Returning for the third year are the Lessons in History conceived by Editori Laterza and produced in co-production with the Donizetti Theater Foundation of Bergamo and with the support of BCC Oglio e Serio: the new edition, scheduled at the Donizetti Theater, always on Saturday mornings, between Jan. 10 and Feb. 14, 2026, is entitled Cultural Capitals., with five meetings dedicated to as many cities that over the centuries have made their mark on history, contributing to the birth and development of important cultural movements, whose influence later proved fundamental.

It begins on Jan. 10 with Laura Pepe, already the star of the first edition of History Lessons, and with The Athens of Pericles, the cradle of democracy and political management of public affairs. A week later, on Jan. 17, Alexander March Magnus will speak about. Venice and the dawn of books: for it is on the lagoon that everything changes and that the book publisher begins to have that valuable role of cultural mediator preserved to this day. For the third event, scheduled for January 24, Alessandra Bucossi will address the theme. Constantinople, the new Rome, where the first city stands for the emblem of cosmopolitanism, unparalleled witness of those cultural transfers between East and West at the origin of the Byzantine world. Rome, city of the gods will instead be the focus of the Feb. 7 meeting with Maurizio Bettini: a still “pagan” Rome, creator of unprecedented religious suggestions mediated by the customs of the Italic peoples and the Greek tradition. Finally, on Feb. 14, the spotlight will be on. St. Petersburg and the avant-garde, with Paolo Nori who will go back with memory and words to the St. Petersburg of the October Revolution: a hotbed of novelty, an unrepeatable ferment that, in the mingling of the new socialist ideology and the artistic avant-gardes, will radiate throughout Europe.

Sergio Gandi, Bergamo City Councilor for Culture, extends the Administration’s greetings to “a valuable initiative such as Lezioni di Storia, which brings to our city, for the third consecutive year, the collaboration and expertise of Laterza, one of the most authoritative publishers in the country, specialized in educational publishing. The review represents an added value in the programming of the Donizetti Theater Foundation: not only music and theater, but also education and popularization, themes that already distinguish many of its activities, especially those dedicated to young people. And especially dedicated to them are these in-depth historical encounters, which transform the stage of the Donizetti Theater into an ever-growing space of culture, also open on Saturday mornings. Citizens and townspeople can satisfy their desire for in-depth study, listening to authoritative voices of our present, to discover and explore figures and stories of our past.”

Giorgio Berta, president of the Donizetti Theater Foundation, confirms how “this initiative is a significant expansion of our range of activities, flanking the many proposals in the spectacular sphere, from prose to opera to jazz. The History Lessons fully correspond to that diversification of offerings that allows us to involve ever new audiences, with a focus on the new generations. In this mission, the Donizetti Theater Foundation is joined by a prestigious publishing house such as Laterza and, for the first time, by BCC Oglio e Serio, to whom a big thank you is due.”

For Massimo Boffelli, Director General of the Foundation, ” History Lessons now represent one of the cornerstones of our varied programming: the great success of the first two editions are the starting point for the natural continuation of the initiative. For the public, including many students, Saturday mornings have become a time to attend special lectures, where they can reconnect the thread that links memory with current events.” “In these first years of the life of Lezioni di Storia a Bergamo, the harmony with Laterza has resulted in a very fruitful collaboration that has given benefit and luster to the cultural activities of our Foundation,” adds Massimo Boffelli.

Giuseppe Laterza, president of Gius. Laterza & Figli S.p.a., comments, “We are happy that also in Bergamo the Lessons in History have been welcomed with the enthusiasm and passion that we have registered over the years in many other cities, from Bari to Rome to Trieste just to name a few, testifying to the desire and need for knowledge and deepening of so many of our fellow citizens. The Donizetti Theater truly offers an evocative setting that enhances the sharing experience we want to offer. And to a city as dense with history as Bergamo, the theme of ‘Cultural Capitals’ seems to us particularly appropriate.”

Lia Di Trapani of Editori Laterza adds, “In recent years, cities have become the subject of a lively public discussion: there are debates about possible development models, complaints about the inadequacy of many housing policies, and questions about how to govern tourist influxes in harmony with the needs of residents. But all these reflections cannot be separated from an awareness of the decisive importance that urban centers-and some in particular-have had in the development of our societies. In this new cycle of History Lessons Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Venice and St. Petersburg provide us with an opportunity to remind ourselves that in the Cultural Capitals have found their chosen ground ferment, trade and exchange to which we owe so much.”

The words of General Director Maria Cristina Brambilla introduce the new partnership with BCC Oglio e Serio: “We are pleased to support the Donizetti and Laterza Theater Foundation in a project of great relevance such as Lezioni di Storia, which represents a valuable contribution to the dissemination of culture and knowledge in our territory. We are deeply convinced that the enhancement of historical memory and dialogue with the present are fundamental elements for building more aware and participatory communities. Our Bank, which has always been attentive to the needs of the local community, recognizes the importance of supporting high quality cultural initiatives that enrich the collective heritage and encourage dialogue between generations.”

CULTURAL CAPITALS
History Lessons 2026

PROGRAM

Saturday, January 10, 2026, 11 a.m. | Donizetti Theater
Laura Pepe, The Athens of Pericles
To say “Athens of Pericles” is to think of the golden age of democracy, the time when literature, poetry, philosophy, theater, and the figurative arts reached their zenith, the reconstruction of the acropolis. In reality, as is often the case, there are deep cracks behind this image of perfection: internal strife, contestation of power, and a foreign policy marked by much abuse.
Laura Pepe is professor of Institutions of Roman Law and Ancient Greek Law at the University of Milan. Her latest book is Sparta, Bari – Rome, 2024.

Saturday, January 17, 2026, 11 a.m. | Donizetti Theater
Alexander March the Great, Venice and the Dawn of Books
The movable type press was invented in Germany but developed in Italy, particularly in Venice, the city that became the undisputed capital of publishing in the 16th century. Half of all European editions and three-quarters of Italian editions were published in Venice. The first Greek book in history, the first Armenian book, the first Bible in the Italian vernacular, the first Talmud, the first Koran in Arabic, the first illustrated medical book and the first pornographic book were printed in Venice.
Alessandro Marzo Magno is a Journalist, Historian, and Writer. His latest book is History of Venice in Ten Naval Battles , forthcoming, Bari – Rome 2025.

Saturday, January 24, 2026, 11 a.m. | Donizetti Theater
Alessandra Bucossi, Constantinople, the new Rome
Founded as the “new Rome,” Constantinople inherited models and symbols from the Urbe, but reworked them profoundly in a confrontation that spanned centuries between imitation and conflict. In the Byzantine gaze, Rome is both mother and adversary: a tension between loyalty and rejection that marked the cultural and political history of Europe throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.
Alessandra Bucossi is professor of Byzantine Civilization at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Saturday, February 7, 2026, 11 a.m. | Donizetti Theater
Maurizio Bettini, Rome, city of the gods
We have forgotten the Roman religion. Outdated, obliterated by the triumph of Christianity, the gods of Rome have been reduced to mere interpreters of Ovid’s Metamorphoses or of much Renaissance, eighteenth-century, Romantic poetry. Sure, Jupiter, Juno, Venus we can still “see” them in the splendid forms of the statues that adorn our museums; but they are now only works of art, not living objects of worship. Yet such literary and figurative figures were once powerful deities, honored in Rome by solemn rituals. Above all, however, the Romans’ conception of religion still has much to teach our modern culture.
Maurizio Bettini is professor of classical philology at the University of Siena. His latest book is. Arrogant humanity. Classical myths and global warming. , Turin, 2025.

Saturday, February 14, 2026, 11 a.m. | Donizetti Theater
Paolo Nori, St. Petersburg and the Avant-Garde
“the Girls, those who Walk with Black-Eyed Boots on the Flowers of My Heart. The Clouds. The KGB Headquarters. A Brick Building, across the River: the Largest Prison in the Soviet Union. The Light Even at Night. A Jazz Band Playing with Gloves without Fingertips. Cigarettes with Long Cardboard Filters. The Stray Dog. The Winter Palace. The Russian Museum. The ‘when You Buy a Bird, See if there are Teeth or not. If there are Teeth, It’s not a Bird’.”a Narrative of the Artistic and Cultural Renewal Ferment During the Revolution Period.
Paolo Nori is a Writer and Translator. His latest book, Chiudo la porta e urlo, Milan, 2024, was a finalist for the Strega Prize 2025.

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INFORMATION

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