In May of 1996, Jamy was honored and pleased to serve as the ninth visiting scholar for the Silvan Magic Academy in Italy. In this unusual semi-annual program, a maximum of twenty registrants come from all over Italy to attend four full days of intensive magic study, interrupted by exquisite food and beautiful countryside of Tuscany. Previous scholars have included such esteemed conjuring artists as Rene Lavand and Roberto Giobbi.

The hosts of the Seminar are depicted at right in front of the Academy. They are, Iacopo Riani (an organizer of the seminar and my very helpful contact who made all the arrangements), Silvan (namesake of the Silvan Magic Academy and one of Italy's greatest magicians) and Antonio Rossi (the originator of the Academy and a generous and gracious host). The academy included the following in their invitation to the seminar: “The next teacher of the May seminar will be Jamy Ian Swiss, known above all for his articles on Genii. But the eclectic American artist is not only a critic of magic literature: he is in fact one of the most skilful magicians of our times, specially for cards and close up. It's an honor and a pleasure for the Academy to have exclusively for Italy such a personage, worthy of holding the first seminar of the new millennium.”