Dra. Mariàngela Vilallonga Vives

Mariàngela Vilallonga Vives (Girona, 1952) holds a degree and a doctorate in Classical Philology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where she received the Extraordinary Doctorate Award.

She is an emeritus professor of Latin Philology at the University of Girona, director of the Maria Àngels Anglada – Carles Fages de Climent Chair of Literary Heritage since it was created in 2004, and president of the Prudenci Bertrana Foundation. Since 2005, she has been a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies, of which she has been vice president in two terms (2010-2013 and 2017-2019). She is a board member of the Group 62 Administration Council. She served as Minister of Culture of the Government of Catalonia from 2019 to 2020.

She has focused on two areas of research. On the one hand, she has defined and studied Catalan humanism, composed of authors who wrote in Latin during the Renaissance period. She has placed it in its rightful place in the history of literature and related it to European humanisms. On the other hand, she has studied identity creation through the relationship between literature and landscape. In both fields, she has supervised doctoral theses and research projects.

Among her books, the following stand out: Jeroni Pau. Works (1986), The Trees (1986), Two Pamphlets by Pere Miquel Carbonell (1988), Latin Literature in Catalonia in the 15th Century (1993), Latin II. Latin Language and Culture in the Medieval and Modern World (1998), Johannes Burckard. Secret Diary (2003), Literary Atlas of the Lands of Girona (19th and 20th Centuries) (2003), Recreate Rodoreda Romanyà (2008), the translation of French Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke (2011), Aurora Bertrana in Geneva (2017), Noucentisme, Avant-garde, and Country Model: The Centrality of Culture (2018), “This is not Barcelona”. Catalan Views of New York (2022), and Aurora Bertrana, Supporter of Life (2023).

She has directed research projects and teams, including the Studia Humanitatis group, with 14 researchers from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, and Spain; and has been the principal investigator for various R&D&I funded projects. She created and directed the Literary Heritage Research Group at the University of Girona, which is now included in the Research Group “Literature of the Modern Age, Contemporary, and Literary Heritage”, to which she belongs, as well as the consolidated research group “Catalan Language and Literature: History and Identity” of the Government of Catalonia.

She has organized international courses, congresses, and exhibitions. She has given lectures and presentations at conferences in Spain and throughout Europe. She is a member of scientific committees for international institutions and publications and has collaborated with various evaluation agencies.

She has been a member of the Governing Board and the Advisory Council of the Institution of Catalan Letters (2015-2019). She has also been a member, among others, of the School Council of Catalonia (2011-2015), and coordinator of Fulls and a member of the Editorial Board of Revista de Girona (1985-2008). She is a trustee of cultural foundations and a member of juries for literary and research awards.

Her status as a full member of the Institute of Catalan Studies and the Royal European Academy of Doctors has allowed her to consolidate her scientific career beyond the University of Girona. Additionally, her role as Minister of Culture for the Government of Catalonia has enabled her to establish an extensive and close connection with society, further advancing her dedication to culture, which had previously focused on university and academia.

In 2009, she was awarded the Premio per l’Ambiente Gianfranco Merli in Rome. In 2016, she was granted the Creu de Sant Jordi by the Government of Catalonia, and in 2018, the Narcís Monturiol Medal for scientific and technological merit.