Identity and representation: the national churches in Rome, 1450-1650

Identity and representation: the national churches in Rome, 1450-1650 A conference organized by the Minerva research group Roma Communis Patria, Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Rome, in collaboration with the German Historical Institute, Rome 23-24 May 2013 “A patchwork of strangers, each one being as much at home as in his own country.” This was the impression that Michel de Montaigne received during his stay in Rome in 1580. Since Antiquity, the Eternal City acted as a hub for pilgrims, merchants and bankers, artists and intellectuals, clerics and diplomats from all over the globe. Groups of compatriots gathered in confraternities to ensure mutual support and assistance, and founded hospices, oratories and churches. The most important of the ca.50 national churches still present today in Rome were constructed between 1450 and 1650, creating an extraordinary microcosm of the Christian universe of the period. The conference focuses on the theme of identity and, in particular, the pathways through which identity is built. This means coming to an understanding of the unifying elements – for instance, language, religion, customs, etc. – through which each of the nationes then present in Rome, was able to define itself. And, above all, it means understanding how these elements found expression in visual culture. Priority will be given to the following areas of research: 1) Art and Architecture: In what way can the national churches and their decoration be said to be an expression of cultural identity? What are the most significant semantic formulas used by individual communities, or by their members, to represent themselves? How did imported artistic phenomena and local working practices interact? 2) Worship and Liturgy: What are the specific features of each natio with regard to religious practice? How do music, language, liturgy, costume and the production of ephemera contribute on the one hand to the religious experience of the community and, on the other, to the self-representation of the institutions? 3) Institutional Aspects: What distinguishes the individual nationes from an institutional point of view? How are they organized (confraternity, consulate, chapter, etc.) and what are the prevailing balances, within them, between the laity and clergy? What were the relationships of the organizations and their members with the other political and religious institutions in Rome, and also with those in their homeland? And finally, where are they located within the urban space, and what does this imply for their strategies of representation? Scientific coordination: Dr. Susanne Kubersky-Piredda (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome); PD Dr. Alexander Koller (German Historical Institute, Rome). Paper proposals (max 2500 characters) must be postmarked by November 30, 2012 at [email protected]. For more information: http://www.biblhertz.it/en/research/forschungsprojekte-des-instituts/minerva-research-group/.