• Dr Alessandra De Martino Cappuccio, Department of Italian. Report on the
Conference Naples Crucible of the World 2: a Foreign Perspective.
On the 3rd and 4th June 2011 I took part in an international theatre conference with
the title Naples Crucible of the World 2: A Foreign Perspective held at the University
of Parthenope in Naples. My participation was generously supported by Roberts’
Fund. This was the second appointment with Neapolitan culture within a
multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary discourse on the relevance of Naples in the
international panorama, following a previous conference held in October 2010 at the
British Library on the same theme. The conference explored a multitude of fields,
examining Neapolitan culture from a ‘foreign’ perspective. It looked at how Naples
has been represented throughout the centuries, ever since the ‘Grand Tour’ which
began in the eighteenth century, with special attention to Anglo-Saxon reception. It
brought together established international scholars from different disciplines,
encompassing theoretical approaches from History, Literature, Linguistics,
Translation Studies, Music, Theatre and Cinema.
My presentation, entitled ‘Acculturating Dialect Theatre: Casa Cupiello moves to
West Lancashire’ examined an English adaptation, entitled Ducking Out, of the
Neapolitan play Natale in casa Cupiello, by Eduardo De Filippo, taking a translational
perspective. The paper was welcomed by an engaging discussion and raised a
variety of questions about the cultural relocation of foreign theatre in the British
theatrical system. I greatly benefited from this participation in the conference, which
enabled me to increase my own knowledge and understanding of my research field,
and most importantly provided an important opportunity to disseminate knowledge to
other academics and postgraduate researchers on my area of research: theatre of
minority languages in a British-Italian context. In addition, this international event
improved my communication skills as well as raising my profile as an active
researcher in the Department of Italian at Warwick. My involvement in the event also
facilitated networking across different universities, establishing valuable research
contacts. Indeed, on this occasion, I have discussed a project with Prof. Colomba La
Ragione, co-organizer of the conference, aimed at the publication of a book on
female Neapolitan entrepreneurs. The book will consist of a collection of essays,
looking at the topic from different perspectives, including cinema and translation. I
have also established contacts with Andrea del Cornò, a member of the Italian
Studies Library Group, born by the impulse of William Pine-Coffin in 2001, and editor
of the ISLG annual bulletin, published annually by the group. Among the regular
activities of the group is the ISLG Lecture delivered by a notable Italian scholar on
historical and literary issues regarding Italian culture. This is another excellent
contact which could lead to future collaborations between the University of Warwick
and members of the London and British Library. I think that my attendance to this
meeting has definitely achieved its aims. It has deepened my knowledge of the
subject matter of my research; it has expanded the range of academic contacts,
pinpointing key areas of possible future collaborations; it has also been very
enriching, since while giving me international visibility it has widened the spectrum of
future involvement in research enterprises, developing opportunities for international
engagement with Warwick.