Description
This course will offer intensive training in the accurate reading and transcription of handwritten Italian vernacular texts from the late medieval though the early modern periods. The instruction is intended to enable scholars in various fields of specialization to acquire the skills to work with primary sources.
While the major emphasis is on paleographical skills, the course offers an introduction to materials and techniques, and considers the history of scripts within the larger historical, literary, intellectual, and social contexts of Italy. Participants receive an introduction to a wide range of types of writing and documents from literary to legal, notarial, official, ecclesiastical, business, and family documents.
The course offers an overview of the system of Italian archives—public, ecclesiastical, and private. Participants also have the opportunity to work with original texts, using manuscripts and documents in the collections of the Newberry Library. The institute will be led by Maddalena Signorini, Università degli Studi di Roma.
Eligibility
The institute enrolls 15 participants by competitive application. First consideration will be given to advanced graduate students and junior faculty in the Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium universities. Applications are accepted from advanced graduate students and junior faculty from universities, professional staff of libraries and museums, and from qualified independent scholars. This graduate-level course is taught in Italian and requires advanced language skills.
Accepted participants will receive some funding to help cover the costs of attending the institute.
Application Information
Applications will be accepted online via Slideroom. The application deadline is March 15, 2026.
Your application should include:
1. An essay of no more than 500 words
2. Current curriculum vitae (CV) of no more than three pages
3. One letter of reference