SAPIENZA UNIVERSITÀ DI ROMA

CENTRO DI STUDI SULLA CULTURA E L’IMMAGINE DI ROMA

FONDAZIONE ERNESTA BESSO

 

ELISA DEBENEDETTI PRIZE

for research writing in the History of Eighteenth-Century Art 

 

INAUGURAL AWARD 2026

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Elisa Debenedetti (1933-2024), professor of art history at Sapienza Università di Roma, promoted the study and research of 18th-century arts for decades. Author of important contributions, essays and monographs, she founded and edited the journals “Studi sul Neoclassico” (1973-80) and “Studi sul Settecento Romano” (since 1985), essential points of reference and discussion for researchers and scholars.

 

The Debenedetti family, in agreement with the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art and Entertainment at Sapienza Università di Roma, the Centro di Studi sulla Cultura e l’Immagine di Roma and the Fondazione Ernesta Besso, have established a biennial prize for an unpublished long-form study on the arts of the eighteenth century, focussed, though not exclusively so, on Roman culture.

 

The prize is open to young scholars of any nationality who are under 40 years of age on the closing date of the call for applications, for independent research-based long-form writing, i.e. degree theses, specialisation theses, doctoral theses, etc., written in Italian, English, French or Spanish.

 

The prize consists of publication as a monograph by L’ Erma di Bretschneider in Rome, in the series “Inchiostri di Storia dell'arte e dell'architettura”.

 

Applications must be received by 31 October 2026 at the e-mail address premioelisadebenedetti@gmail.com

 

Confirmation of receipt of applications will be sent.

 

The application must contain, in PDF format:

• text and images (low resolution)

• abstract (maximum 900 words)

• brief curriculum vitae et studiorum

 

The jury is composed of a representative of the Debenedetti family, the director of the Centro di Studi sulla Cultura e l’Immagine di Roma, two representatives of Sapienza Università di Roma (SARAS and DSDRA Departments), two representatives of the Fondazione Ernesta Besso and a representative of a foreign research institution. The jury's decision is final.

 

The winner will be announced by 30 November 2026.

 

The prize ceremony will take place in Rome in December 2026, and the publication will be released within the following year.