Visiting guest speaker Luca Codignola will hold a lecture from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today in 340 Morrill Hall on the topic “Early European Expansion: Evidence from the Jesuit Missionaries in North America.”

Codignola, originally a history professor for the Universita di Genova in Italy, serves as the Emilio Goggio visiting professor of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto.

Codignola specializes in early Canadian history and went to Toronto to teach Canadian history to the students from an Italian viewpoint.

Anne Meyering, MSU associate history professor, met Codignola last year while Meyering was holding a seminar. She said she expects this lecture to appeal to many students.

“He will specifically speak about the history of early European expansion but will also help people understand the history of religion,” Meyering said. “The history of the Jesuits may really interest people.”