The Cassamarca Foundation at Swinburne

The Cassamarca Foundation The Cassamarca is a private financial Foundation, based in the City of Treviso (north of Venice ). It's President, the Honourable Dott. Dino De Poli (pictured right) has a deep love for education and for the Italian culture and language. De Poli, often described as a modern day Medici, is an Italian lawyer and philanthropist and an active promoter of Italian culture around the globe. Cassamarca Foundation is involved in a double philanthropic effort in Treviso and in countries around the world which have had an historically strong Italian migration wave.

The Cassamarca Foundation's Role in the Education and Culture Sectors

In Treviso , the Cassamarca Foundation played a key role in organizing the opening of a new University. The Foundation's aim was to give the young people of this city the opportunity to study close to home. A few years ago, Cassamarca purchased the old Treviso hospital, which has now been completely renovated and refurbished to become the first building of Treviso University . Other buildings such as the Palazzo dell'Umanesimo Latino have also recently been restored.

Ca' Spineda - Head Office to the Cassamarca Foundation (source: Cassamarca Foundation website)

The interiors of the buildings have been beautifully restored because, as we say in Italian, "anche l'occhio vuole la sua parte" (even the eye wants its share).

Ca' Spineda, interiors (source: Cassamarca Foundation website)

The Mission of the Cassamarca Foundation Abroad

The Foundation's mission abroad includes the promotion and advancement of Italian culture and Latin Humanism in countries with major Italian migrant heritage. Cassamarca Foundation has been investing a huge amount of money to sponsor several lectureships in Italian in different countries around the globe, including Australia.

The Cassamarca Foundation and Australia

Dr De Poli says that the Foundation is particularly committed to the Australian project because of the close ties forged by migration between the two countries. He adds that it has been a personal dream to nurture the Italian language abroad and recognize the important place that the millions of Italian migrants, migrant descendants, and Italo-philes worldwide have always occupied in the Cassamarca Foundation's vision. Australia, which was the destination of the last great wave of European migrants and whose second widely-spoken language since the late 1950s has become Italian, has now with this gift, become the symbol of the Foundation's active involvement abroad.

Swinburne University and the Cassamarca Foundation

The Cassamarca Foundation awarded the original grant to Laura Hougaz, Head of Italian and European Studies (1989-2006) in 2001, in recognition of her passionate and dedicated commitment to Italian Studies in Australia and for her unique curriculum innovation and development of the double degree Bachelor of Business/ Bachelor of Arts (Italian) and the European Studies programs at Swinburne. The Italian and European Studies section of the Faculty of Business and Enterprise is delighted that the Italian Cassamarca Foundation has agreed to continue to fund the Cassamarca Italian lectureship at Swinburne University in perpetuity. This is an acknowledgement of the very important contribution that the Swinburne Italian and European Studies section is making in the promotion of Italian and European Studies in Australia . The Italian Studies program at Swinburne is unique in that it offers the unique combination of a business degree in addition to providing competence and fluency in the Italian language, an understanding of modern Italian culture including the social, economic and political aspects and an appreciation of the importance of the EU in the business environment. It provides an insight into Italy 's commercial and industrial sectors which have contributed to the making of the country a leading economic power in the world.

This unusual, innovative program is what attracted the Cassamarca Foundation to Swinburne. Swinburne University is one of nine Australian universities to benefit from a generous gift of €900,000 per year over 13 years (approximately $23 million dollars) as an investment in the nurturing of Italian language and culture in Australia .

Building on $6 million already donated over the last six years, the Foundation now aims to perpetuate the 13 existing positions in Australia by continuing to fund half the cost of the existing positions for the next 13 years, while building an endowment to maintain them in perpetuity

The current Cassamarca Lecturer in Italian at Swinburne is Dr Simone Battiston . The previous Cassamarca Lectureship position was held by Laura Ancilli (2001-2004).

The Swinburne Cassamarca Lectureship in Treviso

The Cassamarca Lectureship has given Swinburne Business students the opportunity to extend their boundaries and travel outside Australia as part of their course through the Treviso Program (run every 2 years since 2002) and through student exchange with the University of Ca' Foscari, Venice - Treviso campus. Dr Simone Battiston , Cassamarca Lecturer in Italian,
is the Coordinator of the Treviso Program.

View the Cassamarca Foundation website