The Italian Section of the University of Cambridge presents
International Conference
Grazia Deledda’s Waves: Networks, Memories and Legacies 100 Years After the Nobel Prize
25-26 September 2026
Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge
The international conference Grazia Deledda’s Waves: Networks, Memories and Legacies 100 Years After the Nobel Prize aims at fostering new research into the life and work of Grazia Deledda, with emphasis on her networks, memories and legacies in the literary realm and beyond. The year 2026 marks the centenary of her Nobel Prize in Literature. Being the only Italian woman to have earned this recognition, Grazia Deledda holds a unique role in the history of world literature. This anniversary offers a timely opportunity for scholars to revisit her contributions through contemporary lenses, and to engage with her works in ways that acknowledge both her historical importance and modern relevance.
The conference is supported by the Italian Section of the University of Cambridge with the support of the Cambridge-Intesa Sanpaolo Fund for Italian, the British Academy, the Italian Cultural Institute in London, the Society for Italian Studies, the London-based association Il Circolo, the Interdisciplinary Network for Nineteenth-Century Italian Studies Ottocentismi, the Association for the Study of Modern Italy and the British-Italian Society.
The celebrations of Grazia Deledda’s Nobel Prize Centenary will also feature several special guests.
On 25 September, illustrator and author Alessandro Sanna will give a live-painting performance inspired by Grazia Deledda’s wonder tales.
On 26 September, filmmaker Maria Giménez Cavallo will present a special screening of her film Anime galleggianti (2024).
Artist Tonka Uzu will be sketching a visual portrait of the conference throughout both days.
On 27 September 2026 at 4pm, extending the celebrations to London and marking Grazia Deledda’s birthday, there will be a screening of Quasi Grazia (2025) by Peter Marcias at the Regent Street Cinema in London, followed by a conversation with the director. The screening is jointly organised by the Italian Section of the University of Cambridge, the Italian Cultural Institute in London and CinemaItaliaUK.
To register for the in-person conference, please follow this link. The academic presentations on 25-26 September can also be attended online via Zoom. To receive the Zoom link, please email conferencedeledda2026@gmail.com
To register for Alessandro Sanna’s live painting (free event) on 25 September, please follow this link.
To register for the special screening of Maria Giménez Cavallo’s Anime galleggianti (free event) on 26 September, please follow this link.
To buy your tickets for the screening of Quasi Grazia, on Sunday 27 September at 4pm at the Regent Street Cinema in London, please follow this link
BIOGRAPHIES
Conference Organisers:
Dr Elena Sottilotta, University of Cambridge (ees45@cam.ac.uk) is a Research Fellow at Murray Edwards College and Affiliated Lecturer in Italian at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on Italian and comparative literature, women’s writing, folklore and fairy-tale studies. She is the author of Seekers of Wonder: Women Writing Folk and Fairy Tales in Nineteenth-Century Italy and Ireland (Princeton University Press, 2025), which features Grazia Deledda as a central case study. Most recently, she curated an exhibition from the Eleonora Duse Collection at Murray Edwards College, exploring the artistic relationship between Duse and Deledda.
Dr Sara Delmedico, University of Bologna (sara.delmedico@unibo.it) is an Adjunct Professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna. Her research interests include women’s history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with particular attention to legal history. She is the author of Opposing Patriarchy: Women and the Law in Action in Pre-Unification Italy (1815–1865) (University of London Press, 2021) and Representing Violence against Women: A Case Study from Early Twentieth-Century Italy (Peter Lang, 2025). She co-edited with Elena Sottilotta Women in Sardinia: Creativity and Self-Expression, a special issue of Chronica Mundi (2022–2023).