International gathering at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei will bring scholars together in May, with a celebratory concert in Santa Maria della Scala
ROME — A major international conference in Rome this May will place the philosophical thought of St. Thomas Aquinas at the center of renewed scholarly attention, offering a lively conclusion to the trilogy of anniversaries marking the life of the Dominican friar whose teaching continues to shape the intellectual tradition of the Church and the Order of Preachers. The conference, titled “Thomas Aquinas as Philosopher,” will be held from May 19–22, 2026, at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Palazzo Corsini. A celebratory concert will also take place during the conference in the church of Santa Maria della Scala.
According to the conference materials, the gathering is intended as the principal Italian scholarly event closing the sequence of Thomistic anniversaries observed from 2023 to 2026: the 700th anniversary of Aquinas’ canonization in 2023, the 750th anniversary of his death in 2024, and the 800th anniversary of his birth in 2025–2026. Organizers note that, beyond any confessional or ideological reading, Thomas Aquinas remains one of the most important figures in the intellectual history of Italy and one of its most influential figures internationally. Rome was chosen as the venue in part because Aquinas himself founded a new studium there in 1265.
For the Dominican Order, the conference offers more than an academic commemoration. It is an occasion to return to the thought of a friar whose pursuit of truth was inseparable from the apostolic mission of preaching. By focusing on Aquinas not only as theologian but as philosopher, the gathering draws attention to the breadth of his contribution and to the enduring place of sacred study within the Dominican vocation.
The conference will focus especially on Aquinas’ philosophical thought. Over four days, the program will explore six principal themes: Aquinas as commentator on Aristotle, his relation to the Neoplatonic tradition, his engagement with Arabic-Islamic and Jewish philosophical traditions, key themes in his practical philosophy, key themes in metaphysics and anthropology, and major moments in the later legacy of Thomistic thought.
The meeting opens on Tuesday, May 19, with remarks from leaders in academic and ecclesial life, including representatives of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Société Internationale pour l’Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale, and the Italian Society for the Study of Medieval Thought. The opening academic session will include lectures by Pasquale Porro, fr. Adriano Oliva, OP, and Marc Millais.
From there, the program turns to Aquinas’ engagement with Aristotle. Sessions on May 19 and 20 will consider Aquinas’ commentaries on works including the De interpretatione, the Posterior Analytics, the Ethics, the Physics, the Metaphysics, the Meteorologica, and the Politics. Among the speakers are Andrea Tabarroni, Costantino Marmo, Irene Zavattero, Silvia Donati, Cecilia Trifogli, Marta Borgo, Massimiliano Lenzi, Kevin White, and Marco Toste.
On Wednesday afternoon, May 20, the conference will take up Aquinas and the Neoplatonic Tradition, with presentations by fr. Raymund Snyder, OP, Maria Evelina Malgieri, Gregory Doolan, Rudi te Velde, and Alfonso Quartucci. That evening, the academic program will give way to a celebratory concert in Santa Maria della Scala. The concert, titled “Aquinas in Poliphony by Josquin and His Circle,” will be performed by Ensemble Graindelavoix of Antwerp under the direction of Björn Schmelzer.
Thursday’s sessions will address Aquinas’ relation to Arabic-Islamic and Jewish philosophy, including papers on Avicenna, the Latin Averroes, the doctrine of indeterminate dimensions, Ibn Gabirol, and Maimonides. Later that day, attention will turn to practical philosophy, with presentations on ethics, human agency, prudence, justice, and moral questions in Aquinas’ Quodlibeta. Speakers in these sessions include Olga L. Lizzini, Fiorella Retucci, Stefano Pelizzari, Marienza Benedetto, Andreas Speer, Martin Pickavé, Tobias Hoffmann, Lidia Lanza, and Marialucrezia Leone.
The conference concludes on Friday, May 22, with sessions on metaphysics and anthropology and then on the later history of Thomism. Presentations will include papers by Giorgio Pini, Gabriele Galluzzo, Fabrizio Amerini, fr. Camille de Belloy, OP, fr. Serge-Thomas Bonino, OP, Giovanni Ventimiglia, and Luca Bianchi. The closing afternoon will also include the presentation of “Le tracce di Tommaso. Un catalogo iconografico,” a project dedicated to tracing the visual legacy of Aquinas. Final remarks are scheduled from Loris Sturlese, Gaetano Lettieri, fr. Adriano Oliva, OP, and Pasquale Porro.
The sessions will take place at Palazzo Corsini, Via della Lungara 10, Rome. Participation requires online registration (click here); the proceedings will also be available by livestream.
