For over thirty years the BSR has run undergraduate (Summer School) and postgraduate (City of Rome) courses on the ancient history, archaeology, and topography of Rome. In this new blog series we catch up with some of our former students, their memories of the course and where they are now.
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Dr Hannah Cornwell and I’m Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Birmingham, where I specialise in research and teaching of Roman history (particularly the republic and early empire). I currently hold a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (Sept 2025-Aug 2026) and am researching the performance and theatre of diplomacy in the Rome world, including a focus on the city of Rome as a stage for diplomatic practice.
When did you attend the City of Rome Course?
I attended the City of Rome postgraduate course in 2006 (I can’t believe that it has been 20 years!), when I was studying for a MPhil in Greek and/or Roman History at the University of Oxford at the time.
Do you have a particular memory of the British School at Rome?
Where to start! I have so many, very happy memories for the British School at Rome from my first visit in 2006 to all the subsequent visits I have made over the years and hope to keep making. It’s hard to condense it down to one particular memory, as my abiding memories of the BSR are of the immediate sense of welcome (from both staff and other residents), collegiality, and of feeling very much ‘at home’ there. This was really important to me at the time I attend the City of Rome course, since I had been struggling with feelings of inadequacy during my Masters and feeling quite out of my depth. At BSR I found space and time to enjoy my studies again and be productive without it feeling like a burden: we’d be out visiting sites in during the day, back by the afternoon, with time to work in the library or chat and relax in the cortile and over dinner. People on the course with me told me I worked really hard (i.e. I was in the library a lot), but it really didn’t feel like hard work at all! I also think I grew a lot as a person thanks to the course and the BSR and got to know and like myself better.
That said, running joke on our course was that The Pantheon was never in the same place twice (a friend reminded my that we said that Carandini was rearranging the Campo Marzio every evening), as we always came upon it unexpectedly. We even took a photo on the BSR steps, which requires the caption, which way to the Pantheon?
Was there a site visit that really sticks in your mind?
The opportunity that the BSR provides for site access and visits is fantastic and there were so many opportunities to visit sites that would be difficult, if not impossible, to access otherwise. One particularly memorable visit was to a cellar in a building on via di Campo Marzio, which revealed the marble pavement (with bronze inlay) of the horologium/solar meridian, originally set up by Augustus and later renovated by Domitian due to rising ground levels on the Campus Martius [photo]. A few of us even walked on the pavement barefoot, even though it was covered with very cold ground water! The trips out to Herculaneum and Ostia were also pretty amazing, and I loved discovering the Centrale Montemartini, which is still my favourite museum space in Rome.
What did you enjoy most about the course overall?
Seeing Rome in a way you wouldn’t otherwise get to see it and sharing this with others who were just as interested and enthusiastic about the city and history as me and reminding me what I really enjoyed about my discipline. The course gave me a space to relax yet also engage with my studies in new ways. In addition, it was great to meet the other residents at the BSR and experience the creative environment – while I was used to spending time with historians and archaeologists, getting to interact with artists and architects was a new and exciting experience for me.
What impact did attending the course have on your rest of your studies and degree?
It was substantial to say the least! While I took a year between finishing my Masters and starting my Doctorate, I returned to the BSR when I was carrying out doctoral research in 2010, and once I had finished my doctorate and was on short term teaching contracts, I was encouraged by my doctoral supervisor to apply for one of the BSR’s awards, and was fortunate enough to receive a three-month residency in 2014. That residency really enabled me to work on developing my thesis into a monograph as well as work on a post-doctoral proposal, which was very much influenced and shaped by my time at the BSR, as it focused on the spaces of diplomacy at Rome. I received a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for the project (2016-2018) and again returned to the BSR during the course of this Fellowship. With the support of the BSR, along with my own institution, a colleague and I were able to host a conference at the BSR in 2019 on the Roman civil wars (the edited volume of which was published in 2024).
I have always found my way back to the BSR, often for a month visit during the summer, when I am able to take research time, and as a former award-holder, there are excellent rates for month-long stays July-September! I know of no better writing (and thinking) space than the BSR library.
Do you have any advice for future participants?
If you have the opportunity to attend a course at the BSR, seize it! It is one of the best ways to get to know and understand the city of Rome and the BSR is the best possible base from which to do that, not only because of the scholarly expertise and administrative support (particularly in getting permissi to visit sites and museums) but also because it is just the best community to be a part of.
Please get in touch with us at the BSR if you would also like to share your memories of the courses!
