The Armchair Traveller is the title of our occasional online lecture series with talks themed around the places we visit. The talks take place in an informal online setting and are intended to amplify your understanding of the landscapes we travel through.
January 2024 lecture series:
Palermo: the crucible of tumult
A series of online lectures with Damian Croft
Palermo: the city that gave us both the Sonnet and Arabic numerals, but also gave rise to the mafia. It is the city that hosts the sublime Palatine Chapel and yet, eighty years after its bombardment in the second world war, has not yet been fully rebuilt. It has been both the city of revolution and redemption and the home of artists and revoultionaries. It is a city of impossible contradictions. In this series of five lectures, Damian Croft charts the tumultuous moments in the history of this fascinating city. The series also makes a splendid introduction to our Discovering Palermo tour.
| Wed. 10th Jan. | Balarm: the Envy of Western Europe |
| Wed. 17th Jan. | Stupor Mundi : the marvel of the world |
| Wed. 24th Jan. | Santa Rosalia and Holy Redemption |
| Wed. 31st Jan. | Revolution and Riches: Garibaldi and the first Sicilian Industrialists |
| Wed. 7th Feb. | Emigration, bombardment and the rise of organised crime |
All lectures will take place via Zoom and will be timed to start at 4:30pm London time (11:30 EST, 08:30 PST). The lectures will be recorded and a link to download the recording will be emailed to all subscribers the following day. Regrettably, for copyright reasons, we are not able to publish these recordings to YouTube.
Subscription to the series costs £50 per household payable in advance. Subscribers will receive sign in details via email the day before the lecture.
If you would like to join us, please sign up using the form below.
