Last May 27, we have formally instituted Florio's Day. A participation of a large and attentive public welcomed the initiative.
The first speaker of the evening was Mr. Diego Giovanoli who, with the help of slides, showed us how Soglio could have looked like in 1555, the year in which Michel Agnolo Florio arrived for the first time in the village in order to serve as the minister of the local Reformed church. With him were his wife and their son John. As he remarked, the room itself where we were that evening in the Stua Granda, already existed then. It was the meeting room, the largest of the Canton, built by the Von Salis family, for the town assembly meetings.
The second speaker of the evening was Saul Gerevini, who spoke to us through a video-conferencing device. He reported about John Florio's life and his ties with the Shakesperian theatre. The concluding speaker Corrado Sergio Panzieri was introduced by Patrik Giovanoli. Prof. Panzieri has been the first scholar, some years ago, to research in Bergell on the traces left here by the Florios. The next meeting of Florio Dsy Project Group will take place Friday May 27, 2016.
