Dr Carmel Cassar, Senior Lecturer in History at the Junior College, recently participated in an international multidisciplinary conference on the Mediterranean as a cultural unit.

The conference was held from July 5 to 7 at the maritime town of Noli (Savona) in Italy.

Dr Cassar was guest of the Centro Culturale Polivalente 'S. Antonio' and SECUM (Sciences, Education et Cultures Mediterranées) of Aix-en-Provence. He addressed the conference, in Italian, on "The Unifying Sea: economic and cultural interdependence in the Mediterranean" in which he discussed the fundamental role played by maritime cities in the history of the Mediterranean.

The participating academics at the conference included Professors Mohammed Fantar of the Institut National de Patrimonie of Tunisia and Raoudha Guemara of the University of Tunis; Giulio Giorello and Giovanni Giraldi of the Department of Philosophy of Milan; Michele Ciliberto of the Istituto Studi sul Rinascimento of the University of Florence; Enrico Basso of the University of Genoa, and Michele Brondino of SECUM.

The closing session was addressed by artist Rodolfo Viola, official painter of the America's Cup. Messages by film producer Franco Zeffirelli and architect Renzo Piano were read to the audience.