We are delighted to announce that on 16-17 June 2016 the University of Oxford will host an international conference entitled ‘500 Years of Orlando furioso’. The conference will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the poem by providing a platform to deepen our understanding of Ariosto’s masterpiece and its enduring appeal. The event will see the participation of scholars from the UK, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland with a key-note lecture on Ariosto and Arthurian literature by Daniela Delcorno Branca, Università di Bologna. In conjunction with the conference the Taylor Institution Library and the Weston Library will host a joint bibliographical exhibition devoted to the world of Ariosto.

For more information, please visit http://www.furioso16.it/ariosto-conference-500-years-orlando-furioso/ (where you will be able to download the programme and the conference poster). Attendance is completely free for scholars and students as well as for interested general public. No registration is required, but if you would like to join our speakers for lunch, please send an email to maria.pavlova@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk. Sandwich lunch will cost £9 per person, but you can easily make your own arrangements as there are plenty of cafes, shops and restaurants near the Taylor Institution Library.

David Maskell’s  sparkling dramatization of  Ariosto’s Orlando furioso will be previewed at the conclusion of  the Oxford Ariosto Conference (Friday 17 June, 7pm, Lincoln College, Oakeshott Room). This theatrical adaptation in clear, natural English verse will make the horrifying story of Orlando’s frenzied jealousy accessible to everyone, whether they are familiar with Ariosto or not.  The performance, directed by Brian McMahon, will provide a unique opportunity to experience the drama, the humour, the fantasy and violence which have made Orlando furioso one of the most influential poems about sexual desire in the whole of European literature.

We look forward to seeing you at the Oxford Ariosto Conference. If you have any questions about the event, please feel free to contact the organisers (Marco Dorigatti and Maria Pavlova) at maria.pavlova@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.

The Oxford Ariosto Conference is generously sponsored by the Comitato Nazionale per le celebrazioni ariostesche; the Italian Embassy; the Italian Cultural Institute, London; the David Rowe Fund; the Department of Italian of the University of Oxford; and the Society for Italian Studies (SIS).