The Italian Academies 1525-1700: the first intellectual networks of early modern Europe.

This project builds on and significantly enhances the AHRC-funded Resource Enhancement project 'The Italian Academies 1530-1650: a themed collection database' (http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/ItalianAcademies/) now nearing completion.

Academies represent a vital and characteristic dimension of early modern culture, but research on them remains limited due to difficulty of access to relevant information.
There were ca. 600 Academies in Italy in the period 1530-1700. International in membership, and in correspondence with scholars across Europe, they were fundamental to the development of the intellectual networks later defined as the 'République des Lettres', and to the dissemination of ideas in early modern Europe. Their membership included pioneering scientists, writers, artists, political thinkers, and representatives of both sexes and all social classes. The interests of the Academies ranged from the humanities, to the figurative and performance arts, natural sciences and medicine; many were interdisciplinary in their outlook and activities.
The RE project has now established a significant scholarly resource on Academies in Naples, Padua, Bologna and Siena. Significant outcomes of that project include: (i) the discovery of many Academies not previously listed in existing scholarship; (ii) the evidence of the extensive networks of intellectual exchange within Italy and across Europe; (iii) the identification of the notable contribution of women including as authors, dedicatees and illustrators; (iv) the complex operation of censorship and its variability; (v) much vital new information from the analysis of dedications and dedicatees; (vi) the realization of the importance of illustrations in Academies' books for understanding their interests and operations.
The project has also surpassed its stated objectives and greatly increased its research potential by: providing enhanced access to information about learned Academies (ca 250) in these centres; including over 1,000 digitized images relating to Academies.

The present proposal aims to build on these outcomes by:
(i) extending the scope of the database, by inputting data on Academies in both large and smaller centres, including: Rome and Venice, which had very large numbers of academies only a tiny fraction of which have been the subject of previous studies; cities such as Ferrara and Mantua, where the academies co-existed with the aristocratic courts; southern cities outside Naples (especially in Sicily) whose academies and their contribution to culture remains largely unexplored.
(ii) addressing the research questions and problems posed by the material already catalogued and developing research on new data. Among the important research questions to be addressed are:
What was the relationship between the Academies and institutions such as courts and Universities? What roles did women have within Academies? What was the role of illustrators and printers? How many foreigners took part in the life and publications of Italian Academies? How were intellectual discussions conducted and networks maintained? How did individual Academies relate to the demands of censorship? What were the relationships between Academies and the Spanish political and cultural establishment of southern Italy? How did Academies represent themselves through art and spectacle?
These questions are emphatically inter- and multidisciplinary and demand a collaborative approach. The research proposed will be conducted by the existing RE project team who have acquired important relevant expertise in handling the data and in developing methodologies for analysing and presenting it. This expertise will be enhanced by the participation in the team of a colleague with research interests in topics linked to women, theatre and the northern courts.

This project is grounded in BL strategies for enhanced access and digitisation. These aim to make public access to the collections easier, increase awareness and use of the collections by the general public and extend electronic resources. The impact of the project is threefold, relating to: (i) the database; (ii) the research publications; (iii) the conference and workshops

i) 'The Italian academies 1530-1650: a themed collection database' (http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/ItalianAcademies/) forms a subset of the British Library on-line catalogue which is publicly available over the internet. The potential beneficiaries are all users of the BL catalogues worldwide. The impact of the database is thus global and unrestricted to any specific group or profession. It would be hard to envisage a more wide-ranging impact. The public benefits of the database are already evident and will grow considerably through the life of the project.
No special knowledge is required to navigate through the database and no knowledge of a foreign language is needed. Both Quick and Advanced Searches are available; a Browse facility and a Search tips page provide suggestions for improving searching. The project, involving the major public UK library, matches the Research Council's desire to promote the benefits of funded research to the third sector and the wider public. Staff working on this aspect, in particular the early career researchers will develop multiple interdisciplinary research techniques, enhanced IT skills relevant to searching and codifying research materials.
ii) research publications
The BL Themed Collections aim to open up under-used resources in the library by making access easier to readers at all levels. By drawing on the resources now held in the Italian Academies database, the publications proposed will advertise the richness of these collections and so contribute to the BL's public access strategy. Through engagement with schools and colleges (see Impact Plan), the project will promote an awareness of a common European cultural heritage. Through the emphasis on the multidisciplinary nature of the Academies' interests, and in particular the combination of science and the humanities in many Academies, the project publications will engage with the renewed debate on the Two Cultures and emphasise how the Academies can stimulate thinking about overcoming this divide. The publications on artists and book illustration will have an impact on museums and galleries. Both these and the database are already being used by the public media (BBC) to inform programmes on European history and culture. Through reviews and citations in scholarly journals and monographs, the publications will also have a longer term impact, affecting understanding of the interrelationship between arts/sciences.
iii) conferences and workshops
These events will be open to the general public who will be invited to attend and register alongside academic beneficiaries (see Plan). The preceding related RE project already has an established international dimension through presentations of the database which will continue. There is strong interest in the Italian Academies research project in the regions of Italy which have a precise remit to promote local culture to the general public. Contacts with museums, libraries, and galleries in the regions relating to the project will be further developed; presentations, exhibitions and special events will be organised to promote local awareness of the cultural heritage. Since the Academies constituted Europe-wide networks, as our research will demonstrate, there is potential for impact on a range of European organisations, including the European Commission and its cultural promotion strategies.
Each workshop, conference and presentation will have an immediate local impact, and build on that of previous events. In this way