As we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, our University community renews its profound gratitude to the Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimò, whose magnificent generosity made possible this essential undertaking. Indeed, building on the foundation of the Casa, we have created an autonomous Department of Italian Studies that ranks as one of the most prestigious in North America. Her daily involvement and spirited leadership continue to ensure NYU's preeminence in Italian Studies, even as she has helped us create and sustain a model for university education in coming centuries.

I am honored to echo the praise and admiration of my predecessors, Presidents Emeriti John Brademas and L. Jay Oliva, for the important projects and programs she has created, for her wise counsel as a member of NYU's Board of Trustees, and for her warmth and gracious presence at the wonderful events she has hosted. I thank her especially for having established the Guido and Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimò Chair in Contemporary Italian Studies to mark the celebration of the Casa's twentieth anniversary.

Indee, our professors and students who engage in scholarly research, teaching and learning in the elegantly restored landmark townhouse on West 12th Street in Greenwich Village participate in a remarkable range of extracurricular events and programs: visual arts, cinema, theater, music, literature, politics, and economics.

We delight in the fact that the Casa is a center of learning and creativity that sustains an intellectual life enriching not only those within its walls but the lives of thousands of our fellow New Yorkers and our many guests from around the world.

Just as the campus at Washington Square was founded to be "in and of the city," so New York University's global network is fulfilling its mandate to be "in and of the world," a defining element of its character, even as we remain firmly nchored in this great city of New York and derive our essential and unique character and purpose from it.

Our Department of Italian Studies, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, and our superb campus at Villa La Pietra in florence are a constellation of extraordinary resources for the study of Italian culture. Our faculty on both sides of the ocean offer a unique curriculum at both undergraduate and graduate levels and produce world-class scholarship over a range of fields: from literature, to history, to art history, and covering all periods from the Middle Ages.

The Casa was among the first of the University's international houses. Having helped to shape and strengthen our international vision, it now serves as a crucial link in our University's emerging global network, anchored in New York city, with nodes throughout the world - ranging from exchange programs with other universities to complete regional campuses that provide a full liberal arts education at the undergraduate level.

We have created interconnected campuses on five continents - stretching from Washington Square to Buenos Aires to Florence and our other sites in Europe to Accra to Shanghai and on to Abu Dhabi. As the University moves forward, its faculty and students will have ever-increasing options to engage with other peoples and cultures through teaching and study abroad.

Casa Italian is therefore central to our international mission and a magnificent magnet, drawing to New York extraordinary international scholars, artists, and other prominent figures who help us discover and build on the spectacular heritage of Italian culture.

I salute the extraordinary women and men who are the faculty and students of Italian Studies at New York University. They signal to the world that we have housed in our Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò a world-class discipline. And I include a special note of appreciation to Professor Stefano Albertini, Director of the Casa, and to his staff who are key to our success.

I am delighted to express deep appreciation to our many friends who have so wisely advised us and so generously supported us these past two decades, as I renew our profound gratitude to the Baroness Zerilli-Marimò for her great gift - a jewel in our crown of international houses, and a major asset in our global enterprise.