“Tea party” with Francesca Rolandi: Pop culture and humanitarian aid as means of rapprochement

Фrom the early 1960s on, Italy and Yugoslavia, two countries divided by conflicting territorial claims and the memory of traumatic events occurred in the 20^th century, undertook a path of rapprochement, which has been referred to as the “Adriatic détente”. This grew into an outstanding example of regional cooperation between countries with a different political system.

Francesca Rolandi`s lecture „Going East, Going West. Cultural relations and solidarity ties between Italy and Yugoslavia during the Cold War” will explore how the relationships between Italy and Yugoslavia contributed in enhancing Yugoslavia’s image of diversity from the Soviet bloc countries and emphasizing its belonging to a “European” space of circulation of ideas, trends and individuals.

In doing so, the presentation will examine two different aspects of the bilateral relations between Italy and Yugoslavia. First, it will explore the influence of Italian pop culture on Yugoslavia, which acted as a filter for Western trends. Second, it will look at the solidarity ties that flourished in cases of natural disasters in both countries.

Finally, the lecture will reflect upon the afterlife of these relationships in the post-1989 order and, more broadly, neighboring relations between countries burdened by a troubled past.

Francesca Rolandi is a research fellow at the University of Florence. She previously held postdoctoral fellowships and worked, among others,  at the Italian Institute for Historical Studies, the Center for Advanced Studies South East Europe of the University of Rijeka and the Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Arts. Her research interests range from the cultural and social history of the Upper Adriatic and post-Yugoslav area to the history of humanitarianism and refugees in 20^th century Europe. Her first book was translated into Serbian Dvadeset četiri hiljade poljubaca. Uticaj italijanske popularne kulture u Jugoslaviji (1955-1965) (2022).

The lecture is part of the Regional Tea party titled “Yugoslavia” which is organized together with the Academic Network for Cooperation in Southeast Europe. It takes place in the Main hall of the Institute of social sciences, can be followed also online and will be moderated by Irena Ristić (IDN).

https://zoom.us/j/99052252591?pwd=NwoekO0PeQNnxbDGwRlMHCAvfmo4Vb.1

Meeting ID: 990 5225 2591
Passcode: 086964