The Book Club ends its 2025 annual programme on 21 March 2026 at 12:00, with a meeting hosted at the Italian Club.
Designed for readers and literature lovers, the Book Club brings together participants who are curious, open-minded, and eager to explore cultures through great books. Books are read in English or in Italian (reader’s choice), while meetings are held in English and focus on close reading, contextual discussion, and shared reflection, offering a space where literary enjoyment meets cultural discovery. All this in front of good food and wine.
Details:
Day: 21 March 2026
Time: 12:00
Venue: Italian Club, Pretoria
Participation Fee (Brunch included): R 500
For enquiries and registrations, please contact iicpretoria.corsi@esteri.it
The Book
This last meeting is dedicated to Dante, a book on the 13th century wordly renowed italian author Dante Alighieri, written by Alessandro Barbero, one of Italy’s most authoritative historians and public intellectuals.
Rather than approaching Dante solely as an untouchable literary icon, Barbero reconstructs the poet’s world with narrative clarity and historical precision. He situates Dante within the political tensions, intellectual debates, and social realities of medieval Italy, allowing readers to encounter the author of the Divine Comedy as a man deeply engaged with his time — and therefore still profoundly relevant today.
This book offers an ideal point of entry for both newcomers to Dante and experienced readers seeking a richer contextual understanding of his work.
A Special Book
Ending the year with this book is no coincidence. In April, the author Alessandro Barbero will hold a series of conferences in South Africa, making this reading the perfect introduction and shared foundation for the events to come. Engaging with the book in advance will enrich participants’ experience for the conferences, offering context, familiarity, and a deeper understanding of Dante’s work and legacy.
The conferences, organized by the Italian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Pretoria, the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg and the Italian Consulate in Cape Town, will take place between the 7 and the 9 of April 2026, in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Details:
- Title: Saint Francis’ Revolution
- Day: Tuesday 7 April 2026
- Time: 17:30 for 18:00
- Venue: Italian Club, Johannesburg
- FREE Entrance – booking essential at iicpretoria@esteri.it
- Title: Building National Identities
- Day: Wednesday 8 April 2026
- Time: 10:00 for 10:30
- Venue: Wits University, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
- FREE Entrance – booking essential at robuschi@wits.ac.za
- Title: Building National Identities
- Day: Thursday 9 April 2026
- Time: 17:00 for 17:30
- Venue: Cape Town Club, Cape Town
- FREE Entrance – booking essential at: https://forms.gle/pTMCY5crtW6kh3Rp6
Not just the end, but a new beginning!
This final meeting is not just a celebration of the 2025 Book Club year — it’s also the perfect springboard into the next one. As we turn the last page of this season, we’re already looking ahead to a new year filled with exciting books, fresh voices, and inspiring conversations.
For this reason, everyone is warmly welcome: long-time participants and first-time readers alike. Join us as we get ready to begin a new literary journey together, with many new books, ideas, and shared discoveries waiting to be explored. Stay tuned!