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THE ASSOCIATION OF THE ROMANISTI

The Association of the Romanisti is a private entity, whose institutional goal is to “contribute – without political involvement – to the protection and development of the cultural and enviromental patrimony of the city of Rome, with respect to the city’s traditions and its historical function” [NOTE 1]. The Association was first founded after WWI, as a spontaneous meeting point for scholars, academics and lovers of the city of Rome, and which developed over the years, and acquired a permanent form at the end of the 1930s. Since 1940 the Association publishes the yearly volume Strenna dei Romanisti, which includes articles and essays on Roman matters and which is traditionally presented to the Mayor of Rome on April 21st, the anniversary of Rome’s foundation.

HISTORY

From the Romans of the Cisterna to the Association of the Romanisti

During the 1920s some Roman enthusiasts used to meet regularly in a Trastevere tavern called Osteria della Cisterna, [NOTE 2] where an association called the “Cisterna friends” was already meeting, and which they replaced almost naturally.
This type of spontaneous associations, born from common interests but without institutionalized form, had a long history, which was revived in the nineteenth century due to the new proliferation of coffee houses.  One example is the “Babbioni Association,” founded at the end of the eighteenth century by the mathematician Luigi Pessuti, which was one of the most renown and trusted scientific circles until the second half of the nineteenth century and which at the time of the Restoration had about 40 members, mostly literary men, medical doctors, physicians. [NOTE 3] More recent was the “Pippa Association,” born around 1920 at the initiative of the painter Orazio Amato, and mostly comprised of artists, among its members the future Romanisti Carlo Alberto Salustri (Trilussa) and Jandolo. [NOTE 4] The new Cisterna group was formed by an elite group of admirers of Roman dialect and traditions, active in the relatively homogeneous areas, for the time, of journalism,  show business, literature and the arts, in a city with no more than a million inhabitants. In May 1929 Ceccarius (Giuseppe Ceccarelli), Vitaliano Rotellini, Franco Liberati, Augusto Jandolo, Carlo Alberto Salustri (Trilussa), Ettore Petrolini, Ignazio Mascalchi and Ettore Veo decided to form a group which, after many meetings in Jandolo’s antique shop and at Prince Ruspoli’s palace, became the core of the group “Romans of the Cisterna,”[NOTE 5], a name agreed upon in the meeting of June 8, 1929. However, the association by explicit will of the founders did not have a rule book, even if a few selected members (Jandolo, Liberati and Veo) were coordinating the  initiatives and admissions of new members. Soon, at a time when big construction projects were underway, some important figures of the city’s administration joined the group, including Giuseppe  Bottai, governor of Rome in 1935-36; Antonio Muñoz, general inspector for the fine arts of the governorship of Rome from 1928 to 1944, and Aroldo Coggiati, the municipal delegate of Trastevere. Local print outlets regularly reported the weekly meetings at the  Cisterna tavern or at other public venues. [NOTE 6] One of the perennial subjects of interest of the association was the knowledge and diffusion of Roman dialect. In October 1931, Ettore Veo announced in his Giornale della domenica the project for a complete edition of Gioachino Belli’s sonnets, curated by Giorgio Vigolo, which were edited and published in 1951. [NOTE 7] The Romans of the Cisterna, thanks to their links with the public administration, seem to have played a not negligible role in the safeguarding of some monuments such as S. Nicola in Carcere,  condemned at first for demolition because of the urban renewal plan of the 1930s. [NOTE 8]  The nature of the group changed in 1936 after the death of Petrolini, a major force behind the group, which at this point met regularly in Via Margutta at Jandolo’s antique shop and periodically at the Cisterna and other taverns.  At this time the name “Romanisti,” was preferred by Marcello Piermattei to other names like “Romani col botto” (Petrolini), or “Romanofili” (Giorgio Pasquali), and was adopted, indicating as it did that the name should not be limited to those occupied with romance philology or football, but instead should encompass all the enthusiasts of the city of Rome from every point of view, closer to the scope of the Cisterna. [NOTE 9] In 1938, the Association of Romanisti was born from the fusion of the two groups.

The Association of Romanisti in its first constitution

Though not officially institutionalized by 1939, the group counted about 40 members, with only one woman among them (Emma Amadei).  Augusto Jandolo, Giuseppe Ceccarelli (Ceccarius) and Enrico Tadolini were the three most important figures in the association, most of whom were over 50.  They were all Italian, and mostly Roman; though foreigners were not excluded, they only became a part of the group after the war. The meetings remained weekly, but the Cisterna was no longer the main meeting place of the group: during the summer months the Romanisti met in the taverns of Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere and Piazza Navona. [NOTE 10] Jandolo’s antique gallery in Via Margutta 53 was, however, a permanent landmark for the group.
The first major and most long lasting initiative that distinguished the group of the Romanisti from the group of the Cisterna was the publication of the Strenna dei Romanisti in 1940, which was published with a preface by Bottai and edited by Augusto Jandolo, Piermattei and Ettore Veo, joined by Giuseppe Ceccarelli (Ceccarius) in the second year.

In the first three volumes of the Strenna, published from 1940 to 1943, the group embraced the rhetoric of the regime, though cognizant that fascism was only a temporary moment of history. In this period two Romanisti were members of the Great Council of the National Fascist Party and some who held government office, particularly in Rome’s municipal government, were party members. The character of the mouvement was, however, elsewhere. The passion for Rome manifested itself in an important stream of writings by the members, published either as articles in various journals (Capitolium – Rassegna mensile del Governatorato di Roma – Rivista di studi e cultura romana – L’Urbe) or as monographs, whose authors were often authorities in the field (Antonio Muñoz, Pier Paolo Trompeo, Ugo Ojetti, Gigi Huetter, Carlo Pietrangeli).

From 1945 until today

Jandolo was the first president, and at his death in 1951 the group started to meet in the studio of the sculptor Enrico Tadolini in Via del Babuino 153 B, at the corner with Via dei Greci, with Giuseppe Ceccarelli (Ceccarius) as president. [NOTE 11] Around 1970 the monthly meeting and assemblies moved to the caffè Greco, generously hosted by then owner Antonietta Gubinelli Grimaldi, and afterwards by other members of the Grimaldi family, and later by subsequent owners. The meetings of the council and those of the editing committee were hosted until 2016 at the Foundation Marco Besso in largo di Torre Argentina, and subsequently at the Venerabile Arciconfraternita di Santa Maria dell’Orto, where the Association’s archive was also transferred.
The new meaning of the term Romanista, particular to the group’s members, is nowadays consolidated and present in the major dictionaries of Italian language, starting with the Dizionario Enciclopedico Treccani, which already in 1959 noted in the third paragraph: “Lover of studies related to the history, city planning, dialectal literature, anecdotes and civic curiosities of Rome.” This special meaning is present in city place names such as the Viale dei Romanisti (Torrespaccata), from which branch other roads named after various members of the Association. 
With the exception of those institutions whose mission is to protect the historical, artistic, and monumental patrimony of Rome, the Association has established itself over the years as the pre-eminent forum working to advance and promote studies on Rome. 
Its battles on behalf of the historical seats of the Roman Archives, particularly the Archivio di Stato of Rome and the Archivio Storico Capitolino, are well known, having partnered with other important institutions like Italia Nostra, Centro studi per la storia della città, and Associazione Nazionale Archivistica Italiana.
Three presidents of the Italian Republic visited the group at the caffè Greco: Francesco Cossiga, [NOTE 12] Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, [NOTE 13] Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who received the the group at the Quirinale (Scalfaro, February 14, 1996).

City mayors, presidents of the province of Rome and of the Region Lazio and aldermen sometimes attended the meetings to listen in real time to reports regarding the safeguarding of Roman cultural patrimony and traditions. The public gatherings of the Association also have particular importance to the city’s life and are often joined by political and cultural authorities. [NOTE 14]

The Association of the Romanisti is nowadays an institution well connected to the intellectual and civic life of Rome. Its members are present in many scholarly fields and in many national and local cultural institutions, disseminating their knowledge of the city’s history and civilization and enriching it with new content.
The epigraphic motto of the Romanisti is inscribed in their Bollettino, [NOTE 15] created in 1974 by Fabrizio Apolloni Ghetti: Romanus sum: Romani nihil a me alienum puto.

ORGANISATION

In 1972 the Association created bylaws, later modified 3 May 1976; the most recent set of of bylaws was approved by the assembly on 13 January 1993. The Association has no institutional seat.  Its members (111 in 2018) are elected through secret ballot during the annual assembly. It is a lifetime appointment. The members have a monthly meeting in a back room (the so-called Red Hall) of the Caffè Greco in Via dei Condotti 86, Rome.  The governing structure of the Association is comprised of the Assembly, the President, the Council (comprised of seven members), the Secretary, the Treasurer, the ordinary Meeting. The officers are elected and their term is for three years. The Association also uses study commissions appointed during the ordinary meetings.

The Romanisti website lists complete the membership and their biographical profiles, [NOTE 16] while another list includes the deceased members. [NOTE 17]

Many Romanisti biographies are also included in the Dizionario biografico degli italiani.

PRESIDENTS

• 2016-2018 Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri
• 2013-2015 Paola Pavan
• 2010-2012 Laura Gigli
• 2007-2009 Umberto Mariotti Bianchi
• 2004-2006 Filippo Delpino
• 2001-2003 Umberto Mariotti Bianchi
• 1999-2000 Umberto Mariotti Bianchi (reggente)
• 1998-1999 Luigi Pallottino (dec. 1999)
• 1994-1998 Manlio Barberito
• 1991-1993 Cesare D’Onofrio
• 1988-1991 Manlio Barberito
• 1985-1988 Cesare D’Onofrio
• 1982-1985 Ettore Paratore
• 1979-1982 Andrea Busiri Vici
• 1976-1978 Ettore Paratore
• 1972-1975 Salvatore Rebecchini
• 1960-1971 Ceccarius
• 1929-1959 Augusto Jandolo

PUBLICATIONS

• Strenna dei Romanisti, annual anthology of Roman subjects, since 1940.
• Albo dei Romanisti, annual.
• Bollettino dei Curatores dell’Alma Città di Roma, monthly from 1973 to 1994, directed by Fabrizio M. Apollonj Ghetti; 2nd series as Bollettino del Gruppo dei Romanisti, from January 1995 to 2007, directed by Manlio Barberito; 3rd serie from 2018.

Moreover, the Romanisti Association published a set of monographs and the series “I Quaderni del Gruppo dei Romanisti.”

ROMANISTI OF YESTERYEAR

Famous figures have been part of the Association. Among them:

• King Gustavo Adolfo VI of Sweden.
• Cardinals and important prelates: Alfredo Ottaviani, Alfons Stickler; Filippo Caraffa, Ennio Francia;
• Politicians: Giulio Andreotti, Giuseppe Alberti, Giuseppe Bottai, Urbano Cioccetti, Luigi Federzoni, Salvatore Rebecchini, Rinaldo Santini;
• Writers, poets, literary critics: Antonio Baldini, Mario Dell’Arco, Giuseppe Ceccarelli (Ceccarius), Luciano Folgore, Giovanni Mosca, Silvio Negro, Ugo Ojetti, Cesare Pascarella, Carlo Alberto Salustri (Trilussa), Orio Vergani, Giorgio Vigolo;
• Journalists: Emma Amadei, Ettore Della Giovanna, Giovanni Gigliozzi, Arcangelo Paglialunga, Fabrizio Sarazani;
• Musicians: Rodolfo Caporali, Ezio Carabella, Fortunato Lay, Goffredo Petrassi, Carlo Alberto Pizzini;
• University professors: Rosario Assunto, Michele Coccia, Silvio D’Amico, Luigi De Nardis, Enrico Guidoni, Vittorio Emanuele Giuntella, Valentino Martinelli, Ettore Paratore, Giorgio Pasquali, Carlo Pietrangeli, Giorgio Petrocchi, Pietro Paolo Trompeo, Mario Verdone, Luigi Volpicelli, Giuseppe Zander;
• Archeologists: Guglielmo Gatti, Mario Moretti, Antonio Muñoz, Carl Eric Östenberg, Massimo Pallottino, Pietro Romanelli, Roberto Vighi;
• Architects: Andrea Clemente Busiri Vici, Michele Busiri Vici, Bruno M. Apollonj Ghetti, Fabrizio M. Apollonj Ghetti, Carlo Fontana, Vittorio Morpurgo, Marcello Piacentini;
• Directors and Executives of Libraries and Archives: Giulio Battelli, Leonard Boyle, Luigi De Gregori, Niccolò Del Re, Luigi Guasco, Wolfgang Lotz, Armando Lodolini; Ugo Pecchiai, Luigi Pirotta, Emilio Re, Gaetanina Scano, Leopoldo Sandri.
• Magistrates and Jurists: Pietro De Francisci, Luigi Pallottino, Cesare Pascarella jr., Scipione Tadolini;
• Lawyers: Domenico D’Amico, Cesare D’Angelantonio, Umberto Mariotti Bianchi;
• Artists: Mario Barberis, Carlo Fontana, Gemma Hartmann, Corrado Mezzana, Carlo Alberto Petrucci, Orfeo Tamburi, Enrico Tadolini;
• Art Historians: Giuliano Briganti, Vincenzo Golzio, Richard Krautheimer, Guglielmo Matthiae, Bruno Molajoli. Federico Zeri;
• Actors: Gianni Bonagura, Checco Durante, Aldo Fabrizi, Fiorenzo Fiorentini, Ettore Petrolini;
• Intellectuals: Carlo Belli, Ferdinand Boyer, Jorgen Birkendal Hartmann, Ettore Lapadula, Egmont Lee, Basilio Lemmermann, Renato Lefevre, Oreste Ferrari;
• Aristocrats: Urbano Barberini, Carlo Cardelli, Felice Guglielmi, Giovanni Incisa della Rocchetta, Leone Massimo, Francesco Ruspoli, Giulio Sacchetti.

PRIZES

Daria Borghese Price

Prize established to honor the memory of Daria Borghese Olsoufieff and entrusted by statute to the Romanisti Association. It is awarded annually by a special jury presided over by the association’s president to a non-Italian author for work on a Roman subject, published in the year in progress or in the preceding three years. It can also be awarded to a non- Italian author for their body of work or to a non-Italian publisher for publications dedicated to Rome.

Livio Borghese Price

Prize established to honor the memory of Livio Giuseppe Borghese and entrusted by statute to the Romanisti Association. It is awarded annually to an Italian individual or associations for work on a Roman subject, published in the year in progress or in the preceding three years. It can also be awarded to an Italian individual or association for their body of work or activities, or to an Italian publisher for publications dedicated to Rome.

NOTES

1. Art. 1 of the Statute approved by the Assembly of the Romanisti Association January 13th 1993.
2. Located in via della Cisterna 13. The tavern, no longer extant, had a wall mural with paintings reproducing scenes of Roman life inspired by the works of Bartolomeo and Achille Pinelli.
3. Ermanno Ponti, I babbioni, in Strenna dei Romanisti, I, 1940, pp. 119-123.
4. Orazio Amato, Il Sor Tito, in Strenna dei Romanisti, I, 1940, p. 110.
5. Livio Jannattoni, I “romanisti,” in Roma di ieri, oggi, domani, IV, November 1991, pp. 75-77.
6. Like the one of February 5th 1931, which reported the discussions related to the edition of Giggi Zanazzo’s poetry and to the new city’s master plan. Laura Biancini, Dall’osteria della Cisterna al caffè Greco in compagnia di Ceccarius, in Strenna dei Romanisti, LXXII, 2011, p. 66.
7. Ibid., p. 68
8. Oral tradition.
9. Livio Jannattoni, I “romanisti” cit., p. 76 ; Laura Biancini, Dall’osteria cit., pp. 68-69.
10. Marcello Piermattei, Chi sono i “Romanisti”?, in Strenna dei Romanisti, I, 1940, p. 40-42.
11. Cfr. issue Ceccarius, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 23, 1979.
12. February 1991, cfr. Strenna dei Romanisti 1991, p. 8.
13. 3 Dicember 1997, cfr. Bollettino dei Romanisti December 1997 e September 1998; L’Urbe n.6, 1997; Strenna dei Romanisti 1998 (synthesis of the speech of President Scàlfaro).
14. On February 25th 1991 a solemn manifestation celebrating the Association on the Campidoglio started with the reading of the message of the President of the Italian Republic and continued in the presence and with intervention of the Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, of Rome’s Mayor Franco Carraro and of the President of Lazio Region Rodolfo Gigli.
15. Bollettino dei Curatores dell’Alma Città di Roma, then since 1995, Bollettino del Gruppo dei Romanisti.

cfr.: http://www.gruppodeiromanisti.it/?page_id=52.
cfr: http://www.gruppodeiromanisti.it/?page_id=54.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Emma Amadei, Un po’ di storia dei Romanisti, in Strenna dei Romanisti”, XXXIII, 1972, pp. 7-11.
• Laura Biancini, Dall’Osteria della Cisterna al Caffè Greco in compagnia di Ceccarius, in Strenna dei Romanisti”, LXXII, 2011.
• Antonio Martini, I romanisti e la loro “Strenna”, in Strenna dei Romanisti, LXXV, 2014, pp. I-XVIII.
• Tamara Felicitas Hufschmidt – Livio Jannattoni, Antico Caffè greco. Storia – Ambienti – Collezioni, Roma, Gruppo dei Romanisti, 1989.
• Tamara Felicitas Hufschmidt, Tadolini Adamo – Scipione – Giulio – Enrico. Quattro generazioni di scultori a Roma nei secoli XIX e XX, Roma, Gruppo dei Romanisti, 1996.
• Gruppo dei Romanisti, Romanisti di ieri. Sommario di notizie bio-bibliografiche dei Soci scomparsi fino al 2002, Roma, October 2002.
• GALLERY OF IMAGES
• Romanisti – 1940.
• Romanisti’ signatures at the opening of the Osteria dell’Orso (May 30th 1940).
• Romanisti (without date).
• The Romanisti in Jandolo’s study with the Governor of Rome, Prince Giangiacomo Borghese – 1941.
• Romanisti at the Caffè Greco - 1948.
• Some Romanisti at the Caffè Greco.
• The Romanisti Luigi Ceccarelli and Antonio Martini with the politician Giulio Andreotti at the Caffè Greco - 2005.
• The President of the Italian Republic Ciampi and the Romanisti.

RELATED WEBSITES

http://anticocaffegreco.eu/ http://www.torrespaccata.org/Comune di Roma http://www.romaebraica.it/ https://www.ettoreroeslerfranz.com/ http://www.grafica.beniculturali.it/ http://www.fondazionemarcobesso.it/ http://www.liviojannattoni.it/ http://www.palazzochigiariccia.com/ http://www.premiborghese.it/ http://www.srsp.it/ http://www.santamariadellorto.it/

OTHER PROJECTS

http://www.accademiadellarcadia.it http://www.lincei.it/ http://www.accademiasanluca.eu/it http://www.almaroma.info/ http://www.centrostudibelli.it/ http://www.studiromani.it/ http://www.romaeterna.org/ http://www.romatiberina.com/ https://www.rugantino.it/ http://www.voceromana.net/

LINKS

Association’s Web-site http://www.gruppodeiromanisti.it FB page https://it-it.facebook.com/GruppodeiRomanisti/