Galatea and Pygmalion: Misunderstandings and Variations on Ovid

CYCLE: The Words and Images of Art: Explorations in Ancient Roman Literature 
SPEAKER: Alessandro Schiesaro, Professor of Latin Literature, Director of Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa.
DATE: Tuesday, July 1, 6:00 PM
LOCATION: Palazzo Altemps, Via di Sant'Apollinare 8

Ovid's narrative of how the sculptor Pygmalion creates a realistic statue of a woman that miraculously comes to life has always constituted an archetype of the illusionistic power of art. The representation of the story in the centuries following the Metamorphoses is characterized by misunderstandings and innovations that in turn influence the reading of the text and precisely for this reason highlight otherwise overlooked aspects. 

Alessandro Schiesaroteaches Latin Literature at the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa), of which he has been Director since May 2025. He has taught in the United States, the United Kingdom, and at Sapienza. His main fields of interest are Latin literature, literary theory, psychoanalysis, and cultural history. He directs the journal MAIA - Rivista di Letterature Classiche and is a member of the Academia Europaea and the Accademia Pontaniana.

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