Romanian Academy in Rome
The Romanian Academy in Rome (Accademia di Romania in Roma) is one of the oldest and most distinguished foreign cultural institutes in the Eternal City, founded in 1920 to provide Romanian scholars and artists with a permanent base for advanced study and creative work in Italy. Housed in the Villa Borghese area in an elegant villa with gardens, the Academy hosts resident fellows working on archaeology, art history, architecture, music, and literature, while organising public programmes that present Romanian culture and scholarship to international audiences. It belongs to the historic tradition of national academies in Rome that dates back to the French Academy in the seventeenth century.
At a glance
- Type
- National academy and cultural institute
- Period
- Founded 1920; villa dates from late 19th century
- Style
- Eclectic/neoclassical villa with garden
- Location
- Via Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu 1, 00197 Rome, Italy
- Coordinates
- 41.9168° N, 12.4797° E
Overview
The Romanian Academy in Rome operates under the auspices of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest and serves as Romania’s foremost instrument of cultural diplomacy and scholarly exchange in Italy. Its residential fellowship programme selects Romanian researchers and artists each year to spend periods of intensive work in Rome, with access to the city’s unparalleled archival, archaeological, and artistic resources. The Academy’s public programme includes exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and film screenings, many held in its gracious villa and garden.
History
Romania established its Roman academy in 1920, in the wake of the country’s emergence as a unified nation-state after the First World War, reflecting the new state’s desire to affirm its Latin cultural identity through a presence in the city considered the cradle of Latin civilisation. The Academy has occupied its current villa — named after the Romanian philologist Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu — since the interwar period. Despite disruptions during the Second World War and the communist era, the Academy maintained continuity and was revitalised after 1989 with renewed scholarly activity.
What you see
The Academy’s villa is set within a mature garden that provides a peaceful oasis within walking distance of Villa Borghese. The building itself contains residential apartments for fellows, a library specialising in Romanian studies and Italian-Romanian relations, and rooms used for exhibitions and public events. The garden occasionally hosts open-air performances during Rome’s cultural summer season.
Cultural significance
Romania’s Latin linguistic and cultural heritage — derived from Dacian-Roman fusion — gives its Roman academy a particular resonance: Romanians see themselves as heirs to the same Latin civilisation memorialised throughout the Eternal City. The Academy is an important locus for research into Trajan’s Column, Roman Dacia, and the long history of Romanian-Italian cultural relations, which include significant artistic exchanges from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.
Practical information
Address: Via Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu 1, 00197 Rome. The Academy organises public events open to visitors; see the official website for the current calendar. The villa and garden are not generally open for independent visiting outside of scheduled events.
Getting there
The Academy is located in the Villa Borghese / Parioli area. The nearest Metro station is Flaminio (Line A), from which visitors can enter Villa Borghese on foot and walk to the academy along the park’s northern edge. Bus services along Viale delle Belle Arti also stop nearby. Tram line 19 serves Viale delle Belle Arti.