On Monday, 21 June 2021, the College of Europe in Natolin organized for students and staff the Soirée Natalia in the Natolin Palace's Gardens. This special event was organized as part of this academic year's Natolin Graduation Week.
During this enchanting evening, Natalia Sanguszko née Potocka (1807-1830), the name giver of Natolin, brought back to the participants the ambience of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, thanks to the kind engagement of the Warsaw-based Stanislaus August Poniatowski Society.
Watching the animated scenes from that period of time, arranged in the Natolin Park and Palace, the participants were able to experience personally the heritage of Natolin. During the event, the Languages and Intercultural Dialogue Office launched a new project initiated under the auspices of Natolin – Veni, Vidi, Amici (in its Italian edition).
Veni, Vidi, Amici is a project inspired by the esprit de Natolin. It combines education, culture, and dialogue – values that have always been at Natolin's core. Over time, the place that nowadays is our campus has been a place that attracted those ideas which made the world a better and a more beautiful place and which gathered people trying to put them into life. This is how Natolin has made a lot of amici. Year on year, with every promotion, the circle of amici continues to grow. The Veni, Vidi, Amici project's framework allows for multi-format meetings, publications, and accompanying initiatives as part of this undertaking.
To celebrate the project’s first edition, the College of Europe in Natolin plans a publication in 2022 which will offer a broad and long view of the historical ties between Warsaw and Italy. The publication will take you for a walk starting from Natolin and ending at the Schlenker Family Palace (Polish: Pałac Szlenkierów) which is now the seat of the Embassy of the Republic of Italy in Poland.
Last but not least, the participants enjoyed a live concert of Italian songs performed by Mr Jarosław WIST.
Please find below our Flickr gallery with a selection of photos from the Soirée Natalia:
The event was organized following all COVID-19 regulations and sanitary measures enacted by the local laws, as well as the recommendations of the World Health Organization.