Rome in the world and the world in Rome
As the self-proclaimed centre of the world, Rome occupies a unique position as a source of knowledge of various kinds throughout the inhabited world. Rome and the Vatican have emerged for millennia as the political, religious and cultural centre of the region, the nation, the Méditerranée, the empire, the church, the world. In a material sense, this has been translated into the creation of an extraordinary wealth of institutions, archives, museums, and collections and the active filling thereof. Today’s Rome has thus become an eminent global information hub.
Research at KNIR focuses on this dynamic and on the multifaceted meanings of Rome as a centre of the world: research at KNIR is always linked to Rome, if not as an object of study then as a source of information about elsewhere in the world. From the overarching concept of Rome in the world and the world in Rome, we shape the institute’s research profile.
This research is variably mono-, multi- and interdisciplinary and does not limit itself to ‘just’ the entirety of Roman history from the expanding Roman Empire in Antiquity to contemporary Cinecittà. Indeed, starting from the traditional KNIR areas of interest of Ancient Studies, History and Art History, we also look beyond Italy, the Netherlands and Europe, and consider the whole world in relation to Rome as a potential field of activity.
Our research concerns both material culture (archaeological finds, buildings and monuments, works of art and artefacts in museum collections, archival materials) and the history of ideas and reception (in philosophy, iconography, literature, religion, film) and the many cross-connections between them. Reflection on the disciplines and perspectives present at KNIR – especially that of Rome as a centre – is high on the agenda. Attracting new disciplines, methods and non-Romano and Eurocentric approaches is essential to this.
The shared concept of Rome as a global information hub reinforces the broad and international character of the KNIR and creates space for meaningful interactions with related disciplines. As a result, KNIR attracts an increasingly diverse group of researchers and manages to connect an ever-widening range of disciplines. This leads to fruitful research activities and projects that enrich traditional KNIR areas of interest with new perspectives and innovative research methods.
The KNIR offers a unique environment in which students and researchers can work in a highly interdisciplinary and international context. The Institute’s research facilities, with the extensive library available to our guests 24/7, the laboratory for material culture and digital methods, the proximity to museums, archives and archaeological sites, and the numerous contacts with Italian and international academic institutions in Rome and elsewhere, give the Institute an important role as an intermediary between the Dutch, Italian and international academic community.