Giovanni Canova

Uno sguardo su Egitto e Yemen

Giovanni Canova, former professor of Arabic language and literature, first at the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice and then at L’Orientale University in Naples, carried out field research in Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Oman for many years. He investigated topics ranging from Arabic poetry to legends and Islamic book arts.

In 2018 and 2019 FSCIRE hosted two exhibitions of Canova’s photographs taken during his work in Egypt and Yemen in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sguardi dell’Alto Egitto (1978-1982). Un percorso fotografico

On the occasion of the 2018 First Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion, from 5 to 8 March, FSCIRE hosted the exhibition Sguardi dell’Alto Egitto (1978-1982). Un percorso fotografico. The photographs Canova took during his field research explore aspects related to traditional life in southern Egypt. With the aim of documenting the narrative heritage of the area, Canova probes the daily life of families, approaches the cycle of life and witnesses the crucial moments of passage and devotion, such as weddings, circumcisions and pilgrimages.

The exhibition was realized under the high patronage of the European Parliament, in collaboration with the Unesco Chair of Bologna, MIUR, Alma Mater Studiorum, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Municipality of Bologna and the Centre for the Study of Religion & Politics.

Yemen. Vita di villaggio (1982-1986)

The exhibition Yemen. Vita di villaggio was hosted by San Leonardo Theater in Bologna on the occasion of the annual conference of the European Academy of Religion, from 4 to 7 March 2019. Canova offered a selection of shots of his research work carried out in Yemen from 1982 to 1986, in continuity with his research as a scholar and photographer on the traces of the testimonies of the activities of the Banu Hilal tribe. The exhibition travels through villages and settlements, showing people, the activities of daily agricultural life, and the rituality of sharing food.

The exhibition was realized under the high patronage of the European Parliament, in collaboration with MAECI, MIUR, the Emilia-Romagna Region, Fondazione Cariplo and Fondazione Cassa di risparmio di Bologna.