institutions, both Italian and American. Her most important ongoing project is the directorship of the\u00a0\u201cVilla of the Antonines\u201d<\/a>\u00a0project in Genzano di Roma, Italy, which includes a fieldschool for Montclair State University students at this important Roman imperial villa.<\/p>\n Gaetano Pesce<\/strong><\/a>, a renowned Italian architect and designer, has conceived public and private projects in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. His career spans four decades with commissions in architecture, urban planning, interior, exhibition and industrial design. Born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1939, Pesce studied Architecture at the University of Venice between 1958 to 1963 and was a participant in Gruppo N, an early collective concerned with programmed art patterned after the Bauhaus. He taught architecture at the Institut d\u2019Architecture et d\u2019Etudes Urbaines in Strasbourg, France, for 28 years; Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh; Domus Academy in Milan; Polytechnic of Hong Kong; Architectural School of Sao Paulo; and Cooper Union in NYC. He has made his home in New York since 1980, after living in Venice, London, Helsinki, and Paris. Pesce\u2019s work is featured in over 30 permanent collections of the most important museums in the world, such as MoMA of New York and San Francisco, Metropolitan Museum in New York, Vitra Museum in Germany, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Pompidou Center and Mus\u00e9e des Arts D\u00e9coratifs of Louvre in Paris; he exhibits art in galleries worldwide.<\/p>\n Resources UNESCO:\u00a0Official Website<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0List of sites in Italy
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\n![\"Venice](\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2017\/12\/Canals-of-Venice-500x333-300x200.jpg\")
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\n<\/a>Gaetano Pesce:\u00a0Official Website<\/a>\u00a0and special project on his\u00a0Art Passports to Italy<\/a>
\nVilla degli Antonini’s archeological field project:\u00a0Official description
\n<\/a>Article and videos about select UNESCO sites (from\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>):<\/p>\n