The cycle “Cultural Heritage: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” continues with a free-entrance meeting devoted to the resources of the ocean depths on Thursday 23 January at the Complesso Sant’Euphemia
The Gemma University Museum‘s cycle of conferences“Cultural Heritage: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, which is part of the initiatives for the 850th anniversary of Unimore and which kicked off last December with a meeting dedicated to Marco Polo, continues with the second free-entrance event dedicated to the resources of the ocean depths, scheduled for Thursday 23 January, at 5.30 p.m., at the Complesso Sant’Eufemia (Largo Sant’Eufemia, 19 – Room B.04)
The seabed is rich in minerals of great economic interest such as cobalt, manganese, nickel, gold and rare earths. While exploration for land deposits is being relaunched, large mining companies and various states have launched the race for ocean resources. Their exploitation hides very serious pitfalls for underwater ecosystems and biodiversity.
The topic will be addressed and discussed in depth by Prof. Daniele Brunelli of Unimore’s Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, who has participated in 17 oceanographic expeditions and is a visiting professor at the University of Paris Diderot-Paris, the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and the Institut Universitaire Europeén de la Mer. Brunelli is also a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Boston and a research associate at CNR-IGAG (Rome). In 2023, he was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Italy’s representative for the Indian Ocean Environmental Protection Plan as part of the Regional Environmental Management Plan, under the auspices of the International Seabed Authority, an independent international organisation of the United Nations.
At the end of the conference, it will be possible to visit the Gemma University Museum.
“Museums are not just custodians of heritage, they are living spaces that help us better understand the world around us through curiosity, culture, creativity and critical thinking. With the series of conferences “Cultural Heritage: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, the Gemma Museum of the Unimore Museum and Botanical Garden System intends to promote the value and knowledge of cultural heritage as an asset for all and as a strategic sector for the development of society, the economy and work. This is why the theme of the ocean floor as a natural heritage of great economic interest and of the Gypsums of Emilia Romagna recognised as a World Heritage Site will be discussed, but also the importance of the restoration that has brought the Collection of geological-topographical models from the late 19th-early 20th century back to life,” comments Milena Bertacchini, head of the Gemma University Museum.
The next appointments in the cycle will be held on 5 February to talk about curiosities and discoveries during the restoration of the Gemma University Museum’s model collection and on 13 February to learn about the Gypsum formations of Emilia Romagna as a World Heritage Site.
Thursday 23 January 2025 at 5.30 p.m. at the Complesso Sant’Eufemia ((Largo Sant’Eufemia, 19 – Room B.04))