Perugia is an Italian medieval hill town, known also as a lively students town (home to the International University for Foreigners, the University of Perugia, the Music Conservatory of Perugia as well as other recognised academic institutions).
Perugia is home to many of Italian finest Opera singers, like Antonietta Stella, Anita Cerquetti, Mario Sereni, Carmen Gonzales, Mario Petri, Marina Comprato and Paolo Coni, who worked closely with Pavarotti. The town also hosts renowned music festivals like Umbria Jazz and the Sagra Musicale Umbra, attracting world-famous musicians and enthusiastic fans and making Perugia, in the heart of Italy, literally beat!
 The city is also known for cultural events: the main draw in the summer is Umbria Jazz, Italy’s foremost jazz event.
Its rich artistic and cultural patrimony and the natural environment make Perugia a unique city of major importance, since its origins.
In Perugia one can sample good wines and many of the traditional Umbrian foods associated with festivals celebrating or religious festivities.

History of Perugia

The hills of Perugia were inhabited since prehistoric times, being first a settlement of the Umbrians, then the Etruscans, becoming one of the most important cities in the High Tiber Valley in the VI century.
Conquered by the Romans in 319 B.C. Perugia was deeply involved in the civil war between Antonio and Ottaviano.
After the fall of the Roman Empire Perugia was destroyed again by Totila in 547, then it belonged to the Byzantine dominions, and finally it became a powerful independent city-state allied to the Papal State when in the IX century, with the consent of Charles the Great and Louis the Pious, it passed under the Pope.
However, for many centuries the city continued to maintain an independent life, warring against many of the neighbouring lands and cities, like Foligno, Assisi, Spoleto, Todi, Siena, and Arezzo.
Beside, the city legacy was linked to the Guelphs.
The XIV century was characterised by violent struggles, between the Nobles and the Populars, and by the war against the Pope rule which ended with the Peace of Bologna in 1370, when Perugia was forced to recognise the Papal authority.
In the XV century the power of the city was concentrated in the Baglioni family but in 1540 Perugia was placed again under the direct control of the Papal State.
The Papal rule continued, excepted during the French occupation and the Roman Republic, until the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Some things to see in Perugia

 Piazza IV Novembre and the Fontana Maggiore

Sala del Collegio del Cambio

Archeological Museum

“Pala di Santa Maria dei Fossi” by Pintoricchio (a detail) Preserved inside the “Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria” (the most various and important art collection of the Region)

How to reach Perugia

By Airplane – The nearest airport is the Regional International Airport “San Francesco d’Assisi” – it’s 15 km from Perugia and connected to the center of the city (Piazza Italia; Perugia Rail Station) by shuttle buses that leave after each flight arrival; the cost of this service is about 3,50€.

The airport has a free park and inside there are several car rental companies stands.
This Airport is connected to: Milan Malpensa, Trapani, London Stansted, Bruxelles Charleroi, Tirana. For more information see http://www.airport.umbria.it/public/

Alternatively, you can fly to Roma Fiumicino at the International Airport “Leonardo da Vinci” situated at 210 km from Perugia. There are daily coach connections between Fiumicino and Perugia, the cost of the ticket is 21€ for only one trip, 34€ for round trip and it can be purchased on board. For timetables see http://www.sulga.it/index.php.

Another possibility to reach Perugia from Fiumicino International Airport is by train. There are many shuttle trains (Leonardo Express) from Fiumicino station to Roma Termini, which depart from the airport every half an hour. The cost of the ticket is 14€. From Roma Termini station you can take a direct train to Perugia. http://www.trenitalia.com/

Other airports in central Italy are: Ciampino International Airport (Rome-CPA), at 150 km from Perugia; Florence Airport “Amerigo Vespucci” (Loc. Peretola, Florence-FLR), at 160 km; Ancona Airport, at 90 km.

By Train – The main city station is Perugia Fontivegge.
Coming from the North, on the Firenze-Roma line, change train at Terontola Station and take a train for Perugia.
Coming from the South, on the main line Roma-Ancona, change train in Foligno.
Information on times and prices to reach Perugia train station are available checking http://www.trenitalia.com/

By Bus – Perugia it’s connected by means of daily buses to Firenze, Roma, Napoli, MilanoRoma “Leonardo Da Vinci” Airport.

By Car – Coming from the North take the Motorway A1 “del Sole” (Milan-Naples) – exit Valdichiana Bettolle and take the road SS75bis that enters Umbria coming from the Trasimeno Lake area and continues towards Perugia.
Coming from the South, take Motorway A1 “del Sole” (Milan-Naples) – exit Orte connected to Perugia through the road SS204 (direction Terni), then take the road E45 (or SS3bis).
If you take the Motorway A14 “Adriatica” (Bologna-Taranto) on the East Coast – coming form the North, exit Cesena and through the road E45 reach Città di Castello, then Perugia; coming from the South, exit “Civitanova Marche”, take the road E77 and follow Foligno direction before and Perugia direction after.

International Conference House Museums:

The Owners and their art collections.
Comparing experiences.

Palazzo di Sorbello House Museum
Perugia April 18th – 20th, 2012
Organized by :
The Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello

After a long process of documentation, preservation and restoration of the heritage of the noble family of the Marchesi Ranieri di Sorbello, the Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello officially opened to the public the Palazzo di Sorbello House Museum in 2010. The Foundation aims to organize in Perugia an international conference House Museums. The Owners and their art collections. Comparing experiences about the creation, the evolution and current issues related to house museums. For this purpose a Standing Committee was appointed, which includes members of the main local institutions (the Regione Umbria, the University of Perugia, the Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici dell’Umbria, the Comune di Perugia and others).

The conference will take place in three days:  on Wednesday, April 18^th, 2012 in the afternoon, on Thursday April 19th, 2012 the full day and on Friday 20^th April, 2012 in the morning.

Call for Papers:

The event will take place in three sessions:

On the afternoon of  Wednesday, April 18^th 2012 the focus will be on: “From the art collections of aristocratic family owners to the creation of House Museums: a general perspective” Brief papers of a general nature should provide a historical profile of national and international house museums of various types.
The House Museums in question are “palaces and houses where generations of the same family or families have lived and left a lasting mark of their own story” (cit. “House Museums in Italy”, by Rosanna Pavoni, Gangemi Ed., 2010). These buildings should be partially or totally turned into museums and regularly open to the public.

On Thursday, April 19th 2012 the discussion will focus on: “House museums and household owners“, presenting case studies and short historical reports. Case studies on House Museums originating from the household owners of the house where the museum was established should analyze the relationship between the owners, the collections, the opening to the public and the museum display.

In the morning of Friday 20th April, 2012 the discussion will focus on: “Managing house museums“. The session will examine current issues of House Museums management, the relationship with the public, the coexistence of the permanent collection with temporary exhibitions, issues concerning the preservation of house museums according to the legislations of the countries where they are located.

The structure of the paper should include a brief introduction, a central argument, results and conclusions. Please send an abstract (maximum 500 words) and a curriculum vitae by November 10, 2011.

Please send your contributions to the following email address: segreteria@fondazioneranieri.org. Please specify in the object of your message the session you apply for.

The Scientific Committee will select the abstracts of your contributions on the basis of their originality and their relevance to the topic.

Call for posters:

The Conference House Museums. The Owners and their art collections. Comparing experience will also have a section devoted to posters.

Houses Museums intending to promote themselves through posters are invited to participate. The posters are intended as a showcase to share with the participants. The structure of the poster should make evident the division between the introduction, the central argument, results and conclusions. Unlike a traditional paper, however, posters should display a good balance between text and images. Posters will be accepted with the dimensions of 100 cm (height) x 70 cm (width). At the same time, appropriate font sizes should be used to ensure an easy reading. It is recommended to place the name of the author/s, institution/s and email address/es under the title. Figures, diagrams, tables and graphs must be provided with captions.
You should also prepare some copies of each poster in A4 format (in black and white) for distribution during the conference.
If possible authors are invited to participate for the entire duration of the conference.

Abstracts of the posters (maximum 500 words and 3 pictures) will be selected by the Scientific Committee and will be chosen on the basis of their relevance to the theme of the conference.

House Museums participating in this section may submit their proposal by November 10, 2011 at the following email address: segreteria@fondazioneranieri.org.

Abstracts of the selected posters submitted in pdf format will be published in the Conference Proceedings.

Organizing Committee

Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello – Ruggero Ranieri; Claudia Pazzini; Isabella Vitelli, Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane – Sezione Umbria – Clara Lucattelli Caucci Von Saucken, Comune di Perugia – Marina Bon Valsassina,
Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici dell’Umbria-Francesco Scoppola,
Regione Umbria – Antonella Pinna,
University of Perugia – Dip. di Scienze Umane e della Formazione – Francesco F. Mancini,
University of Perugia – Dip. Uomo e Territorio – Laura Teza.

Scientific Committee

Helen Rees Leahy, Director of the Museology Dept., University of Manchester
Stefano Papetti, Museology Professor, University of Camerino

Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello
Piazza Piccinino, 9 – 06122 Perugia – Italy
Telefono: +39 075 5732775 – 075 5724869 – Fax: +39 075 5726227
segreteria@fondazioneranieri.org
www.casamuseosorbello.org
www.fondazioneranieri.org

Conferenza internazionale CASE MUSEO:

Case Museo, famiglie proprietarie e loro collezioni d’arte. Esperienze a confronto

Data: 18-20 Aprile 2012,
Luogo: Casa Museo di Palazzo Sorbello di Perugia e altre sedi, Italia

Organizzato dalla Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello La Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello, dopo un lungo percorso di documentazione, conservazione e tutela del patrimonio artistico e librario, posseduto dalla nobile famiglia dei marchesi Ranieri di Sorbello, ha ufficialmente aperto al pubblico la Casa Museo di Palazzo Sorbello nel 2010. Alla luce dei risultati ottenuti e dell’esperienza maturata, la Fondazione intende promuovere ed organizzare presso la propria sede museale un Convegno Case Museo, famiglie proprietarie e loro collezioni d’arte. Esperienze a confronto sul tema della creazione, evoluzione e problematiche odierne legate alle case museo, da realizzare a Perugia. A questo scopo è stato nominato un Comitato Promotore, che comprende i membri delle principali istituzioni locali (la Regione dell’Umbria, l’Università degli Studi di Perugia, la Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici dell’Umbria, il Comune di Perugia e altri enti).

L’evento si svilupperà in tre giornate di studio: il pomeriggio di mercoledì 18 aprile 2012, l’intera giornata di  giovedì 19 aprile 2012 e la mattina di venerdì 20 aprile 2012.

Call for Papers – Richiesta interventi per le tre giornate

Il pomeriggio di mercoledì 18 aprile 2012 si concentrerà sul tema: Dalle collezioni d’arte delle famiglie nobili alla formazione della Casa Museo: uno sguardo d’insieme. Per questo argomento si richiedono brevi interventi che forniscano un inquadramento storico delle varie tipologie di case museo esistenti a livello nazionale ed internazionale, attraverso relazioni a carattere generale su aspetti storici. Per case museo si intendono “ville e palazzi dove generazioni di una stessa famiglia o di famiglie che vi si sono succedute hanno lasciato i segni della propria storia” (cit. “Case Museo in Italia” di Rosanna Pavoni, Gangemi Ed., 2009). Queste strutture si considerano parzialmente o completamente musealizzate e aperte regolarmente al pubblico.

La giornata di giovedì 19 aprile 2012 affronterà invece il seguente aspetto: Le case museo e le famiglie proprietarie. Si attendono brevi casi studio introduttivi sulle case museo originate da famiglie proprietarie della casa in cui si è istituito il museo, analizzando i rapporti tra la famiglia proprietaria, le collezioni, le raccolte familiari e la loro apertura al pubblico e musealizzazione. A tal fine si potranno prendere in esame realtà di case museo italiane ed europee lungo il loro percorso, da episodi collezionistici a vere e proprie case museo.

La mattina di venerdì 20 aprile 2012 concluderà il convegno sulla questione: La gestione di una casa museo. Si attendono papers relativi al funzionamento di una casa museo oggi; il rapporto con il pubblico; la convivenza tra la collezione permanente e le mostre temporanee e questioni relative alle normative sulla tutela e valorizzazione delle case museo. L’impostazione del paper deve seguire quella di un normale articolo scientifico, con una breve introduzione, argomentazione, risultati e conclusione. Si prega di inviare un abstract (massimo 500 parole) e un proprio curriculum vitae entro il 10 novembre 2011. Inviare il materiale al seguente indirizzo di posta elettronica: segreteria@fondazioneranieri.org. Si prega di specificare nell’oggetto per quale giornata viene proposto il proprio paper. Gli abstract dei papers saranno selezionati dal Comitato Scientifico e saranno scelti sulla base della loro originalità e pertinenza al tema del convegno.

Call for posters:

Il convegno Case Museo, famiglie proprietarie e loro collezioni d’arte. Esperienze a confronto apre una sezione dedicata ai posters.

Sono invitate a partecipare le Case Museo che, tramite il poster, potranno far conoscere la propria realtà. I poster vengono intesi come una vetrina per condividere, tra i partecipanti, informazioni relative alle attività di ricerca e di studio delle diverse strutture.

L’impostazione del poster deve seguire nei suoi tratti essenziali quella di un normale articolo scientifico. Deve essere pertanto evidente la scansione tra introduzione, argomentazione, risultati e conclusione. A differenza di un articolo tradizionale, tuttavia, nel poster va favorito il migliore equilibrio possibile fra testo e immagini. Saranno accettati posters con dimensioni 100 cm (altezza) x 70 cm (larghezza). Contestualmente, vanno usati caratteri di dimensione tale da garantire una lettura agevole. Si consiglia di inserire sotto il titolo nome e cognome dell’autore/i, istituzione/i di appartenenza e indirizzo/i email. Figure, diagrammi, tabelle e grafici dovranno essere provvisti di didascalia. È consigliabile preparare delle copie in formato A4 (anche in bianco e nero) di ciascun poster, da distribuire agli interessati durante il convegno. Gli Autori sono invitati ad essere presenti se possibile durante l’intera durata del Convegno.

Gli abstract dei posters (massimo 500 parole e 3 immagini) saranno selezionati dal Comitato Scientifico e saranno scelti sulla base della loro pertinenza al tema del convegno.

Le Case Museo che vorranno partecipare a questa sezione potranno inviare la propria proposta entro il 10 novembre 2011 al seguente indirizzo di posta elettronica: segreteria@fondazioneranieri.org.

Gli abstracts, inviati in formato pdf dei posters accettati, saranno pubblicati negli Atti del Convegno.

Comitato Operativo del Convegno

Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello – prof. Ruggero Ranieri; dott.ssa Claudia Pazzini; dott.ssa Isabella Vitelli, Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane – Sezione Umbria – arch. Clara Lucattelli Caucci Von Saucken, Comune di Perugia – dott.ssa Marina Bon Valsassina, Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici dell’Umbria- arch. Francesco Scoppola, Regione Umbria – dott.ssa Antonella Pinna, Università di Perugia – Dip. di Scienze Umane e della Formazione – prof. Francesco F. Mancini, Università di Perugia – Dip. Uomo e Territorio – prof.ssa Laura Teza.

Comitato Scientifico

dott.ssa Helen Rees Leahy, Direttrice del Dipartimento di Museologia, Università di Manchester; prof. Stefano Papetti, docente di museologia all’Università degli Studi di Camerino

Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello
Piazza Piccinino, 9 – 06122 Perugia – Italy
Telefono: +39 075 5732775 – 075 5724869 – Fax: +39 075 5726227
segreteria@fondazioneranieri.org
www.casamuseosorbello.org
www.fondazioneranieri.org

Prof. Stefano Ragni is a composer, a pianist, a musician and a music teacher.

He’s qualified in piano, composition and chorus direction and he’s graduated in Philosophy. His teaching through the years has touched repeatedly on the subject of “Italian Opera”.
Prof. Ragni can offer the young singer his knowledge acquired during 40 years of experiences in which he has accompanied great singers with the piano. Among his professional experiences, he has played at the “Festival dei Due Mondi” of Spoleto and the “Chigiana” Academy of Siena, and has worked with artists like Raina Kabaivanska, Carmen Gonzales, Katia Ricciarelli; Lajos Kozma.

He has taught piano at the Conservatory of Perugia for almost forty years and he’s a Professor of Italian Music at the “Università per Stranieri di Perugia” where he has taught the course “Vocal Music for Foreign Students” for more than 20 years, as part of his wider Music History syllabus. In these lessons he reads the score with the accompaniment of the piano, allowing the young singer to get in touch with the Italian singing tradition. Other important experiences are his concert tours across Europe and in Brazil, Argentina Uruguay, in the USA (New York, Michigan and North Carolina), in Egypt, Sudan, Israel and recently in Azerbaigian and Vietnam.

He’s a member of the “Simonetta Puccini” Foundation Board of directors in Torre del Lago where he inaugurated the Forster piano found in Villa Puccini, which he composed his latest works on. With the guide of Prof. Ragni’s piano, the young foreign singer will be able to approach and practice in the history, culture and tradition of the Italian Opera.