The Italian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the EduLibano Association and the Beirut Arab University, organizes a conference by Prof. Francesco Medici on the relation between Gebran Kahlil Gebran and Italy.
Italian readers became acquainted with Kahlil Gibran only in 1936, when the first translation of The Prophet was published. However, Gibran’s predilection for Italy can be traced back to his childhood in Lebanon, when his mother gave him a book featuring reproductions of works by Leonardo da Vinci, which made a great impression on the young boy. It is not known whether Gibran ever visited Italy, but it is obvious that Italian art, literature, culture, all played a decisive role in his career as an artist and a writer.