Exoticizing Vesuvius? Three Workshops in 2009
Throughout 2009 an AHRC-sponsored collaboration between the University of York and University of Cambridge successfully carried out three workshops, all revolving around the same theme "Exoticizing Vesuvius?". The first workshop (12 January 2009), entitled "The historical and intellectual formation of Neapolitan Historiography", took place at the University of Cambridge and was meant to draw the process of historical and intellectual awareness that affected Naples in different times. Peter Burke (University of Cambridge), John Marino (University of California at San Diego) and Girolamo Imbruglia (Istituto Universitario di Napoli, Orientale, Napoli) covered issues related to Modern, Pre-Modern and Enlightened times; John Davis (University of Connecticut) coped with the 20th century, Marta Petrusewictz (University of Calabria and City University of New York: Hunter College and the Graduate Center) took into account rural modernizers in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, while Anna Maria Rao (University of Naples- Federico II) reflected on the lost opportunities in the history of Naples. The second workshop, "Topography and Piety: Naples Afflicted" (3 April 2009, University of York), went on to explore the relationship between Neapolitan piety and Neapolitan topography: in particular, Neapolitan religious devotion (Paola D'Agostino, University of Naples- Federico II), discourses of disasters, earthquake, eruption, plague and particular form of piety they produced (Marino Niola, Istituto Suor Orsola Benincasa- Naples) up to pinpoint those that may be regared as topographies of piety (Helen Hills, University of York, Thomas Willette, University of Michigan, Harald Hendrix, University of Utrecht). Silvana D'Alessio (University of Salerno) provided a new reading of the historical figure of Masaniello, from David to Antichrist.The third and last workshop of "Exoticizing Vesuvius" took place on the 18th September 2009, at the University of Cambridge, CRAASH (Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities). The meeting, named "Objects of Collecting in Naples and Naples as Object of Collecting" perused "Naples" and "Neapolitans" as subjects of collecting and dispersal, also interwining themes related to export of goods, and exile of persons, tourism, treasures and trade. Dinko Fabris (University of Salerno at Lecce/Centro di Studi di Musica Antica Pietà dei Turchini, Naples) and Martin Deasy (University of Oxford) analysed the reception of Neapolitan music throughout 17th/18th and 19th centuries; other topics included images of Naples emerging from Giovanni Battista Lusieri (Cesare De Seta, University of Naples- Federico II) or Cluade- Joseph Vernet's works (Helena Hammond, University of Surrey), or even from the collections of the Principe di Tarsia (Paola Bertucci, Yale University), the representation of street-sellers (Melissa Calaresu, University of Cambridge), or from histories and guides to the city (Barbara Naddeo, CUNY: The City College of New York).
Poster and detailed programme for each workshop:
Workshops in 2009 booklet (MS Word 
, 66kb)
exorcizing Vesuvius poster (PDF 
, 364kb)
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