The Melville Society - 8th International Melville Conference: Melville and Rome

Melville and Rome

Empire – Democracy – Belief – Art

The Eighth International
Melville Conference

Rome: 22-26 June 2011

Join us in Rome for our eighth international conference on June 22-26, 2011. Sponsored by the Melville Society and the University of Rome, the conference will be held at the famed University and the renowned Center for American Studies, both in the heart of the Eternal City. Over one hundred scholars from the United States, Italy, and twenty other nations—including colleagues from Algeria, Australia, Canada, China, England, Germany, India, Iraq, Israel, Korea, Kurdistan, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine—are slated to speak in what promises to be our most global conference to date. Scheduled programs will include presentations by artists, a walking tour of Melville’s Rome, and a June 27 day-trip to Naples guided by noted Neapolitan Melvillean, Gordon Poole.

FEATURED KEYNOTERS

Leslie Marmon Silko, novelist
Dennis Berthold, author of American Risorgimento
Gordon Poole, editor of Naples in the Time of Bomba

Directions to Conference Venues

The Centro Studi Americani, where the first day of the conference will take place, is located in Via Caetani no. 32, in the historic Palazzo Caetani. Via Caetani is right in the city center -- a stone's throw away from Piazza Venezia. Via Caetani is off Via delle Botteghe Oscure, a large street connceting Piazza Venezia to Largo Argentina. It can be easily reached from anywhere you are staying in the city.

Conference fees: $150 or about 100 euros will cover our opening luncheon and admission to all presentations.

Naples Day Trip completely booked: As of today, May 10, 2011, the June 27^th day-trip to Naples is completely booked. The Naples day-trip itinerary is listed below.

For further information and updates: Please contact the conference coordinators: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Banquet: Those interested in attending the banquet can so indicate on the Registration Form and pay the 30 euros for the banquet in person when registering in Rome.

Accommodations: The conference will have two venues: The Center for American Studies near Piazza Venezia and the Capitol (for the first day only) and the University of Rome (Sapienza) not far from Stazione Termini, Rome’s main railway and bus station. We have secured special conference rates at various hotels within easy walking distance or a short bus ride to the main University venue, including:

Hotel Ateneum (****) http://www.ateneorome.com/index.html

Hotel Laurentia (***) http://www.hotellaurentia.com/

We also recommend the Casa dell’Aviatore (http://www.casaviatore.it/index.php), at 70 to 80 euros per night, and a 20-minute walk to the University. For lodging closer to our first day’s venue, we recommend Hotel Hosianum (****); this is a 30 to 40-minute bus ride to the University. For cheaper or more upscale accommodations, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Register Now: Send your check made out to The Melville Society to our Treasurer Tony McGowan, Department of English and Philosophy, Bldg. 607 Cullum Road, West Point, NY 10996. Please indicate “Rome” on your memo line. For further registration information, contact Tony at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Naples Day Trip Itinerary – Monday, June 27^th

• An early morning start with the bus trip to Naples during which Gordon Poole will make a brief presentation and distribute a booklet made especially for the trip.

• First we will have a fifty-minute guided tour of the Catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius), then the city center (Maschio Angioino/Angevin Keep and via Toledo), where we leave the bus.

• After taking the funicular railway to Vomero, the hill above Naples, we walk (500m) to the San Martino (Saint Martin) museum, after passing by the Sant'Elmo Castle. From the belvedere outside the Museum you get a view of the city that Melville especially appreciated, and from the lovely museum terraced ground, another view.

• Then, after visiting the museum, we walk (500m) to our restaurant, where we have lunch, followed by a rather special two-part concert. Rejoining our bus, we ride to the Solfatara or Phlegraean Fields, after which we start back to Rome, passing by Lake Avernus.