Magyar News, 1999. szeptember-2000. augusztus (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1999-12-01 / 4. szám
A painting by Pál C. Molnár here. The journal LAnnuario is again being published as well as other journals done in collaboration with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and various Italian academic institutes. The current director of the academy is Doctor László Csorba, a previous scholarship winner who studied here in 1982. His accomplishments and professional credits include a one-year visiting professorship at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, publications on Italian patriot Miklós Izsó: Dancing peasant Giuseppe Garibaldi, the thirteen martyrs of Arad (Hungary) and István Széchényi and the title of Hungarian Cultural Attache in Italy. From 1979 to 1991 he worked at the Hungarian Institute of Philosophy and since 1991 is a professor of cultural history at his alma mater, Eötvös University in Budapest. Other research and publications of his have covered Hungarian-Itahan relations and Hungarian Jewry, among other topics. Appointed director in 1998, Csorba oversees six other employees. Csorba described the academy's objectives as two-fold: “Our first purpose nary history. In the early 16th century, Pope Julius II commissioned the Italian architect Bramante to design the street, the area where we find the academy and some of the buildings in this area, including the Palazzo Falcomért Orazio Falconieri acquired the Palazzo from the powerful Famese family in 1638. Though less wellknown than the Fameses, the Florentine Falconieri family amassed tremendous wealth via their great banking skills. They commissioned Francesco Borromini, architect of many of Rome's great Baroque works, to rebuild and modify their palazzo. Vilmos Aba-Novák: Harvest Ball. is to assist Hungarians in scientific research here in Rome, an activity that entails developing and maintaining good contacts between the two countries. The second is to serve as a cultural center, following in the long-standing tradition of our predecessors, through concerts and exhibitions where we present Hungarian culture to the Italian people.” To this purpose, the Palazzo Falconieri is an excellent venue, providing ample space for exhibits by painters, photographers and the like. It also boasts an impressive but intimate concert hall that was recently refurbished. Along with Tamás Korsós, a top diplomat from the Hungarian Embassy, Csorba gave the author a full tour of the premises and a chance to see Rome from the rooftop of Palazzo Falconieri. From this vantage point one sees the hills of Rome on the opposite side of the Tiber and many of the city's important monuments, including Saint Peter's Basilica. The view is truly breathtaking and gives the sense of going back in time; one imagines the many nobles of previous centuries who, on the same rooftop, enjoyed the same view. The Palazzo Falconieri, besides being an ideal place to study, has an extraordiHe proceeded to amend the facade, pilasters, cornices and other external parts. Most important, however, are the stuccos and frescoes which adorn many of the ceilings inside Palazzo Falconieri. Some of the symbols are difficult to interpret but we are certain of the noble family emblem of the Falconieri family: the falcon. Some of the rooms have marble floors with elegant designs while many rooms have high ceilings and chandeliers, some of which are neatly offset by modem light fixtures on the adjacent walls. Appropriately enough, the frescoes in the library depict the sciences. For any Hungarian or Hungarian- American visiting Rome, the Hungarian Academy should be considered a possible stopping point. One must call in advance since visitors are generally not admitted en masse. The academy fits well into a tour of the immediate area, one of the most historic districts in the city. The Palazzo Famese, known to opera lovers as the locale of Act 2 of Puccini's "Tosca," is just a few steps away; the 27 B.C. Pantheon and the Baroque jewel Piazza Navona are in easy walking distance. And, of course, “All roads lead to Rome. ” Page 5
