Italian Cultural Institute
One of the famous London attractions is the ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE. Travelling in London gives so many options to its visitors to see some of best tourist destinations that have been visited by millions of visitors year after year. In 1949, the Duke of Westminster gave the property in 39 Belgrave Square to the Duke Gallarati Scotti, Italian Ambassador at the time, for it to become the Italian Cultural Institute.
Since it was inaugurated in 1949, the Institute has been directed by the Count Umberto Morra di Lavriano, Guido Calogero, Gabriele Baldini, Filippo Donini, Mario Montuori, Alessandro Vaciago, Francesco Villari, Benedetta Bini, Mario Fortunato, Pierluigi Barrotta and Carlo Presenti the current director. Hop on and Hop off London Bus Tours is the best way to see the sights and sounds of the city with all freedom to hop on and hop off at your favourite destinations and travel London at your leisure.
The Institute is constantly involved in the organisation of conferences and concerts and it is regularly frequently visited by heterogeneous British and Italian public as well as by professors, scholars and university students.
The Institute has been hosting important personalities of the Italian and British cultural world, such as T.S. Eliot, who held a lecture on Dante in 1964, or Primo Levi, whose speech entitled "From the Lab to the Writer's Desk" took place in 1986. Among those who have collaborated with the Institute it is worth mentioning Italo Calvino, Mario Soldati, Umberto Eco, Antonia S. Byatt, Piero Dorazio, Achille Perilli, Fabio Mauri, Carlo Maria Giulini, Luciano Berio, Luciana Serra, Zubin Mehta, Graziella Sciutti, Alberto Zedda, Sylvano Bussotti, Renata Scotto, Ruggero Raimondi, the Taviani brothers, Ferruccio Soleri, Antonio Pappano and many others.
Whether you take it as a London weekend tour, small London city break, London day tours or Long London holidays – you will definitely fall in love with London at first sight.