Highlights from the cultural world of Rome
by Nikolas Möller
In 312 AD, Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. It was probably on this occasion that a seated statue originally depicting Jupiter Optimus Maximus was remodelled for the new autocrat. Fragments of this colossal statue can be seen in the courtyard of the Capitoline Museums.
Prof Dr Andreas Bieringer (Liturgy) and Prof Dr Thomas Meckel (Canon Law) from the Theol. Hochschule Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt a.M. organised an excursion to Rome in March with their students under the theme "City of Grace - City of Law", during which they visited Vatican dicasteries and also listened to art and liturgical history lectures on the important church monuments of the Lateran district (including S. Clemente and Quattro Coronati) and the Esquiline under the guidance of Andreas Raub and Stefan Heid.
lla John Cabot University di Roma si tiene un convegno internazionale su Roma nel Rinascimento. Tra i 27 relatori figurano Jörg Voigt (sui Francescani nel XV secolo) e Andreas Rehberg (sulla Curia romana nel XVI secolo).
The DAI in Rome, reopened in its former splendour on the Via Sardegna not far from the Parco and Villa Borghese, is still offering interesting lectures from April to June.
On 22 March, Sabine Ehrmann-Herfort will hand over the management of the musicology department of the German Historical Institute in Rome to Vera Grund in a ceremony with greetings, a keynote speech and a concert.
This is followed by chats by the Camposantine Paul Maria Baumgarten about the excitement during the conclave, which convened at the beginning of August 1903 after the death of the aged Pope Leo XIII. At that time, the cardinals were literally locked up in the Apostolic Palace.
The Ateneo Sant'Anselmo on the Aventin Hill in Rome offers each year teological-spiritual lectures. The next lecture will be on 5th of March and goes about Thomas Merton.
In honour of Cardinal Kurt Koch, a public evening concert of sacred music will also be held as part of the "Unity and Singleness" conference on 7 March at 8.30 pm in the church of Campo Santo Teutonico. The chamber choir Late Night Singers from Greifswald will perform works by Palestrina, Bach, Bruckner, Pärt and others.
A small but exquisite exhibition is currently to be seen in the Biblioteca Vallicellaina, at the Chiesa Nuova. It was organised by Prof. Chiara Cecalupo (PIAC) and shows mainly 16th/17th century watercolours from the time of the rediscovery of the catacombs. The main focus is on the manuscripts by Antonio Bosio and Giovanni Severano.
The small catalogue for 4 euros is published by Schnell & Steiner and is available at the
The Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra is inviting visitors to the Roman catacombs for the seventh time. The colourful programme also includes special events for children.
Römisches Institut der Görres-Gesellschaft
