We are pleased to announce the launch in Fall 2018 of the Center for the Art and Architectural History of Port Cities / Centro per la Storia dell’Arte e dell’Architettura delle Città Portuali, a collaboration between the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples and the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at the University of Texas at Dallas, with the participation of the Université Paris-Sorbonne.

Housed within the Capodimonte’s bosco in an eighteenth-century agricultural building called La Capraia (the goat farm), the Center is a laboratory for innovative research in the cultural histories of port cities and the mobilities of artworks, people, technologies, and ideas. Research and programs at La Capraia are dedicated to exploring global histories of art, architecture, and cultural production, while grounded in direct study of artworks, sites, and other materials in Naples as well as Campania. Through Research Residencies and regular site-based Research Workshops and Symposia, the Center at La Capraia supports scholarly access to Naples, fosters new research on Naples and on other port cities, and creates a network of students and scholars working on related projects.

The Advisory Committee of the Center for the Art and Architectural History of Port Cities invites applications for Research Residencies for PhD students in the early stages of their dissertation. Projects, which may be interdisciplinary, may focus on art and architectural history, music history, archeology, or related fields. All projects must address the cultural histories of Naples as a center of exchange, encounter, and transformation, while making meaningful use of research materials in Naples and Campania including artworks, sites, archives, and libraries. Residencies will run for 4 & 1⁄2 or 9 months (mid-August through December, January through mid-April, or mid-August through April).

Research Residents will be awarded free lodging and work space at La Capraia, as well as the cost of travel to and from Naples at the beginning and end of the period of residency. Residents will be responsible for all other personal expenses during the residency period. Research residents will be granted privileged access to collections and research resources at the Capodimonte; access to other sites, collections, and research materials will be arranged as needed. At the end of the research period, residents will submit a written report on their progress, and share their research in a public lecture, gallery talk, or site visit.

We welcome applications from scholars of any nationality. Applicants are invited to submit a CV, a letter of intent, and a proposal of 1,000-1,500 words that outlines the research project and the resources that will be used in Naples. Materials should be sent in a single PDF file to [email protected] and [email protected]. In addition, applicants must invite three recommenders to send letters of support directly to the same email addresses. All materials including letters of recommendation are due by Monday, April 16, 2018.