Living Heritage Goes to School 2024
Unitelma Sapienza is participating in this international day, and to mark the occasion, the university’s UNESCO Chair in “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Comparative Law,” directed by Professor Pier Luigi Petrillo, has engaged 15 Italian schools in a series of discussions with students from elementary, middle, and high schools.
Through the initiative organized by the UNESCO Chair at Unitelma Sapienza, the following schools participated: Fermi in Alghero, Pischedda in Bosa (Oristano), Cerletti in Conegliano (Treviso), Notarangelo Rosati and Giannone Masi in Foggia, Cicerone in Frascati (Rome), the La Morra Comprehensive School (Cuneo), Altes La Ila in La Villa (Bolzano), Ainis in Messina, Schiaparelli-Gramsci in Milan, Sannazaro in Naples, Almanza in Pantelleria, Galileo Galilei, San Francesco, and Pizzini–Pisani in Paola (Cosenza), Marconi and Mamiani in Pesaro, and Virgilio in Rome, will set aside some time during the day to discuss with their students what their intangible cultural heritage is, sharing the significance of certain traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation.
For each school, the UNESCO Chair at UnitelmaSapienza—which is the only one in Italy dedicated to the topic of intangible cultural heritage—has prepared a “toolkit” providing teachers with a series of training programs and some ideas for discussion and reflection, tailoring the materials to the specific grade level involved.
“In this way,” says Pier Luigi Petrillo, “in 18 Italian cities, from north to south, from Bolzano to Pantelleria, more than 800 students will have the opportunity to understand the meaning of their own traditions, share and learn about the rituals and practices of other peoples, and strengthen the dialogue between different identities and cultures. The goal is to help demonstrate that living heritage serves as a bridge between generations and between different worlds, and that every form of protection for this heritage is essential if we are to ensure a culture of peace.”
Schools that have joined the initiative promoted by the UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Comparative Law at UnitelmaSapienza
Liceo Scientifico “E. Fermi” – Alghero
Students explored different forms of Sardinian intangible cultural heritage through class presentations. The activities focused on traditional music and craftsmanship, including the filet of Bosa, Chiara Vigo’s bisso, the launeddas, Sardinian and Barbaricino carnival masks, bread-making culture, traditional games such as murra, s’istrumpa and su barralliccu, and red coral.
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Liceo “Galileo Galilei” – Paola
Students worked on local intangible cultural heritage by exploring religious devotion, maritime traditions and community celebrations. Their activities focused on the cult of Saint Francis, anchovy fishing, the Torneo dei Rioni in Cetraro and other practices that connect local memory, identity and community participation.
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I.I.S. “Pizzini – Pisani” – Paola
Students created a video presentation dedicated to dialect as a form of cultural identity in Calabria. The activity invited them to reflect on language, oral expression and local belonging as essential parts of intangible cultural heritage and intergenerational transmission.
