In early September I traveled to Rome where I will live and do my research for the next year at the Finnish Institute in Rome. I live in Villa Lante, an old renaissance villa on Gianicolo hill right by the city center. That is where the institute is located and where I have my own room. My address for now is Passeggiata del Gianicolo 10, Villa Lante, Rome.
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| Villa Lante al Gianicolo |
I'm familiar with Villa Lante and the institute from my previous visits to Rome. I lived at the villa for the first time on a study trip for theology students in 2008, and on another trip for Latin teachers in 2016. In the spring of 2018, I stayed there for three months while attending one of the institutes courses. In the spring of 2020, I was part of a research team led by the previous director of the institute and stayed at the institute for four months.
Villa Lante has been a center of Finnish research in Rome since the foundation of the institute in the early 1950's. You can read more about the history of the building and the institute on the institute's website. The institute's particular focus is on classical studies and other fields related to Rome and Italy. The institute organizes courses and offers research grants, for example. I'm living and working here as the Wihuri fellow, a fellowship that has been granted yearly since 1965.
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| The upper library of the institute |
The institute offers a great setting for research and study. The library has plenty of research literature, and I can also utilize the collections of other institutes based in Rome. Particularly useful are the libraries at the American Academy and the German Archaeological Institute. You get to meet both Finnish scholars and colleagues from other institutes at various events. Very important are also the informal gatherings of those living at the institute. The terrace of Villa Lante has the best view over the city of Rome!
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| The view from the terrace of Villa Lante |
I intend to visit Pompeii during my stay in Rome to see some of the wall inscriptions that I study and to check the places where they were written. Many of the inscriptions have disappeared since they were excavated because or erosion and other damage, but some are still found in situ or in the collections of the Archaeological Museum of Naples. It is important to study the inscriptions in their original physical context to see what kind of locations they were written in, how visible they might have been, and who could have written and read them.
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| My room at the institute |
The Wihuri fellow has their own dedicated room at Villa Lante. You could call it an apartment since it has its own bathroom and a kithcenette, which the other rooms in the dormitory don't. Still, I often have my meals at the shared kitchen or on the terrace to socialize with the other residents. Working space is found in two libraries, although I often work in my own room where it's quiet and easier to concentrate.
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| The local "Party Bus" was on Gianicolo again |
The life in the dormitory is disturbed at times by the people partying in the adjacent park and on the Piazza Garibaldi, which is a popular location for both tourists and locals to gather at in the evenings and on weekends. In the summer there's a bar on the square where they play music until the small hours of the night. Many people also come to the hill to celebrate birthdays. The occasion is often highlighted at midnight by popping a bottle of bubbly and singing (out of tune) "tanti auguri a te...". Sometimes fireworks are used as well. Luckily, the bar closes in the fall and the partying will hopefully quiet down. I usually sleep fine if I wear earplugs.
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| The loggia of Villa Lante |
Villa Lante is a wonderful building and sits at a grand location on Gianicolo hill. It is of huge value that the Finnish government and the foundation of the institute finance and maintain this research environment. Numerous students and scholars get to delve into Roman history and culture here in a very special setting. It is thanks to the institute and its partners that I get to stay in Villa Lante for a whole year and work on my PhD research, which I'm very grateful for. And while I'm here I can enjoy the sights of Rome and experience all the seasons of Italy.
Vediamoci a Roma!
Photos: Joonas Vanhala, 2020–2021
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