The British School at Rome celebrates 125 years

Source Summary

The 125th anniversary of the BSR provides an opportunity to reflect on an institution which has had a profound influence on British and international cultural life. The British School at Rome (BSR) has spent 125 years nurturing generations of scholars, artists, architects, writers and researchers at formative moments in their careers. The story of this leading centre of arts, humanities and archaeological research begins with imperial spectacle. The building above Valle Giulia on the fringe of the Villa Borghese park was originally conceived as a pavilion for the International Expo Rome of 1911. History The British government charged eminent architect Edwin Lutyens - whose other works include the Cenotaph in London and the India Gate in New Delhi - with the task. Taking as his inspiration the upper storey of St Paul's Cathedral, he designed a grandiose neo-classical façade atop a sweeping flight of stairs. The imposing frontage was not intended to be permanent. However, Sir Rennell Rodd, the British ambassador at the time, had a better idea. The precursor of the present institute, the British School of Archaeology, History and Letters of Rome, was housed in somewhat cramped conditions in Palazzo Odescalchi in Piazza SS. Apostoli and needed a new seat. Rodd convinced the Italian government to donate the land where the British pavilion stood so that the school could move to more suitable premises. Only the façade was preserved; the interior had to be rebuilt to provide resident facilities, a library and a dining room for the Fellows. The BSR received its first Royal Charter on 22 June 1912, and the first resident student arrived in 1916. Archaeology Archaeology has long formed the backbone of the institution's reputation. The very first article in the Papers of the British School at Rome, published in 1902, examined the important and then recently rediscovered mediaeval frescoed church of Santa Maria Antiqua. Archaeological activity began in earnest under two great directors, Thomas Ashby (1906-25) and John Ward-Perkins (1945-74), who left evocative and priceless photographic archives and conducted the major South Etruria field survey of the 1950s and 1960s, a model for all successive surveys in Italy and elsewhere. The field projects of Graeme Barker (1984-8) and Richard Hodges (1988-95) were also cutting-edge, as was Hodges's work on the medieval monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill's (1995-2009) work on Herculaneum. One of the School's most acclaimed successes is the Herculaneum conservation project, launched some 20 years ago in collaboration with the archaeological heritage office of Naples and Pompeii and with financial backing from the Packard Humanities Institute of California. In more recent years, the BSR has led the way in archaeological remote sensing - using technologies such as georadar and magnetometry to understand what lies beneath the ground without excavation - alongside major digs at Rome's ancient port. Creativity From archaeology and history to visual art, architecture and literature, the BSR has fostered interdisciplinary dialogue, groundbreaking research and creative work. Award-holders have included some of the most critically esteemed artists of the last century and beyond, from Thomas Monnington, Winifred Knights and John Skeaping to Eddie Peake, Cornelia Parker and Mark Wallinger. In 2023, artist Bridget Riley unveiled a large painted ceiling in the BSR's foyer, a work commissioned to mark the building's continuing life as a creative community. Events In an average year the BSR holds 70 events and several exhibitions, all open to the public. It also runs a programme of postgraduate courses, including the City of Rome course, a summer school in epigraphy and a Drawing Rome workshop. At a time when funding for the arts and humanities is under increasing pressure, the BSR describes its work as more vital than ever, providing conditions for creative and academic work that addresses urgent global questions - from urbanism and sustainability to cultural identity, dialogue and diplomacy. As it embarks on its next 125 years, the institution continues to raise funds for residencies, conservation, student bursaries, and the long-term security of its endowment. For full details see BSR website.