American Academy in Rome

Many countries have academies in Rome, the French Academy is housed in the park of the Villa Borghese in what use to be the Palace of the Medici family, a spectacular building. The British, Roumanians, German and others also have cultural programs and academic pursuit bringing scholars to Rome. The American Academy is housed in a building first built as a pleasure palace in 1650 by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III on the Gianicolum hill, this is the hill in Trastevere next to the Vatican Hill.

The American Academy at Villa Aurelia is the oldest overseas centre for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. Each year the academy offers 30 Rome Prize fellowships in the following disciplines: architecture, design, historic preservation and conservation, landscape architecture, literature, musical composition, visual arts, and humanistic approach to ancient studies, medieval studies, Renaissance and early modern studies and modern Italian studies.
The Academy was founded in 1894 and was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1905. The web site www.arome.org

The Palace and grounds are spectacular beautifully restored in 2002. The palace itself was purchased in 1885 by the Heyland family after knowing a period of many famous owners. It was donated by Ms.Clara Jessup Heyland of Philadelphia, a wealthy american lady in her will to the American Academy. J.P.Morgan purchased much of the grounds next to the Villa Aurelia to allow for future use, See the website www.villaaurelia.org

Will was invited to attend the concert recital at Villa Aurelia by the soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci, whose international career has paired her with the world's leading conductors including Claudio Abbado, Andrew Davis, William Christie, John Mackerras and Riccardo Muti. Ms. Antonacci sang songs of the Belle Epoque, she was accompanied on the piano by Donald Sulzen. The Concert was part of a 2 day conference entitled ''Performing voices between embodiment and mediation''. The audience was very small maybe 60 people all together, in a beautiful room of the Villa. Ms. Antonacci had given the same concert a few days prior in London and it was recorded by the BBC. This was really a privilege moment and a very nice way to end the week.
Will took me along to this beautiful concert, we also met Professor Philip Gossett of the University of Chicago who also lives and teaches in Rome. Philip Gossett is one of the world's foremost experts on opera. A music historian, Gossett specializes in 19th-century Italian opera, specifically the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. Will had a nice conversation with him and I listened.

The songs covered the period 1865 to 1925, by authors Gabriel Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Alfred Bachelet, Paolo Tosti, Pieradolfo Tirindelli, Pietro Cimara, Arturo Toscanini, Ottorino Respighi and Riccardo Zandonai.

The recital was followed by a champagne reception, the view of the city from the top of the Gianicolum hill is breathtaking, I had never really seen Rome from that vintage point.