Alfieri Lante: Lost & Found?

Question

I'm heading to I. C. Alfieri Lante della Rovere next week for a conference. A friend who went last year mentioned something about a legendary lost and found, supposedly containing everything from ancient Latin textbooks to a taxidermied badger. Is this just a myth, or is the lost and found at Alfieri Lante truly a portal to another dimension of misplaced belongings? I'm dying to know if the badger is real...

ida · Answer

The badger is real, or at least it was when I did a language course there in 2019. The portineria on Via dei Gelsi keeps a glass case near the back with unclaimed items, and the badger sat on top of it like a mascot for years. Nobody would claim it, understandably.

The lost and found itself is less mystical than people make out. It's basically a shelf behind the custodian's desk, and you have to ask in person because nothing gets logged properly. If you lose something, go the same day and be ready to describe it in Italian, that speeds things up considerably.

kira · Answer

ngl the legend got inflated over the years. what actually happens is stuff piles up in the portineria and every june they do a svuotamento, anything unclaimed goes to a charity shop near Piazza Vittorio. so the badger surviving that long is the real mystery, someone on staff must've been protecting it.

if you're going for the conference, the entrance you want is off Via dei Gelsi, not the main gate on Via Bixio. buzzer's on teh left, ring the portiere and say you're there for the convegno. saves you wandering the cortile for ten minutes like I did.

louisa · Answer

I did a semester at Alfieri Lante back in 2017 and the badger was already a running joke among the staff. What people don't mention is that there are actually two portinerie, one on Via dei Gelsi and a smaller one near the courtyard entrance, and the good stuff tends to end up in whichever one the custodian on duty feels like using that week. So if you lose something, ask at both before assuming it's gone. As for the conference itself, the Aula Magna gets warm by mid morning, so grab a seat near the windows on the Via Bixio side if you can.

Neu aus Rome