Location

·   Classrooms in historical buildings

     See photos of RILA's location at the Palazzo del Collegio Romano.

     Because RILA attempts to supplement the core texts approach with the art and the historical monuments of Italy, classes will meet in a museum or building of historic significance in the center of Rome. The particular location may vary from year to year. Having such a base is intended to help students feel at home among the cultural richness of Rome, while providing an extraordinary setting for serious reflection.

     Our classes are currently held in the very heart of Rome's historic center, in the Palazzo del Collegio Romano or Roman College Building. The Roman College is located around the corner from the Pantheon and at walking distance from virtually all the major historical or artistic sites in the city (to see a map, click the link to photos below). This beautiful Renaissance building is today a national monument in Italy.

The history of the building reflects the most important tensions in modern Italian history. The Roman College Building, built in 1582-4, originally housed the recently instituted Jesuit college envisioned by Ignatius Loyola. For centuries it was one of the most active cultural centers in Rome. Galileo was received here with great acclaim in the early 1600's, and held a series of debates. Other major scientists, mathematicians, and astronomers have studied here or used the observatory, most notably the great 18th century physicist Boscovich. In 1651 Athanasius Kircher was asked to create a museum within the Roman College. This museum's collections of scientific instruments, of antiquities, and as well, of botanical, geological and zoological specimens are still on display today, although a number of its pieces have been moved into the Vatican and other museums.
		Collegio Romano - etching by G. Vasi dated 1760

During the unification of Italy the Roman College was used as a barracks for Italian troops, and since 1871 it has hosted a non-religious public high school, the Liceo Ginnasio E. Q. Visconti.