International Conference 'Unveiling The Duke of Parma'

The international conference ‘Unveiling The Duke of Parma’ will take place on 23 and 24 February 2026. This event will mark the culmination of the research project, 'Fernando Pessoa's Duke of Parma: An Unpublished Shakespearean Tragedy', which has involved specialists from the universities of Parma, Lisbon, Bogotá (Los Andes) and La Sapienza.

The scholars will present their findings on Fernando Pessoa's unfinished tragedy from a variety of scientific perspectives. These will then be discussed by external specialists, including academics from Lisbon, Coimbra and Nottingham universities, the Huygens Institute in Amsterdam, the Finnish Literature Society, and Padua and Bologna universities.

The proceedings will begin with Jerónimo Pizarro and Nicolás Barbosa discussing transcribing Pessoa's manuscripts as an interpretative activity with Carlos Pittella. Next, João Dionísio and Maria Sousa will analyse the types and organisation of the documents in the dossier and their relationship with other documents in the Fernando Pessoa archive, as well as the structure of the tragedy itself. Sakari Katajamäki will then comment on their presentation. The afternoon session will open with Elena Lombardo presenting issues related to the digital codification of such a fragmentary text. She will then engage in a dialogue with Elli Bleeker on this topic. Next, Carlotta Defenu will speak. She will focus on the authorial variations evident in the Duke of Parma's witnesses and Fernando Pessoa's usus scribendi — or, more accurately, his usus creandi — in this work. Manuel Portela will then share his thoughts on the subject.

The following day, the proceedings will resume with two sessions that focus more on literature than philology. Mark Sabine and I will discuss the themes of sexuality and misogyny. These themes are prevalent in this tragedy, which, understandably, was unavailable to the eminent scholars who have already addressed this topic in relation to Fernando Pessoa. Diego Saglia will discuss Shakespearean influences, particularly the ironic revival of the Renaissance concept of wit. Alessandra Petrina will offer her expert insights on the subject. Finally, the conference will close with a return to the philological side of things, introducing a theme that looks to the future of the project. Simone Celani and Paola Italia will discuss a potential model for a digital edition of the Duke of Parma. This final presentation will lead into the concluding roundtable discussion, which Rita Cipriano will moderate and which will focus on potential future scenarios for the project.

The papers will be preceded by the presentation of the online digital archive of The Duke of Parma. This archive contains descriptions and encoded transcriptions of all the documents related to the tragedy.

Download the programme here.

Download the book of abstracts here.