The conference is taking place in two historic locations in Cortona:
- the Centro Convegni Sant'Agostino, a former convent dating back to the 12th century, fully refurbished to serve as a conference centre, located in the centre of Cortona;
- the Palazzone, a Renaissance villa located just outside Cortona, built in the 16th century by order of Cardinal Silvio Passerini and donated in 1968 to the Scuola Normale Superiore.
The town of Cortona lies on a hill at about 500 m above the sea level, at the border between the Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria. The origins of Cortona go back to the Etruscan civilization. The historic centre, with its typical medieval structure, features a number of buildings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The collection of artwork of the Diocesan Museum includes, among others, an Annunciation painted by Fra Angelico. The Museum of the Etruscan Academy and of the City of Cortona houses the Tabula Cortonensis, one of the longest inscriptions found in the Etruscan language.