Il Collegio 7

[Keith Cogswell]

MCThe collegio sindacale can only be made up of qualified auditors, chartered accountants, lawyers and employment-law experts. Accountants and auditors are essential because of their expert knowledge of internal controls and external audit. They come from a profession that respects due process and adheres to the legal obligations of the role. They also have a skill set that balances well with lawyers and legal experts.

MC: I have been appointed to the collegio sindacale of more than a dozen companies over the years. These have been in a variety of industries, from retail, advertising and publishing, to chemical, pharmaceutical and real estate. I have concluded that the board of directors was functioning properly, and the company was well managed. In fact, I found myself wondering more than once why the collegio sindacale needed such extensive oversight powers.

MC: One experience, in particular, helped me understand why the collegio sindacale is so essential. I was a member of the collegio sindacale of a company that had just been taken over by an institutional investor. After two years of tensions, the director appointed by the minority shareholders became both Chairman and CEO of the company and pursued his own interests. Meanwhile, the financial situation of the company was rapidly deteriorating.

MC: At first, we decided to closely monitor the situation. We discovered that important decisions were being taken without due process and, in one instance, not in the interest of the company and its creditors.

We also explained to the directors that if they did not attend the meeting, we would ask the court for an independently appointed director to replace the Chairman-CEO. A semblance of normality returned.

We also asked for weekly reports to see if the company was still generating cash and was not insolvent. We held regular meetings and exchanged information with the external auditors. It was clear that the company was being run into the ground.

Our three-year term on the collegio sindacale expired and we could not see our role through. Although we had used the full extent of our powers to hold management accountable, the subsequent collegio sindacale was not as rigorous in its oversight. The mismanagement eventually led to bankruptcy.

MC: The whole experience taught me the importance of corporate governance and its design. No model is perfect, but the traditional model of corporate governance in Italy has its merits as the collegio sindacale is a truly independent body, with very broad powers.

HMML began digitization at the Pontificio Collegio Armeno (PCA) in Rome in 2018. The PCA is located in central Rome, near the Quirinal Hill, and adjacent to the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani (Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in the Gardens of Sallust). The original seminary or collegio was established in 1584, but closed shortly afterwards. Pope Leo XII resurrected the collegio and granted the presentday site to the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in 1883. It continues to function as an Armenian Catholic seminary to this day.

The majority of the manuscripts of the Collegio collection were donated by individuals who either studied at the Collegio or were associated with it. Many of the manuscripts from the San Biagio collection bear the stamp of Santa Maria Egiziaca in Rome, a church given to Armenian Catholics along with a guesthouse in the sixteenth century by Pope Pius V. Armenian Catholics found refuge at the church in the eighteenth century, after fleeing persecution in the Ottoman Empire; the books they bequeathed formed the core of the collection. While many manuscripts were produced in Italy, particularly Rome, some of the later manuscripts hail from Armenian Catholic centers in eastern Europe and around the Black Sea, in Lvov (Lviv), Trebizond (Trabzon), Crimea, and Transylvania. Likewise, there are a number of devotional books in Armeno-Turkish (Turkish represented in Armenian script), reflecting a Turkish-speaking community with its roots in Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire. Notably, scholar Anna Sirinian has traced the provenance of at least two fifteenth-century illuminated manuscripts to scriptoria in the Vaspurakan region near Lake Van.

What do Xavier, Gonzaga, Loyola, and Bellarmine have in common? You may be thinking March Madness, but they are the Freshman collegio class names at Seattle Prep, honoring saints. Collegio is a unique class that combines English, History, and Theology. Not only does it offer an environment that helps students make connections between subjects, but also creates a space in which students have a variety of options for seeking guidance and advice.

Anyone can access the collegi thanks to a parental-income based fee system and payment by instalments.

Fees are calculated according to income tier and accommodation type. They can vary from a minimum of about 170 euros to a maximum of 340 euros per month.

Studying in a merit-based collegio means having high-level facilities available, designed to support the whole University career, and favoring a rapid and qualified entry into the world of work.

These collegi offer: internal courses, tutoring, international mobility programs, continuous cultural events and also recreational and socializing activities.

In order to be admitted to a merit-based collegio it is necessary to participate in a competition (a written test and two oral tests) which takes place in September.

Then, to maintain the assigned room, each year the students have to respect the high academic performance requirement of an average annual grade not less than 27/30.

The cost of the accommodation is largely supported by the Collegio, since the students are only asked for a contribution proportionate to family income and many rooms are completely free.

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