[ Events ]

The main event during the workshop is the social dinner on January 28th (Thursday) at the "Casina Valadier", the "jewel of Pincio" situated in the heart of Villa Borghese. The dinner is included in the fee. See below for further information.

The social program also includes the following tours, organised by the workshop's registration service agency (click on the links below for additional information):

Each tour will be held only if a minimum attendance is reached. It is possible to book the visit(s) during the registration to the conference. The confernce fees does not include the cost of the tours.

[ Social Dinner at the Casina Valadier ]

Here you can find information about the restaurant for the lunch and about the social dinner at the Casina Valadier (ppt file - pdf file).
Back to top of page

[ Night entertainment at the Roman Houses ]



Private visit to Roman Houses at night under the guidance of expert archaeologists. This unusual itinerary is enlivered by the presence of a "witness", who performs prose interludes evoking scenes from pagan and Christian Rome, with the aim of recreating the atmosphere of everyday life as depicted in the major works of Latin literature.
Founded in the early fifth century by Pammachius, a Roman senator, the titulus Pammachii or Basilica of SS. Giovanni e Paolo now stands over a magnificent residential complex comprising several Roman houses of different periods. According to tradition, this was the dwelling of John and Paul, officers at the court of the Emperor Constantine (312-37), both of whom, having suffered martyrdom by execution during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), were buried on the site of their own house.

In 1887, Padre Germano, a Passionist brother, excavating beneath the church, uncovered a fascinating site comprising more than twenty rooms, some of which were richly decorated with paintings dating from the third through the twelfth centuries.
The sequence of decorated rooms and the maze of stratified structures cut through by the foundations of the church, reveal aspects of Roman daily life with an interesting blend of cultural themes.
This monument originated in a variety of building types including an insula or apartment block for artisans, and a wealthy domus, which was subsequently converted into an early Christian church. According to tradition, this was the dwelling of John and Paul, officers at the court of the Emperor Constantine (312-37), both of whom, having suffered martyrdom by execution during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), were buried on the site of their own house.
During the third century A.D., these different properties were combined under a single owner and transformed into an elegant pagan house characterised by finely-decorated rooms. The paintings draw on classical themes. The Sala dei Geni displays a frieze of winged geniuslike figures holding garlands, and erotes harvesting grapes, all surrounded by a multitude of vividly-coloured birds.
The walls of the nearby nymphaeum are filled by a large mythological painting portraying a marine scene, which is regarded as a masterpiece of late antique painting. The subject matter has been much debated but would appear to represent either Venus or Proserpina, accompanied by a train of feasting erotes, fishing from wooden boats.
The paintings in the so-called Sala dell'Orante are of particular interest, since they include a well-known figure praying with the arms outstretched, which some scholars have considered an indication of the early spread of the Christian faith amongst Roman householders. The small Confessio created on the platform above the martyrs' tombs is decorated with precious Christian paintings from the second half of the fourth century. These are traditionally connected with SS. John and Paul, and also with SS. Crispus, Crispinianus, and Benedicta.
Some of the rooms continued to be visited well into the medieval period, when an oratory was established in the porch of the insula. Here, there are frescoes of the eighth to twelfth centuries, one of which portrays a crucified Christ dressed in a long robe in the Syrian style. The recently-restored Antiquarium exhibits archaeological finds from the houses and the Basilica. Its principal attraction is a large collection of Islamic pottery dating from around the twelfth century, which had originally been used to embellish the medieval bell-tower of the church.

Fee for Social Program at the Roman Houses will be around EUR 33 (VAT included).
The fee includes:

  • Ticket to visit the Houses
  • English speaking guide
  • English speaking actor
  • English speaking tour leader

The visit will be held only with a minimum of 20 people.

Back to top of page

[ Visit to the Galleria Borghese ]


The Borghese Mansion was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to Flaminio Ponzio and Vasanzio and built between 1613 and 1614. Site of Cardinal Borghese's art collection, its extraordinary masterpieces contributed to make it renowned all over Europe. This was the reason why Napoleon, in 1807, bought a consistent part of the collection and transferred it to the Louvre were is still on exhibition. New material was added during the whole of the19th century; in 1902, the collection was acquired by the Italian State along with the Mansion and the entire Borghese property.

The original sculptures and paintings in the Borghese Gallery date back to Cardinal Scipione's collection, the son of Ortensia Borghese - Paolo V's sister - and of Francesco Caffarelli, though subsequent events over the next three centuries entailing both losses and acquisition have left their mark.

Cardinal Scipion was drawn to any works of ancient, Renaissance and contemporary art which might re-evoke a new golden age. He was not particularly interested in medieval art, but passionately sought to acquire antique sculpture. But Cardinal Scipione was so ambitious that he promoted the creation of new sculptures and especially marble groups to rival antique works.

Cardinal Scipione's collection of paintings was remarkable and was poetically described as early as 1613 by Scipione Francucci. In 1607, the Pope gave the Cardinal 107 paintings which had been confiscated from the painter Giuseppe Cesari, called the Cavalier d'Arpino. In the following year, Raphael's Deposition was secretely removed from the Baglioni Chapel in the church of S.Francesco in Perugia and transported to Rome. It was given to the Cardinal Scipione through a papal motu proprio.

In 1682, part of Olimpia Aldobrandini's inheritance entered the Borghese collection; it included works from the collections of Cardinal Salviati and Lucrezia d'Este.

The statue of Pauline Bonaparte, executed by Canova between 1805 and 1808, has been in the villa since 1838. In 1807, Camillo Borghese sold Napoleon 154 statues, 160 busts, 170 bas-reliefs, 30 columns and various vases, which constitue the Borghese Collection in the Louvre. But already by the 1830s these gaps seem to have been filled by new finds from recent excavations and works recuperated from the cellars and various other Borghese residences.

In 1827 Prince Camillo bought Correggios' celebrated Danäe in Paris. Galleria Borghese hosts the first monographic exhibition dedicated to Antonio Allegri, known as Correggio, the only one of the three artists constituting the so-called Renaissance triad - the others being Raphael and Michelangelo - to whom a comprehensive exhibition has never been devoted.

Correggio's contemporaries recognized him as a superb artist, the equal of Raphael and Michelangelo, and all scholars have always considered him as one of the greatest artists of all time. However, his fame has never been as widespread as that of the other two protagonists. Critics have always noted this anomaly and have tried to explain it. The only explanation may be simply that Correggio did not work in Rome and left no works on what, in the sixteenth century, was the greatest artistic stage in the world. Only the works on display there became universal models.

(For any further information please visit the following web site: www.galleriaborghese.it).

Fee for Social Program at the Galleria Borghese will be around EUR 28 (VAT included).
The fee includes:

  • Ticket to visit the Gallery
  • English speaking guide
  • English speaking tour leader

The visit will be held only with a minimum of 25 people.

Back to top of page

[ Visit to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum ]


The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was begun by Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian. Located between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it's the greatest amphitheatre of the antiquity, an architectural and engineering wonder, a standing proof of the grandeur of the Roman world and now is a challenge for the archaeologists and a scenario for events and plays. Famous for the Gladiatorial battles were gladiators entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat.

Right next to the Colosseum you will visit the Forum Romanum that was the center of life in imperial Rome, here, triumphal processions took place, elections were held and the Senate assembled. All this is evidenced by the many remains of triumphal arches, temples and basilicas.

Fee for Social Program Colosseum & Roman Forum will be around EUR 30 (VAT included).
The fee includes:

  • Ticket
  • English speaking guide
  • English speaking tour leader
  • Radio guide

The visit will be held only with a minimum of 20 people.

Back to top of page