Ashby Patrons join us for a Virtual Afternoon Tea |
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At the start of February, we hosted a Virtual Afternoon Tea for our Ashby Patrons, which took place over Zoom. The event began with an introduction from our new Director, Chris Wickham, who gave an update on BSR activity and our plans for the future.
Our Ashby Patrons were then treated to short talks from two of our current award-holders. Claire Burridge (Residential Research Fellow) gave an illuminating talk on her research into early medieval medical knowledge, whilst offering a glimpse of the manuscripts she has been working on whilst at the BSR. Max Fletcher (Sainsbury Scholar in Painting and Sculpture) gave a tour of his studio, whilst talking through some of his most recent paintings, inspired by observations and anecdotes encountered during his time in Italy.
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Award-holders and staff take virtual cooking class with Rachel Roddy |
BSR Award-holders, the Director, and residence staff got together for a virtual cooking class with Rachel Roddy, a multi award-winning food writer and author from the UK based in Rome. She regularly contributes recipes to the food column at The Guardian.
Locally sourced ingredients for the dishes, such as olive oil from Fara Sabina in Lazio, chestnut honey and fresh sheep’s milk ricotta, were provided to each participant before the lesson, where they learned how to make pasta e ceci and a dessert of pear, ricotta, pine nuts and honey from the comfort of their own kitchens.
Many thanks to Rachel for this deliciously informative experience! You can read more about what she does on her blog, Rachel Eats.
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Virtual film screening: Lift Me Up I Am Dying
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On the 200th anniversary of John Keats's death in Rome, the BSR, in association with the Keats-Shelley House Rome and the British Institute in Florence, hosted a virtual film screening of Pelé Cox's Lift Me Up I Am Dying on our YouTube channel.
Lift Me Up I Am Dying was first performed in the Keats-Shelley House, Rome, in 2014. The passionate, talented and resourceful cast filmed themselves in their homes on their mobile phones and their performances were then edited and integrated in Pelé’s home in Ludlow.
Pelé Cox was the John Murray / Keats-Shelley Memorial Association Creative Writing Resident at the BSR October–November 2017 and April–May 2018.
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Emlyn Dodd appointed Assistant Director for Archaeology |
We are excited to be welcoming Emlyn Dodd back to Rome as our new Assistant Director for Archaeology. Emlyn was previously Macquarie Gale Rome Scholar (October 2015–March 2016) at the BSR.
Emlyn also holds Research Affiliate positions at the Australian Archaeological Institute in Athens (AAIA), Centre for Ancient Cultural Heritage and Environment (CACHE), and is an Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow at Macquarie University.
He has recently won a number of grants and awards for his research on Cycladic islands, including the Australian Academy of the Humanities Travelling Fellowship, British School at Athens Landscape Studies Award, and Macquarie-Gale Graeco-Roman Travelling Scholarship.
Congratulations, Emlyn, and we are happy to have you as part of the team.
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Large scale urban surveys in Rome |
The ERC-funded 'Rome Transformed' project of Newcastle, the BSR and several other institutions has now been running for one year. Despite challenges presented by Coronavirus, the Rome team has been able to complete a large part of the data collection phase, in particular the geophysical prospection of areas of the Caelian Hill. Recently, the team has been working with colleagues from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and Geostudi Astier to undertake work around the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
The work conducted by the team in the gardens of the Villa Wolkonsky, the residence of the British Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, has drawn the most attention, with recent coverage in The Times newspaper regarding our ground-penetrating radar surveys.
In July this year the project will host the first of its conferences, focusing on non-intrusive methodologies for large area urban research.
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New #BSROnlineLectures now available |
The new year brings with it a new schedule of #BSROnlineLectures! We are happy to be able to offer you the opportunity to participate in real time via Zoom as well as give you access to recorded versions of the events.
Visit our website to stay up-to-date on the events schedule and register your attendance. There, you can view the events programme and sign up for lectures via the Zoom links provided on the individual event pages.
If you are interested in the events that have taken place so far, or can not participate in a future event, head over to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest from our brilliant line-up of speakers.
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The British School at Rome was delighted to present a Virtual Mostra featuring the work of our September–December 2020 resident artists. The exhibition hosts a selection of works, reflecting the quality and varied practice of each resident.
The artists showcasing their work are Beth Collar, Paul Eastwood, Charlie Fegan, Max Fletcher and Jeff McMillan.
This exhibition has been made possible with support from the Incorporated Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Scholarships, the Arts Council of Wales, the Augusta Charitable Trust, and the Linbury Trust.
To view the exhibition, click here. If you would like more information about each artist, visit our blog.
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Roman Port Societies: The Evidence of Inscriptions
In this book, an international team of experts draws upon a rich range of Latin and Greek texts to explore the roles played by individuals at ports in activities and institutions that were central to the maritime commerce of the Roman Mediterranean. Click here for more information.
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The Changing Landscapes of Rome’s Northern Hinterland
The Changing Landscapes of Rome’s Northern Hinterland presents a new regional history of the middle Tiber valley as a lens through which to view the emergence and transformation of the city of Rome from 1000 BC to AD 1000. Click here for more information.
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A Message from our Director
I have just begun my time as Director of the BSR, which for me, as for over a century’s worth of my predecessors, is an immense honour. I come in at a special time, with reduced activity and substantial income losses due to COVID-19, but now, there is light on the horizon. My task, with all the BSR team, is to look ahead strategically, and not be encumbered by financial difficulties, as far as we possibly can. We will return to normal as soon as we are able, and, when we do, we need to have clear plans; and we will.
We will develop our archaeology programme; this is already under way. We aim to restart, as soon as we can, a nine-month Rome scholarship in Architecture, such as we have not had since the 1990s. We have major plans to develop the digitisation of our archive, which will also link organically to the archives of the other British International Research Institutes. We will develop and maintain the Virtual BSR, which gives us the chance to deliver lectures, short talks, and podcasts online, to wide audiences. And we aim substantially to refurbish our residential accommodation, to bring it up to date, so that the experience of all our scholars, awardees and residents will be nothing but a positive one.
And you can help here. All these plans will cost money. We will ourselves be investing, out of our own resources, and out of the resources (around half our funds) provided by the British Academy. But any financial aid you can provide, will be crucial for their successful completion.
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The BSR is now the largest UK research institution in the EU, and we aim to punch well above our weight. If you value these plans, any help, on any scale, will make a huge difference. |
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Image credits: Screenshot from Ashby virtual tea: Zoe Firth. Screenshot from virtual cooking class: Claire Burridge. Screenshot from Lift Me Up I Am Dying: Claire Burridge. Emlyn Dodd: Michael Amendolia. Elena Pomar conducting archaeological research: Stephen Kay. Virtual Mostra, installation view: Roberto Apa. Roman Port Societies: Cambridge University Press. The Changing Landscapes of Rome’s Northern Hinterland: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.
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