Organised by the Italian Centre of the Institute of Humanistic Studies of the important State University of Novosibirsk, on the 1st December, 2025, Br. Stefano Invernizzi, OFM held a lecture on the "Canticle of the Creatures", the first literary document of which the author of Italian literature is known, on the occasion of the Eighth Centenary of its composition by St. Francis of Assisi. In the report, the figure of St. Francis and the Canticle were framed in their historical, social and ecclesial context. Then, the literary criticism of the text of the Canticle was carried out.
For her part, Lyudmila Viktorovna Budneva, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sources of Ancient Literature and Languages, gave a lecture on the interpretation of the Middle Ages in the novel "The Name of the Rose", by the Italian writer Umberto Eco, showing how Franciscanism, by bringing Christianity back to evangelical radicalism, made that historical period much less obscure than we usually think, starting from the stereotyped judgments deriving from the Enlightenment, thus giving humanity back the right to "feel alive".
Many students and teachers from various disciplines were present at the event, and all were extremely interested in the topic by asking several questions for clarification and also starting discussions in the days following the conference.
