While proposals for papers, panels, and roundtables on any topic relevant to the long eighteenth century (1670-1830) are warmly welcomed, we particularly invite contributions that address the Congress theme: Antiquity and the Shaping of the Future in the Age of Enlightenment. In the 18th century, a new interpretation of the past radically innovated the dominating view of and approach to tradition. The legacy of antiquity was always there as shared memory, but the critical and analytical attitude that characterised 18th-century culture also transformed its relationship with antiquity, which was renegotiated and modernised. Indeed, the 1700s witnessed a reconstruction of the foundations of knowledge, considering not only the different forms of knowledge itself, but also the individual and his/her existence in the present. This change created a major break with the past and laid the groundwork for the new patterns of thought and expression that have developed in the subsequent ages and continue to do so, up to the present day. They build for the future, but in creative dialogue with a vanished Antiquity. The challenge that the Congress is to face lies precisely in the capturing of the deep sense and meaning of this transformation, which involves all branches of knowledge and can be approached from different perspectives and with different methodologies.

As a first step in the scientific organization of the Congress, the online Call for Panels and Round Tables is now open from April 30, 2022 until September 15, 2022. Then, from October 15, 2022 until January 31, 2023, it will be possible to submit proposals for individual papers, either for an already accepted open panel or for new panels to be set up by the congress organizers on the basis of the paper proposals received and selected. Proposals may be in English, French or Italian.