On Tuesday 28 June, A Book Presentation of ‘Sacred Possessions: Collecting Italian Religious Art 1500-1900′

Four years ago (19-21 June 2007), the American Academy in Rome hosted a conference co-organized by the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and the Bibliotheca Hertziana—Max Planck Institute for Art History that explored the collecting of religious art in and of Italy. On Tuesday 28 June 2011 at 5 PM the Academy hosts the presentation of a new volume based on this conference: Sacred Possessions: Collecting Italian Religious Art 1500-1900, edited by Gail Feigenbaum FAAR ’78, and Sybille Ebert-Schifferer and published by the Getty Research Institute.

At the event a panel of distinguished scholars will offer their perspectives on the general topic and on the fourteen essays included in the book. Speakers include Francesca Cappelletti, Professor at the University of Ferrara and Director of the Fondazione Ermitage Italia; Giovanna Perini, Professor at the University of Urbino; and Rossella Vodret, Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della Città di Roma. A reception follows the book presentation.

In Rome, a Conference on History and Environment in the Ancient Mediterranean (Wed 15-Thu 16 June 2011)

Whether it is climate, or the use and overuse of timber resources, or the extent and effects of urbanization, or a host of other issues, the history of the Mediterranean environment in antiquity is full of unresolved debates. The intention of the conference History and Environment in the Ancient Mediterranean is scarcely to resolve these debates but rather to redefine their terms and to think about what progress we can hope to make in the immediate future. Co-hosting the conference are the American Academy in Rome and the Institutum Romanum Finlandiae. The speakers are environmental scientists, historians and archaeologists from some seven nations; the conference is free and open to the public.

The morning session of the first day (Wednesday 15 June) will take place at the Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, Villa Lante (Passeggiata del Gianicolo 10), while the afternoon session will take place at the Villa Aurelia of the American Academy in Rome (Largo di Porta San Pancrazio 1). Both sessions of the second day (Thursday 16 June) will take place at the Villa Aurelia. The conference is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and organized by William V. Harris (RAAR’79, ‘81), William R. Shepherd Professor of History at Columbia University. See below for the full program.

In Rome, American and Spanish Academies Present ‘Dialogue: Two Projects of Antoni Muntadas and Giulio Squillacciotti’

Internationally-renowned artist Antoni Muntadas brought two Janiculum neighbors together on Tuesday 7 June 2011, when the American Academy in Rome and the Real Academia de España en Roma united to present two Muntadas events as well as a new project by Italian artist Giulio Squillacciotti.

At 6 PM, Muntadas spoke in the AAR Lecture Room about past work and his new project About Academia, which was seen in its European premiere in the Cryptoporticus of the McKim, Mead & White building. By means of simultaneous projections (texts, interview subjects and architectural spaces) on three screens, About Academia examines the complex interrelationship between “the university” and “academia” in American higher education, both as concepts and as practical entities. This lecture and installation at the AAR are made possible through the generous support of Poste Italiane.

A Whirlwind Week in Review: Annual Events in Late May for AAR Fellows, Trustees (Part 1)

Fellows’ Open Studios, Wednesday 25 May 2011

It was five full days, but still it seemed like a whirlwind when the AAR’s Board of Trustees made their annual visit to Rome from 25 May to 29 May. They convened formally in committees and as a whole, took a good look at  the institution they support throughout the year, and all across the city squeezed in what cultural activities they could.

While in Rome, the AAR Trustees attended some major annual spring events at the Academy—such as the Open Studios, the McKim Medal Gala, the Fellows’ Reading, and the Fellows’ Concert—learned about many of the Fellows’ projects on walks in and around Rome plus in a special installment of the Conversations That Matter series, and received more than a taste of informal community life (especially in the billiard room).