Roman Academies

Not to be confused with Rome Free Academy

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Roman academies refers to associations of learned individuals and not institutes for instruction.

Such Roman Academies were always connected to larger educational structures conceived during and following the Italian Renaissance, at the height of which (from the close of the Western Schism in 1418 to the middle of the 16th century) there were two main intellectual centers, Florence and Rome. Scientific, literary, and artistic culture attained there a development as intense as it was multiform, and the earlier Roman and Florentine academies were typical examples of this variety.

History

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages did not bequeath to Rome any institutions that could be called scientific or literary academies. As a rule, there was little inclination towards such institutions. The Academy of Charlemagne and the Floral Academy at Toulouse were princely courts at which literary meetings were held. Literature did not get a stronger footing at Rome in part because of the constant politico-religious disturbances of the Middle Ages. Owing to the oppression of the papacy under the Hohenstaufen emperors, the struggles for ecclesiastical liberty begun by Gregory VII, the epic conflict between Guelph and Ghibelline, and the arrival of French domination which gave birth to papal Avignon and the Western Schism, medieval Rome was certainly no place for learned academies.

The Renaissance

Bessarion's circle

In Rome, as

) was at the disposal of his many house guests for study of new humanistic learning. His visitors included learned Greek refugees, whom he supported by commissioning transcripts of Greek manuscripts and translations into Latin to help make a corpus of Greek scholarship available to Western Europeans.

Pomponio's Accademia Romana

A further circle of humanists has become known as the "Roman Academy" (Accademia Romana) of

]

16th-century 'academies'

The 16th century saw at Rome a great increase of literary and aesthetic circles or 'academies', more or less inspired by the Renaissance, all of which assumed, as was the fashion, odd and fantastic names. Various sources give the names of many such institutes; as a rule, they soon perished and left no trace. At the beginning of the 16th century came the "

", and others. As a rule these academies, all very much alike, were merely circles of friends or clients gathered around a learned man or wealthy patron, and were dedicated to literary pastimes rather than methodical study. They fitted in, nevertheless, with the historical milieu and in their own way played significant roles in historical development. Despite their empirical and fugitive character, they helped to cultivate a general esteem for literary and other studies. Cardinals, prelates, and the clergy in general were most favourable to this movement, and assisted it by patronage and collaboration.

17th century

With the advent of the 17th century, while the Roman Academy in its older form still survived, there began a new epoch. The new style of academy was constituted as a public body, no longer confined to a small circle of friends. It set itself a fixed and permanent scope in the field of science, letters, and arts, often of a polemic or apologetic character. Naturally this form of the new or remodelled Roman academies was closely allied with the general academic movement of Italy and of foreign countries, whose typical instance was the

".

The Academies

Accademia dei Lincei and dei Nuovi Lincei (1603)

The Academia dei Lincei is the academy of the Sciences of Rome. It has a long history and numerous prestigious members, including and from the time of

.

Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi (1690)

This literary academy was founded in 1690 by

, who had abdicated the Swedish crown in 1654 and converted to Catholicism, moving to Rome where she spent much of the rest of her life and became renowned as patron of arts and music. After her death in 1689, the Academy of Arcadia was established in her memory, electing the late Queen Christina of Sweden as its symbolical head ("Basilissa"). The Academy would last for the next two hundred years, becoming a leading cultural institution right up to the 20th century.

The Academy of Arcadia was so called because its chief aim and intention were to imitate in literature the simplicity of the ancient shepherds, who were fabulously supposed to have lived in Arcadia in the golden age, divinely inspired in poetry by the

. The Arcadians proposed to return to the fields of truth, always singing of subjects of pastoral simplicity, drawing their inspiration from Greco-Roman bucolic poetry.

Common to member poets was the desire to oppose

. Norms and rituals of the Academy took their cues from classic and pastoral mythology: it was the custom of the academics to assume pastoral names.

The most noteworthy member of the academy was Antonio Pietro

.

Pontificia Accademia Teologica

Like its sister societies at Rome, this academy was of private origin. In 1695, a number of friends gathered in the house of the priest, Raffaele Cosma Girolami, for lectures and discussions on theological matters. These meetings soon took on the character of an academy. In 1707 it was united to the

.

Pontificia Accademia Liturgica

This academy was the product of the notable 18th century movement in liturgical studies which owed so much to the great theologian and liturgist,

).

Pontificia Accademia di Religione Cattolica

This academy arose from an urgent need to organize Catholic apologetics in response to the anti-Christian polemics of the "

Cancelleria Apostolica

.

Pontificia Accademia Tiberina

In 1809 the well-known archaeologist,

Cardinal Parocchi

. Like several other Roman Academies, it is located in the Palace of the Cancelleria Apostolica.

Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia

The Pontifical Academy of Archaeology (or Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia) is an academic honorary society established in

study.

Accademia Filarmonica

The Accademia Filarmonica Romana was founded in 1821 for the study and practice of music. It has 200 members, and is located at 225, Piazza San Marcello.

Pontificia Accademia della Immacolata Concezione

This academy was founded in 1835 by young students from the

. The Academy, now in decline, is attached to the Church of the Santi Apostoli.

Regia Accademia Medica

It was founded in 1875 for the study of medical and cognate sciences, has fifty ordinary members, and is located in the University.

Pontificia Accademia di Conferenze Storico-Giuridiche

This academy was founded in 1878 to encourage among Catholics the study of history, archaeology, and jurisprudence. In 1880 it began to publish a quarterly entitled "Studi e Documenti di Storia e di Diritto", highly esteemed for its learned articles and for its publication of important documents with apposite commentaries. After an existence of twenty-five years this review ceased to appear at the end of 1905. The president of the Academy is a cardinal, and it holds its meetings in the Roman Seminary.

Pontificia Accademia Romana di San Tommaso di Aquino

When Leo XIII at the beginning of his pontificate undertook the restoration of scholastic philosophy and theology, this academy was founded (1880) for the diffusion of

Thomistic

doctrine. Its president is a cardinal, and its meetings are held in the Roman Seminary.

Academic Schools of Rome

The following is a brief account of the several academic schools mentioned above. One is ecclesiastical, the others are devoted to the fine arts. Some are Roman, and others are foreign:

Pontificia Accademia dei Nobili Ecclesiastici

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2019)

It was founded in 1701 by

a body of men trained in the juridical sciences and in other requisite branches of learning. At the time, European diplomacy was usually confided to the nobility; hence the Academy was instituted and maintained for noble ecclesiastics. However, later, it opened its doors more freely to the sons of families in some way distinguished and in comfortable circumstances. Occasionally this academy languished, especially in the first half of the 19th century, but since then it has recovered and has steadily improved. Of late it has become a school of higher ecclesiastical education, traditionally but not exclusively with an eye to a diplomatic career for its students. The academic course includes ecclesiastical diplomacy, political economy, diplomatic forms (stile diplomatico), the principal foreign languages, and, in addition, internships at the bureaux of various congregations for such students as wish to prepare themselves for an office in any of these bodies. As a rule, Romans are not admitted to this academy, it having been expressly designed for those who, not being Romans, would have no other opportunity to acquire such specific education and training. Its students pay a monthly fee. It has a cardinal-protector and a Roman prelate for president (rector). It owns and occupies its own palace (70, Piazza della Minerva).

Regia Accademia Romana di San Luca

Among the Roman Academies dedicated to the fine arts is the Regia Accademia Romana di San Luca (Accademia delle Belle Arti). This academy exhibits the evolution of the Roman corporation of artist-painters, reformed under

).

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia or Accademia di Musica derives from a school of music founded in 1570 by

. In 1876 the "Liceo di Musica" was added to it, with a substantial appropriation from the funds of the province and city of Rome. In 1874 the statutes of this school were remodelled. It is greatly esteemed and is much frequented (18, Via dei Greci).

Accademia di Raffaele Sanzio

This is a school of modern foundation, with daily and evening courses for the study of art (504, Corso Umberto I).

There are several foreign academies of a scholastic kind. The

in 1666. This illustrious school has given many great artists to France. Its competitive prize (Prix de Rome) is very celebrated. It owns and occupies its own palace, the Villa Medici on the Pincio. The English Academy was founded in 1821, and possesses a notable library (53, B Via Margutta). The Accademia di Spagna was founded in 1881 (32, B Piazza San Pietro in Montorio). Finally, as formerly, there are now in Rome various associations which are true academies and may be classed as such, though they do not bear that name.

Societá di Conferenze di Sacra Archeologia

The Societá di Conferenze di Sacra Archeologia was founded in 1875 by

, and is dedicated to archaeology. Its name is well merited, expressing as it does the active contributions of its members. At each conference are announced or illustrated new discoveries and important studies are presented. The meetings are held monthly from November to March and are open to the public. This excellent association has done much to popularize the study of Christian archaeology, especially the study of the Roman catacombs. Its proceedings are published annually in the "Nuovo Bulletino di Sacra Archeologia”, and its sessions are held in the palace of the Cancelleria Apostolica.

The British and American Archaeological Society

The British and American Archeological Society was founded in 1865 by John Henry Parker. ^{[citation needed]}

Circolo Giuridico di Roma

It was founded in 1899. Attached to it is the "Istituto di Diritto Romano" founded in 1887 for the promotion of the study of Roman law (307, Corso Umberto I).

References

Sources

• de Beer, Susanna (2008). "The Roman 'Academy' of Pomponio Leto: from an informal humanist network to the institution of a literary society". In Van Dixhoorn, Arjan; Sutch, Susie Speakman (eds.). The Reach of the Republic of Letters: Literary and Learned Societies in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Volume 168 of Brill's studies in intellectual history. Leiden: Brill.
  ISBN 978-90-04-16955-5
  .

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Roman Academies". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

• Database of Italian academies Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine from the British Library
• The Italian academies 1525–1700 (a project)