NEWS RELEASE

JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA

May 11, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CYRIL LAGVANEC DISCUSSES THE FIRST ATTEMPTS TO UNIFY DURING THREE-PART LECTURE AT EAST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY

JEFFERSON, LA – Cyril M. Lagvanec, PhD, the curator of the American-Italian Research Library located on the second floor of the East Bank Regional Library, will give the first of a series of three lectures on the early history of Italy at 7 p.m., Monday, June 5, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. 

This event is free of charge and is open to the public.

In his first lecture, Dr. Lagvanec will focus on the Revolution of 1848 and the First War of Italian Unification, 1848-1849. The second and third lectures will occur at 7 p.m., on Monday, July 17, and Monday, August 14. In his second lecture, Dr. Lagvanec will discuss the Second War of Italian Unification and the creation of a modern Italy, 1859-70. The third lecture will focus on the Hellenistic Age from Alexander to Cleopatra.

The revolutions of 1848 ignited nationalist sentiment throughout the Italian peninsula. There were widespread uprisings in several Italian cities that year, mostly by the professional classes such as doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, as well as students. Lombardy-Venetia and Milan tried to rise up against Austrian rule.

The First Italian War of Independence, part of the Italian Unification, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conservative states. It occurred from March 1848 to August 1849 in the Italian Peninsula.

Cyril Lagvanec earned his undergraduate degree in history from Baylor University, his master’s degree in British and European History from Tulane University, and his doctoral degree in American History from Texas A&M University. Through his long career, Dr. Lagvanec has taught at Jesuit High School, Tulane, Loyola, Delgado, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, East Carolina University, and Texas A&M.

For more information regarding this event, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

The Jefferson Parish Library system consists of 16 locations that stretch from the Lakeshore Branch on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain to the Grand Isle Branch just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. The library system consists of two large regional libraries and seven branches on each side of the Mississippi River. The East Bank Regional Library (4747 West Napoleon Ave., Metairie) serves as library headquarters. The Jefferson Parish Library is the second largest system in the state of Louisiana. More than 200 employees work for the Jefferson Parish Library including librarians, administration and support staff. For more information, contact the library at (504) 838-1100 or www.jefferson.lib.la.us.

For more information about Jefferson Parish, visit www.JeffParish.net Residents can also receive regular updates by following the Parish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@JeffParishGov) or by texting JPALERT or JPNOTICIAS to 888-777.

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Jefferson Parish Public Information Office 1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Suite 1002 Jefferson, LA 70123

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Gretchen Hirt Gendron, PIO