Dra. Mariàngela Vilallonga
Mariàngela Vilallonga, Emeritus Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Girona, President of the Prudenci Bertrana Foundation and full member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (RAED), has led the creation of the Maria Àngels Anglada Commission through the Maria Àngels Anglada-Carles Fages de Climent Chair in Literary Heritage at the University of Girona, which she herself has directed since its creation in 2004. This new body will be responsible for promoting and coordinating the official commemoration of the centenary of the writer’s birth, scheduled for 2030, and will comprise around a dozen people linked to the study, preservation and dissemination of her work.
Specifically, the commission is made up of the writer’s daughters, Mariona Geli and Rosa Geli; the co-director of the Chair, Margarida Casacuberta; August Bover, a member of the Philological Section of the Institute for Catalan Studies; the philologists Anna Maria Velaz, Francesc Foguet and Eusebi Ayensa; the Councillor for Culture of Figueres City Council, Mariona Seguranyes; the librarians of the Fages de Climent Library in Figueres, Nati Vilanova and Albert Carol; the Councillor for Culture of Vic City Council, Bet Piella; and the Director of the Verdaguer Chair in Literary Studies at the University of Vic, Maria Àngels Verdaguer, in addition to Vilallonga herself.
Maria Àngels Anglada
Among the first lines of work agreed upon are the organisation of an international symposium devoted to the figure and work of Maria Àngels Anglada, as well as the creation of an Espai Anglada, conceived as a reference point for preserving and disseminating the author’s legacy. The commission also aims to promote initiatives that ensure greater accessibility to Anglada’s work and encourage its reading. “This initiative seeks not only to honour an important figure in Catalan literature, but also to ensure that future generations can appreciate her work and her contributions to cultural heritage. The centenary commemoration is presented as an opportunity to revitalise interest in Maria Àngels Anglada’s work and to ensure that her legacy endures over time,” the organisers explain.
Following her period as Minister of Culture of the Government of Catalonia between March 2019 and September 2020, a position for which she resigned as Vice-President of the Institute for Catalan Studies, Mariàngela Vilallonga resumed her teaching activity until her retirement three academic years ago. In 2016 she was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi, the highest distinction granted by the Government of Catalonia, for her research into Latin humanist literature in the Crown of Aragon. She was also appointed a board member of the publishing group Grup62.
