Roman beginnings
Dear all,
I arrived in Rome just a few days ago. It has been a whirl of introductory talks and walks interspersed with some of the most diverse and interesting conversations I have ever had in my life.
In the course of the last two and a half days I have discussed early modern aristocratic female leisure etiquette; the comparative quality of artist’s studios in various British locations; latin quotation books in first century Rome; the crumhorn; non-invasive scanning techniques; gogglebox; imagery on ancient coins; how much better the weather is here; the stolen antiquities trade; the difference between hand and wheel spinning; feral cats and old Italian witch trials… to name but a few. To say I am overwhelmed is to put it lightly, to say I am enjoying it would be understating it by a ‘country mile’.
The BSR’s Assistant Director took us on a walking tour of historic Rome yesterday. It was superb and a lovely introduction to a city I barely remember from my last visit. This morning I made my way back into the centre to look at a few churches that were on my ‘to-visit’ list- and already found myself missing the rest of the cohort- the latinist had been translating inscriptions for us, the archaeologist explaining what are clearly important (if undecipherable to me) stones and the early modern historian recommending various Palazzo art collections.
Alongside all of this I have been assigned a desk in one of the lovelier libraries of my acquaintance- which I can access at any time of the day or night. You currently find me tapping away with a small stack of books and dissertations slightly connected to my official research interest (more on that another day)- and a similar selection of volumes that looked interesting and happened to be on the same shelf as the book I was supposed to be looking for.
The way the BSR works is that a diverse collection of historians, archaeologists, artists, architects and visiting scholars connected to the arts and humanities live and work in the building. There is a permanent staff to ease access to buildings/ dig sites/ archive collections and other libraries and to run the research interests of the school. We are all assigned a study bedroom (mine is lovely, with a quirky mix of furniture and overlooking some parakeet infested trees behind the school); artists have a double height studio space with a sleeping mezzanine, and a bell rings four times a day to summon us to breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
We’re encouraged to turn up at the same time, to sit in the ‘next empty seat’ and chat to whoever we find ourselves next to, to encourage discussions and collaborations between disciplines. Already our cohort has been gelling and planning possible future trips and meals out; and already someone has come over to my desk in the library with a book he was reading in which he found something that might be useful to me (it was).
If there was a negative so far it’s that it feels so much like an Agatha Christie novel that I am hoping I am not the one that gets murdered! Anyway, I will stop prattling now- a bell has just started ringing and there is a dinner demanding to be eaten!
A presto!
Eleanor