Romanian Language, Culture and Civilization at the University of Studies in Udine. Book Collections: Carlo Tagliavini and Valentova – Niculescu

The study of the similarities between the Romanian and Friulan language started in the 9th century and, in 1986 when Professor Alexandru Niculescu moved to Udine, the Romanian language became the study object of the Department of Romanian Studies at the University of Udine. It followed a constant path of preservation of the Romanian language and culture; difficult in the last period, but supported by a series of Italian teachers specialized in Romanistics. No less important was the contribution of the Romanian language teachers, with the generous contribution that the Bucharest Institution of Romanian Language continues to give until the present. Its activities are diverse and comprise the insertion of Romanian culture in congruence with the Italian one, in the form of original conferences held by personalities of Romanian and Italian culture (Eugen Ciurtin, Roberto Scagno – an edge of on the edge of the unique manuscripts by Mircea Eliade), with the support of some diplomatic and research institutions (Romanian General Consulate in Trieste, Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research of Venice). Libraries are an important part of the Department of Romanian Language and Literature. They contain volumes of Romanian literature, literary critics, large collections of literary magazines dedicated to different historical periods, grammars, specialized books and dictionaries. One of the most remarkable collections is the Carlo Tagliavini Collection of rare books, a valuable scientific documentation and reference center. Professors Alexandru Niculescu and Libuše Valentova brought from the Czech Republic an important collection of Romanian books that belonged to Professor Maria Kavkovἀ from the University of Olomouc. The wealth of these two book collections reflect the extent of the interest shown for the rigorous study of languages at the University of Udine. Carlo Tagliavini, an eminent linguistic and philological researcher that deals with the (comparative) study of Romance languages, Indo-Europeanist and researcher of the world’s most diverse languages, as well as of specific cultural and linguistic aspects, did not only explore the traditional fields, but approached many aspects in the wider context of comparative Balkan studies, including the importance of experimental phonetics and computer applications for linguistics.