It was my first week officially at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, which meant that I was shown the ropes. I submitted to a security tour on Wednesday and a library tour on Thursday. The institute is headquartered in the 16th century Palazzo Zuccari at the head of the Spanish Steps, and smokes into Palazzo Stroganoff (one building back) and Villino Stroganoff (the main garden and conference venue across the road). More recently, in 2013, a new building known as the Neubau was constructed over what used to be the garden between Zuccari and Stroganoff. The Neubau is, somewhat incredibly, fully suspended, as the remains of a 60 BC villa beneath the palaces ruled out a more regular foundation, or at least one with legal and archaeological legitimacy.
I also began to learn more about the work of my colleagues in the MVC group, and I look forward to deepening my appreciation here in the coming four months. My fellowship runs through to the end of 2026.