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the Preservation of the Italian Embassy in Santo Domingo, and Casa de Italia, Inc., as well as his interest in
enhancing commercial exchange between both countries as a member of the current the Board of Directors
of the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce.
•
Virginia Flores Sasso
Flores Sasso was born in Santo Domingo. She received a degree in Architecture and graduated
cum laude
from
Universidad Iberoamérica (UNIBE). She holds a doctorate in Architecture from Universidad Michoacana de
San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Morelia, Mexico and a master’s degree in Preservation of Monuments and Cultural
Property
from Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU). She works as a researcher, teacher,
and essayist. She is the Head Researcher (highest rank) at Carrera Nacional de Investigación funded by grants
from the National Council of Higher Education, Science and Technology (CONESCYT) and the Ministry
of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCyT). She conducts research on topics related to the
history of construction, the history of the Caribbean, material science, preservation of patrimony, archeome-
try, sustainability, and energy efficiency. She has authored books and articles published in scientific journals,
conference proceedings, and local newspapers, among other contributions. She has also presented dozens of
communications, lectures, and conferences nationally and internationally. She is a reviewer for multiple in-
dexed scientific journals at Scopus and WOS. She has been an adviser for doctoral dissertations and master’s
and bachelor’s theses, as well as a dissertation evaluator. She is a member of Sociedad Española de Historia
de la Construcción, The Construction History Society of United Kingdom, The Association for Preservation
Technology International, International Scientific Committee for Vernacular Architecture, and a full member
of the Gonzalo de Cárdenas Vernacular Architecture School, International Council on Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS), and (ICOM), as well as an associate at the Dominican Academy of History.
•
Rolando Forestieri Sanabia
Forestieri Sanabia was born in Santo Domingo to an Italian father and Dominican mother. In 1973 he gradu-
ated with a doctorate in Political Science with a specialization in History from the University of Rome. He has
been an active promoter of Greek and Italian culture in the Dominican Republic; in 1979, he founded Instituto
Cultural Domínico Italiano, Inc. and, in 1990, Sociedad Dominicana de Estudios Helénicos, Inc. He estab-
lished the Museum of Greece at the latter society, where he is both the director and owner. In 1989, along with
seven other people he founded Casa de Italia, Inc., and since that time he has been the President of its Cultural
Committee. As part of his cultural dissemination work, he has presented at various exhibitions and conferenc-
es and written a dozen publications on the aforementioned topics and on subjects related to political science.
In addition, along with other political scientist colleagues, he founded Asociación de Politólogos Dominicanos
Inc. and Academia Dominicana de Ciencias Políticas, Inc., where he chaired the respective boards of directors
between 1982-1984 and 2010-2016. He is a member of the Doctoral Council of the Dominican Republic and
an associate at the Dominican Academy of History. He has received many awards, including decorations from
the Presidency of Italy and the distinction of “Emeritus Professor” awarded by the University Council of the
Autonomous University of Santo Domingo in 2010.
•
Manuel Salvador Gautier
Gautier was born in Santo Domingo on August 1, 1930. He studied architecture and graduated as an archi-
tectural engineer from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo in 1955. He received his doctorate in
architecture from the University of Rome, Italy, in 1960. He has written articles about architectural topics in
Boletín del Museo de las Casas Reales
,
Revista CODIA
,
Revista GNA, ARQUITEXTO,
and the newspaper
La Noticia
.
In 1993, he published the tetralogy
Tiempo para heroes
on the expedition of Constanza, Maimón, and Estero
Hondo in 1959. He won the Annual Manuel de Jesús Galván Novel Award that year. In 1995, he published
Toda la vida
, which also won this award. In February 1999, he published
Serenata
. In January 2005, he present-