British School at Rome, the BSR

05/06/2026

💫 Meet the Fellow: Dr Jessica Clarke 💫

Shortland-Jones Rome Awardee Dr Jessica Clarke is sharing her research at the BSR in a new blog, "Rethinking Roman Italy through its theatres", where she asks what 41 pre-Roman theatres across Italy can reveal about power, identity, and cultural change in the ancient world.

Rather than viewing these buildings through a narrow Romanisation lens, Dr Clarke examines how local communities shaped their own theatrical traditions — drawing on archaeological, architectural, and historical evidence to challenge centre-driven models of Republican Italy.

🔗 Read Jessica's blog and discover more about her research via the link in bio!

05/06/2026

A new season of excavations commenced this week at Falerii Novi! Over the next 4 weeks the joint BSR & ICS team will continue investigating the monumental building discovered last year 🏛️

03/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Summer Open Studios! It was wonderful to welcome so many visitors into the working spaces of our artists in residence:

Mark Farid – Rome Research Fellow
Genevieve Felix Reynolds – National Art School, Sydney Resident
Lisa-Marie Harris – Sainsbury Scholar .marie.harris
Josh Juett – Helpmann Academy Resident
Odile Lamy – Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec Resident
Danny Leyland – Sainsbury Scholar
Evan Shipard – William Fletcher Rome Fellow

This year's studios offered a glimpse into the research driving each practice - from the memory of ancient and present landscapes embedded in materials, to the tradition of en plein air painting; from investigations of pedestrian crossings as sites where governance, the State, and the body intersect, to explorations of how visual culture shapes collective identity. Other works examined the dehumanisation of women and how their bodies are reduced to sites of desire, labour, and extraction, as well as archives and architecture approached through collage practice.

📍 Couldn't make it? The studios are also open tomorrow, Thursday 4 June, from 4–7pm. Entrance is free.

See you at the BSR!

01/06/2026

The British School at Rome is delighted to invite you to the conference “Greek Manuscripts in Renaissance Venice: the Library of Guillaume Pellicier”, taking place on 18–19 June 2026 at the British School at Rome and online.

The final conference of the 4-year AHRC-funded project brings together scholars and specialists to explore the extraordinary library of Guillaume Pellicier (c.1490–1567), French bishop of Montpellier and ambassador to Venice.

Across a series of sessions, the event will examine Pellicier’s role as a cultural mediator between East and West, the contents and formation of his Greek manuscript collection, and the broader historical and Venetian context in which it developed. It will also present the main outcomes of the project’s research.

The event is hybrid and free to attend - registration required for online participation through the link in bio!

01/06/2026

💫 Meet the Fellow: Phaedra Criaco 💫

Macquarie Gale Rome Scholar Phaedra Criaco reflects on her research at the BSR in a new blog. Through her project, "The Material Development of Roads in the Roman Hinterland (300 BCE–500 CE)", she investigates the vast networks that connected ancient Rome - not just as routes of travel, but as monumental engineering projects that transformed landscapes and societies.

Combining geological surveys, fieldwork, and archival research, Phaedra traces the volcanic stone used to pave iconic roads such as the Via Appia Antica and Via Flaminia. By identifying the quarries that supplied these materials, she explores the labour, resources, and organisation required to build and maintain Rome’s road network.

🔗 Read Phaedra’s blog: https://bsr.ac.uk/meet-the-fellows-phaedra-criaco/

26/05/2026

26/05/2026

Applications are now open for the Rick Mather Rome Fellowship in Architecture, offered in collaboration with the Rick Mather David Scrase Foundation.

Honouring the legacy of Rick Mather and his commitment to sustainable design, this three-month residency at the British School at Rome supports UK-based architects whose practice, teaching, or research engages with sustainability, conservation, and the dialogue between historical and contemporary architecture.

The fellowship offers time, space, and an interdisciplinary community in which to pursue independent research in one of the world's great architectural cities.

Apply now: https://bsrome.slideroom.com/ #/Login

25/05/2026

Please note that the BSR Library will be closed on 28 May due to construction works.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.

25/05/2026

Join us on 4 June for ‘Under Tension: Reconstructing the Hippocratic Bench from Antiquity to Today’, a hands-on workshop led by Rome Fellow Silvia Marchiori.
The event will begin with a lecture tracing the history of the Hippocratic bench—an ancient orthopaedic device used to treat fractures and dislocations—from classical Antiquity to its Renaissance revival. Drawing on manuscripts, translations, and illustrations, Marchiori will explore how physicians and scholars sought to recover and recreate ancient surgical practices.

Following the lecture, participants will have the opportunity to see a reconstruction of the Hippocratic bench in action and engage with practical demonstrations, including surgical knot-tying, offering a unique insight into the challenges of recovering historical medical techniques.

Following the event, visitors will also be able to access the Summer Open Studios at the BSR.

📅 4 June 2026
⏰ 15:00–16:00
📍 British School at Rome + online streaming available

More info and registrations: https://bsr.ac.uk/under-tension-reconstructing-the-hippocratic-bench-from-antiquity-to-today/

22/05/2026

Dear Readers,

Please note that the BSR Library will be closed on 28 May due to construction works.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.

– BSR Library