'That Puissant City': John Milton's Roman Sojourns 1638-1639

John Milton’s sojourns in Rome (1638-9) are attested by his comments in Defensio Secunda, by the minutes of the English College, by Latin encomia which he received from Roman academicians, and, not least, by his Latin letter to Lucas Holstenius (19/29 March 1639), and several Latin poems which he composed in the course of his residency in the capital city: Ad Salsillum, and three Latin epigrams extolling the praises of the virtuosa soprano, Leonora Baroni. Read together, these texts serve to reveal much about Milton’s participation in, and reaction to, the ‘Puissant City’, (History of Britain, Bk 2).

The present monograph presents fresh evidence of Milton's integration into the academic and cultural life of seventeenth-century Rome. It argues that his links with two Roman academies: the Accademia dei Fantastici and Accademia degli Umoristi constitute a sustained participation in an academic community paralleling that of his independently attested performance in Florentine academies (on which I have published extensively). It also investigates his links with Alessandro Cherubini, David Codner, Giovanni Batista Doni, and the Baroni circle hymned in three published anthologies.

Chapter 1: Milton and the Accademia dei Fantastici investigates the cultural climate surrounding Milton's Ad Salsillum by examining two of that academy's publications: the Poesie dei Signori Accademici Fantastici di Roma (Rome, 1637) and the Academia Tenuta da Fantastici a. 12 di Maggio 1655 (Rome, 1655), the latter celebrating the creation of Fabio Chigi as Pope Alexander VII on 5 April 1655. Read in a new light, Milton’s self-fashioning, it is argued, takes its place not only alongside Salzilli’s encomium in Milton's honour, and his Italian sonnets in the 1637 Poesie, but also in relation to other poems in that collection, and the academy's essentially Catholic eulogistic trend. The chapter also provides fresh evidence of Salzilli’s survival of the illness described in Milton’s poem by his epistolary correspondence with Tomaso Stigliani.

Chapter 2: Milton and the Vatican argues for links between Milton’s Latin letter to Holstenius and a range of Holstenius’ published works: his edition of the axioms of the later Pythagoreans gifted by him to Milton, and his published neo-Platonic works. This is achieved by mutual appropriation of Similitudes in a series of Miltonic similes, the anabasis/katabasis motifs in a reworking of the Platonic theory of the transmigration of souls, and allusion to etymological details highlighted in Holstenius’ published editions. The chapter also reveals Milton’s alertness to typographical procedures and, by association, to Holstenius’ recent role (1638) as Director of the press of the Biblioteca Vaticana.

Chapter 3: Milton and the Accademia degli Umoristi argues for Milton’s likely participation in this Roman academy, as suggested by his links with its members. His three Latin epigrams in praise of Leonora Baroni, the only female member of the Umoristi, have hitherto been studied in relation to the 1639 Applausi in her honour. In a new reading, Milton, it is suggested, invokes and interrogates Catholic doctrine before a Catholic audience only to view the whole through the lens of a neo-Platonic Hermeticism (by echoing the phraseology of the sixteenth-century Franciscan Hannibal Rosselli) that refreshingly transcends religious difference. Crucially, the hitherto neglected L’Idea della Veglia (Rome, 1640) includes further encomiastic verse, sonnets to, and by Leonora, and details of the conversazioni hosted by her family at the precise time of Milton’s Roman sojourns. Milton may well have been a participant. The chapter concludes in an assessment of his links with the youthful prodigy Alessandro Cherubini, and of his audience with Francesco Barberini.

Chapter 4: Milton at a Roman Opera analyses the potential impact of ‘Chi Soffre, Speri’, which he attended on 18/28 February 1639, mounted by Francesco Barberini to inaugurate the recently completed theatre of the Palazzo Barberini. A detailed analysis of the opera's libretto, music, and theatricality casts a backward glance to Milton's Comus, and a forward glance to Paradise Lost. It also assesses Milton’s musical interests at this time, as attested by his links with Doni, and his purchase of works by Monteverdi and others.

Chapter 5: Milton’s English Connections in Rome develops the work of Miller and Chaney by investigating Milton’s co-diners at the English College in Rome on 30 October 1638, and by analysing his links between David Codner (alias Matteo Selvaggio), and the family of Jane Savage, Marchioness of Winchester, lamented by Milton in 1631. It also assesses his potential relations with the Englishman Thomas Gawen, who ‘accidentally sometimes fell into the company of John Milton’ (Antony Wood).

La gestione del portafoglio brevettuale del Dipartimento Energia e Trasporti

Prima della presente riforma del CNR, esisteva all’interno dell’Ente un Ufficio Brevetti, che supportava i propri ricercatori, a livello nazionale, nelle fasi di primo deposito, estensione all’estero, nella stipula di contratti di cessione e di licenza. Dal momento in cui è entrato in vigore il decreto di riordino dell’Ente (D.L. 4 giugno 2003, n. 127) e si sono creati e avviati gli 11 Dipartimenti, l’ufficio brevetti è stato soppresso e il portafoglio brevettuale è stato affidato ai Dipartimenti, ognuno con la propria macro area di competenza.

I progetti DET ammessi al finanziamento nell’ambito del Bando Industria 2015. Criticità emerse

Questa relazione tecnica viene redatta per la Giunta dei Direttori che si terrà il giorno 19/01/2010 su richiesta del Direttore, per riassumere lo stato di avanzamento dei progetti ammessi al finanziamento insieme alle criticità emerse in fase di avvio rendicontazione. La relazione si compone di una prima parte con riferimenti normativi e di riepilogo sui progetti totali presentati a livello nazionale, come CNR e come Dipartimento nelle tre Aree Tecnologiche di riferimento: Efficienza Energetica, Mobilità Sostenibile, Made in Italy. Una seconda parte riguarda la rendicontazione, la metodologia applicata e una descrizione delle criticità di due progetti PIACE - MILD. Verranno, inoltre, illustrate in riunione delle schede tecniche (v. all. 1 Ind.)riepilogative dei progetti presentati nelle aree Efficienza Energetica e Mobilità Sostenibile, realizzate in collaborazione della Sig.ra Silvia Presello.

Partecipazione DET al PON Ricerca e Competitività 2007- 2013

Quadro normativo di riferimento, monitoraggio, presentazione della documentazione dei progetti del Dipartimento. Stato dell’arte dei progetti approvati.

Histoire et projet dans la valorisation du patrimoine de la soie : Le Filatoio di Caraglio (Coni. Italie) et le Real Filatório de Chacim (Trás-os-Montes, Portugal)

O objetivo deste trabalho é explorar a temática da valorização do patrimônio arquitetónico, herdado pela indústria da seda, baseando-se na história das técnicas, na gestão e na valorização do patrimônio industrial. É a partir do estudo de duas fábricas de seda na Europa: o Filatoio di Caraglio em Itália (data de construção: 1676-1678) e o Real Filatório de Chacim em Portugal (data de construção: 1788) que serão discutidas as estratégias encontradas para a conservação/restauração dos dois casos em questão, com base em suas histórias e contextos atuais. O Filatoio di Caraglio é uma das fábricas de seda mais antigas da Europa tendo como técnica o moinho alia piemontese publicado na Encyclopédie como uma das melhores invenções. No caso do Real Filatório de Chacim, constata-se que a introdução deste moinho por meio de técnicos italianos constituiu uma transferência tecnológica entre os dois países. RÉSUMÉ: L'objective de ce travail est d'explorer la thématique de la mise en valeur du patrimoine architectural hérité de industrie de la soie en se basent sur l'histoire des techniques, la gestion et la valorisation du patrimoine industriei. C'est à partir de l'étude de deux fabriques à soie en Europe: le Filatoio di Caraglio en Italie (date de construction: 1676-1678) et le Real Filatório de Chacim au Portugal (date de construction: 1788) que sont discutées les stratégies employées pour la conservation/restauration de ces deux cas basées sur leur histoire et sur les contextes actuels. Le Filatoio di Caraglio est une des soieries plus anciennes de l'Europe et était caractérisée par une technique du moulin alla piemontese publié dans l'Encyclopédie come une des meilleures inventions. Dans le cas du Real Filatório de Chacim, on constate que l'introduction de ce type de moulin par des techniciens italiens a constitué un transfert technique entre les deux pays. ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to examine the enhancement of architectural heritage inherited from the silk industry, focusing on technical history, and the management and valorization of industrial heritage. Conservation/restoration strategies are discussed by analyzing solutions proposed in two European silk mills: The Filatoio di Caraglio, in Italy (date of construction: 1676-1678) and the Real Filatório de Chacim, in Portugal (date of construction: 1788), taking into consideration their histories and current context. While the former is one of the oldest European silk mills, employing the alla piemontese technique, which was praised by the Encyclopédie, the latter was set up by ltalian technicians, establishing a technology transfer between the two countries.

The impact of unique characteristics of projects and project-based organisations on knowledge transfer

Knowledge has been recognised as an important organisational asset that increases in value when shared; the opposite to other organisational assets which decrease in value during their exploitation. Effective knowledge transfer in organisations helps to achieve and maintain competitive advantage and ultimately organisational success. So far, the research on knowledge transfer has focused on traditional (functional) organisations. Only recently has attention been directed towards knowledge transfer in projects. Existing research on project learning has recognised the need for knowledge transfer within and across projects in project-based organisations (PBOs). Most projects can provide valuable new knowledge from unexpected actions, approaches or problems experienced during the project phases. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of unique projects characteristics on knowledge transfer in PBO. This is accomplished through review of the literature and a series of interviews with senior project practitioners. The interviews complement the findings from the literature. Knowledge transfer in projects occurs by social communication and transfer of lessons learned where project management offices (PMOs) and project managers play significant roles in enhancing knowledge transfer and communication within the PBO and across projects. They act as connectors between projects and the PBO ‘hub’. Moreover, some project management processes naturally facilitate knowledge transfer across projects. On the other hand, PBOs face communication challenges due to unique and temporary characteristics of projects. The distance between projects and the lack or weakness of formal links across projects, create communication problems that impede knowledge transfer across projects. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that both social communication and explicit informational channels play important role in inter-project knowledge transfer. Interviews also revealed the important role organisational culture play in knowledge transfer in PBOs.

Experiments with underwater robot localization and tracking

This paper describes a novel experiment in which two very different methods of underwater robot localization are compared. The first method is based on a geometric approach in which a mobile node moves within a field of static nodes, and all nodes are capable of estimating the range to their neighbours acoustically. The second method uses visual odometry, from stereo cameras, by integrating scaled optical flow. The fundamental algorithmic principles of each localization technique is described. We also present experimental results comparing acoustic localization with GPS for surface operation, and a comparison of acoustic and visual methods for underwater operation.

Building a software architecture for a human-robot team using the ORCA framework

This paper considers the problem of building a software architecture for a human-robot team. The objective of the team is to build a multi-attribute map of the world by performing information fusion. A decentralized approach to information fusion is adopted to achieve the system properties of scalability and survivability. Decentralization imposes constraints on the design of the architecture and its implementation. We show how a Component-Based Software Engineering approach can address these constraints. The architecture is implemented using Orca – a component-based software framework for robotic systems. Experimental results from a deployed system comprised of an unmanned air vehicle, a ground vehicle, and two human operators are presented. A section on the lessons learned is included which may be applicable to other distributed systems with complex algorithms. We also compare Orca to the Player software framework in the context of distributed systems.

Pathways for developing a 'smart' workforce : does the achievement of formal workplace qualifications encourage participation in higher education?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a public workforce education initiative in the context of State and agency policies designed to enhance employee capabilities to adapt to a volatile and changing environment. In particular, we are concerned with public employees’ experience of a higher educational pathway that resulted in their obtaining a Diploma level qualification. In addition to understanding the employees’ experience of this pathway we were interested in whether the experience contributed to their openness to the prospect of university level education. We conducted telephone interviews with a sample of participants from the program. Employees reported very positive experience of the program; in particular employees reported enhanced efficacy beliefs, a strong sense of achievement, and a feeling of recognition. This experience is explained by four main factors; (1) a program design that was well aligned with the employees learning needs, (2) strong support by organisational staff who delivered and assessed participants on capability criteria, (3) strong management support for employees’ participation, (4) an academic ceremony that provided participants with public recognition of their achievement by valued others. Participants’ motivation to participate was primarily intrinsic rather than extrinsic. Participants in the study reported that their experience in this educational pathway gave them the confidence to consider the possibility of university level education. The paper also discusses the practitioner-academic collaboration that led to the development of this paper.

Between a rock and a hard place : what do public sector leaders learn from the past as they lead into the future

The purpose of this paper is to bring leadership context into sharper focus and to suggest there are strong constraints on public leaders’ discretion to lead in ways consistent with NPM or NPL. Much of the existing public leadership research focuses on the individual leader and tends to give little attention to the influence of context. This lack of focus on leader context adversely affects our ability to build public leadership capacity. We draw on prior research to establish that (1) there are strong contextual constraints on public leaders’ capacity to lead in ways consistent with NPL, (2) public leaders are subject to contradictory messages and for the most part these contradictions are unacknowledged and unresolved, the impact of which is confusion and informal power-politics, (3) the task of leader transition from traditional leadership to new public leadership is very much underestimated and requires a new way to think about leadership development. On the basis of this analysis, we argue that public leaders find themselves between a rock and a hard place.