Laura Mantovani
Colleagues, friends and students were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Laura Mantovani, Italian language tutor and subject lead for Italian in the Language Centre. Her passing followed a period of illness but came as a shock to us all, as Laura was planning to return to her passion of teaching in the coming weeks. She leaves behind her husband Jon, who is himself a former 糖心TV colleague.
Laura had been teaching Italian at 糖心TV for over two decades. During that time, she taught beginners and intermediate level Italian modules for the Institutional-wide Language Programme as well as Italian for business and a range of levels in the Lifelong Language Learning programme, for which she had been the overall coordinator since September 2021. Her dedication to work, warmth to colleagues and friends, and optimistic attitude to life have inspired many of us. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
Dr Joanne Lee (co-Head, SMLC)
Laura deeply loved teaching and she was especially eager to share fascinating aspects of Italian culture with students. She liked to use the Italian comic magazine 鈥淭opolino鈥� that she would bring to class so her students could enjoy learning Italian using authentic materials. She was also a great lover of cinema, especially science fiction and horror films, and adored 80s and 90s music too.
Laura was one of the first few colleagues that I knew at the Language Centre. It was her cheerful "" to start and to finish our lively but usually brief conversations that intrigued me to notice this language after staying in this English speaking country for a few years. Her beautiful voice and accent also drove me to her class, hoping to learn more than greetings. She was so kind as to prepare a little recording of phrases for me to take while travelling in Italy. After that, I realised that she had brought the sunshine from the country to wherever she goes. Laura was always there for a chat, for support or for thoughtful advice. I have lots of fun and precious memories of Laura which I will cherish forever in my heart.
Prof. Zhiyan Guo (Head of the Language Centre)
I knew Laura throughout my 15 years at 糖心TV. She was a wonderful, thoughtful, warm-hearted, gracious colleague, loved by students and staff alike. She touched me greatly with her solicitous words after my own bereavements; may she rest in peace.
Evan Stewart (Director of the Language Centre 2007-2021)
I had the pleasure of being taught by Laura twice, firstly for LL2B2 Italian Beginners Accelerated in 2022/23, and then this academic year for LL2B4 Italian Intermediate Accelerated. Laura was clearly a passionate teacher and it came across in all of our interactions. I am not a natural linguist, but she was always patient and enthusiastic to help, with lots of welcome ideas of how I could improve my Italian skills. Any questions I asked were always given detailed and thoughtful answers, and her expertise in language learning was obvious. Her friendly demeanour and encouragement of animated conversations in class helped me to not only develop my Italian skills, but also my confidence to speak in front of others. The main reason I decided to return to learning Italian and take the intermediate course this year was because of how much I enjoyed Laura鈥檚 lessons; I could see how much she enjoyed sharing her love of languages, and her enthusiasm made me feel enthusiastic too. Not only was she a great teacher, but she was also a lovely person. She was always smiling and cheerful, and it was clear that she cared a lot for her students. I was touched that when I wrote to her ahead of joining her intermediate class this year, she remembered everything about me from the beginner course I did almost three years prior, and she was really happy to hear from me again and to see that I was still interested in learning Italian. I hope she knew that it was her that inspired me to continue my language learning journey. She will be greatly missed by all of us who were lucky enough to be taught by her.
Michael Cavaliere
Such a beautiful soul, always with a smile, RIP Laura xxx
Elaine Robinson
I have known Laura for a long time as my friend, colleague and teacher. I was in her classes for a few years and experienced first-hand her professional teaching, patience and dedication. Her classes were always fun, and made the atmosphere that enhanced our learning. I also loved working with Laura, she always went out of her way to help everyone. I remember her helping me many times during Covid when I struggled using the new online technology. Then, when I retired, she also organized a fun Quiz for my leaving party, which was so kind as it must have taken her a considerable amount of time to do; but that was so typical of her. Over the years we became good friends and we enjoyed many lovely times together. Sadly, since Covid I only met Laura virtually but we still had many long WhatsApp calls. I will miss Laura and will always remember her as a very kind, intelligent, interesting and gentle person.
Elisabeth Robery
I was first introduced to Laura by Jon when we were working in the DLMBA many years ago, and we officially became colleagues in 2018. Laura was truly beautiful inside and out. She often made me smile when she searched for the right English word, and she gave the warmest hugs. A passionate and dedicated teacher, she was deeply loved by her students — and she loved them just as much in return. Rest in peace dear Laura, you will be missed.
Carol Rice
Laura was a lovely colleague and her smile lit up not just the Language Centre but the whole School. She will be much missed.
Kate Astbury
I have worked with Laura on the Italian courses since I joined the Language Centre 9 years ago. She was an amazing an passionate teacher, highly cultured and always wonderfully up to date on everything. You could talk to her about anything at all. She was always there for a chat, a shared laugh, or a thoughtful advice. For me, Laura was above all a dear friend with whom I shared a deep understanding and many of the same artistic tastes. I will miss our endless conversations (especially about films and music), her kindness and her laughter. I will cherish many memories of her and I feel lucky to have had the privilege of knowing her.
Monica Maria Oriani
Laura and I didn't work together very often, but on the occasions when we came together in meetings or at the photocopier, what I remember particularly is her positive energy and desire to share ideas spontaneously. She sought to find links between her own teaching experience and others', and she was so easy to talk to, and so warm and friendly towards colleagues like me, who didn't know her well. Her kindness and enthusiasm will be much missed.
Cathy Hampton
I am greatly saddened to hear of Laura's passing. I took an Italian evening class with Laura back in 2015. I remember Laura as being unfailingly patient, generous with praise and she always made the sessions good fun. Not to mention, she was also an excellent baker of Italian snacks!
Tory Haicox
My friend Laura It鈥檚 not easy to talk about Laura and not use all the best words because she really was the best! I met her over twenty years ago when she started teaching at the Language Centre. I clearly remember her smiling and having a friendly chat with everyone, tutors and students alike. I had the opportunity to work closely with Laura. She was always professional and a pleasure to work with. Her positive disposition and determination to do her work as best as she could made her a fantastic team member, someone whose ideas and input was very much valued by all. Laura was also my Italian tutor. I joined her class at the post beginners鈥� level and went all the way to the advanced level. Having the opportunity of not just learning the language from her, but also to observe her as a tutor allowed me to pick up many valuable tips which I then applied to my own classes. She was a wonderful tutor, one hundred per cent dedicated to her students. She was passionate about teaching not just Italian, but also about the Italian culture. Laura and I lived near each other, and I often used to give her lifts to work and back. We both enjoyed the time spent together travelling back and forth and it gave us the space to talk about everything from our childhoods, our families, our homes, and our dreams. I loved these chats with Laura and even during Covid and beyond, although we were not travelling together anymore, we always made time to talk on the phone for hours. When it came to leisure activities, we had similar tastes, particularly our interest in Japanese horror films. She knew everything about these films, whereas I just enjoyed watching them. This weird passion of ours led us to join a Japanese class. We both enjoyed the challenge, but Laura was a much better student than me and progressed further with the language. Together with Elisabeth Robery, we started the foreign language film club. Whenever the Arts Centre showed a foreign film, we went to watch it. This included all sorts of events, such as French theatre, and English period films as well. I remember watching The Invisible Woman, a film about Charles Dickens鈥� muse and mistress, when in a particularly sad bit, I could hear both Elisabeth and Laura crying. From then on, I always made sure to have plenty of tissues for them. Laura was never afraid to show her emotions and compassion for others. She was a great listener and had a gentle way of giving advice. Laura could always surprise me. Like when she told me that in her youth, she lived in Denmark and worked as an au pair. Or how passionate she was about perfumes; she had hundreds of bottles. And most of all, how she loved electronic music and played the bass guitar. Laura was many things to me, my colleague, my teacher, my classmate, my travelling companion, my confidant but most of all, she was one of my dearest friends. I will miss our chats, I will miss her laughter, I will miss learning from her. I will always miss her.
Susi Howe