The 25th of August 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Rome Summer Olympics. The Eternal City commemorated this milestone with a reenactment of the final kilometers of the 1960 torch relay, followed by 17 additional days of celebrations of the XVII Olympiad up through 11 September, the anniversary of the Games’ closing. And starting 30 September the American Academy in Rome will reflect on this anniversary, with a three day conference (Thursday 30 Sep.-Saturday 2 Oct.) and one day exhibition (Friday 1 Oct.) that examines the Rome Games as a cultural turning point.
Invited speakers for the AAR conference include Pulitzer Prize winning writer David Maraniss (author of Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World), 1960 Olympic gold medallists Lucinda Williams Adams and Rafer Johnson, and a dozen cultural and architectural historians from the US, UK and Italy. An extensive exhibition of Rome 1960 artifacts, curated by sports author Marco Impiglia with the collaboration of Rome Olympian Luciana Marcellini Hercolani-Gaddi, will be on view from 9 AM-6 PM at the AAR on Friday 1 October. Plus there will be an open-air evening screening at the AAR of the new Cinecittà Luce documentary “Sul Filo di Lana”, on the planning and politics of the XVII Olympiad.
You can read more about The 1960 Rome Olympics Conference here, and see both a general and detailed final schedule below (updated 26 September). Preregistration (free) is strongly encouraged.
OUTLINE SCHEDULE: The 1960 Rome Olympic Games Conference
THURSDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2010 Centro di Studi Americani
Afternoon session keynote paper by David Maraniss + discussion
FRIDAY 1 OCTOBER 2010 American Academy in Rome
All day L’Olimpiade dal volto umano. Artifacts of Rome 1960 from the Collections of Marco Impiglia and Luciana Marcellini Hercolani-Gaddi. Exhibition curated by Marco Impiglia
Morning session 4 papers + discussion
Afternoon session 4 papers + discussion
Evening session outdoor screening of documentary Sul Filo di Lana
SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER 2010 Walking tour + Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano
Morning session site visit to Palazzetto dello Sport, Villaggio Olimpico, and Foro Italico
Afternoon session at CONI, athletes’ narratives (with presentations by Lucinda Williams Adams and Rafer Johnson); then 2 papers followed by discussion on Roma 1960 and 2020
MONDAY 4 OCTOBER 2010 (associated event, with patrocinio of American Academy in Rome) Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo
Evening Book presentation of David Maraniss, Roma 1960. Le Olimpiadi che cambiarono il mondo (Rizzoli 2010)
DETAILED SCHEDULE: The 1960 Rome Olympic Games Conference
Presented by the American Academy in Rome
30 September—2 October 2010
Organizer: Corey Brennan (American Academy in Rome)
Collaborating institutions:
British School at Rome, Centro Studi Americani, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, Embassy of the United States of America, Cinecittà Luce, Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo, Università degli Studi di Roma “Foro Italico”
Thursday 30 September: Centro Studi Americani (via Michelangelo Caetani 32)
4.30 PM Giuliano Amato (President, Centro Studi Americani) and Corey Brennan (AAR) Welcome
5.00 PM Mario Pescante (Vice President, International Olympic Commission) presiding
DAVID MARANISS (The Washington Post) Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics that Stirred the World
Friday 1 October: American Academy in Rome (Via Angelo Masina 5), Lecture Room
9.30 AM Bruno De Lisi (Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo) presiding
CHRISTOPHER S. CELENZA FAAR’94 (Director, American Academy in Rome) Welcome
ANN KEEN (Rutgers University) Definitely Not Lost in Translation: Nervi’s Olympic Architecture in the Global Media
MARZIA MARANDOLA (Università degli Studi di Roma ‘Tor Vergata’) Pier Luigi Nervi e Riccardo Morandi: I migliori ingegneri italiani costruiscono la Roma delle Olimpiadi del 1960
11.00-11.15 AM break
11.15 AM Maria Grazia D’Amelio (Università degli Studi di Roma ‘Tor Vergata’) presiding
MARIDA TALAMONA (Università degli Studi Roma Tre) Il Villaggio olimpico (1958-1960)
ALICIA IMPERIALE (Temple University) The Olympic Village, Rome 1960—2010
1.00-2.30 PM break
2.30 PM Simona Salvo (Università degli Studi di Camerino) presiding
SUSAN SCHAFER (Institute of Fine Arts, New York University) The Need for a New Monumentality: Marcello Piacentini, L’EUR and Architectural Planning for the 1960 Rome Olympic Games
MANUEL CRESCIANI (Northumbria University) Roma 1960, Pier Luigi Nervi’s Collaborations: Myths and Truths
4.00-4.15 PM break
4.15 PM Fabio Pigozzi (Università degli Studi di Roma ‘Foro Italico’) presiding
NADIA ZONIS (City University of New York) The Next Rome: How the 1960 Olympics Made the Modern City
RITA LIBERTI (California State University, East Bay) & MAUREEN SMITH (California State University, Sacramento) Running with a Story: The US Media and the Construction of Wilma Rudolph as a Cold War Icon
9.00 PM World premiere screening of Sul Filo di Lana: Roma e la sua Olimpiade, new (2010) Cinecittà Luce documentary on 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Directed by LEONARD TIBERI
Saturday 2 October: Flaminio area + Foro Italico
9.30 AM PAOLO PEDINELLI (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano) and COREY BRENNAN (AAR) Walking tour for pre-registered participants including Palazzetto dello Sport, Villaggio Olimpico and Foro Italico
1.00-2.30 PM break
Afternoon session at Salone D’Onore del CONI = Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, Palazzo H (Largo Lauro De Bosis, 15)
2.30 PM Luciana Marcellini Hercolani-Gaddi (Rome; 1960 Olympian for Italy) presiding.
Athletes’ experiences of the XVII Olympiad, with two featured speakers
LUCINDA WILLIAMS ADAMS (Dayton Ohio; 1960 Olympic gold medalist in 4X100m relay) The 1960 Rome Olympics: The Close-up, Personal Memories of an Athlete
RAFER JOHNSON (Los Angeles California; 1960 gold medalist in decathlon; 1956 Olympic silver medalist in decathlon) Remembering Rome 1960: The Days and the Moments that will be in my Heart Forever
4.00-4.15 PM break
4.15 PM Christopher S. Celenza (Director, American Academy in Rome) presiding
From Roma 1960—to Roma 2020?
SIMON MARTIN (University of Hertfordshire / British School at Rome) Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World…but not Italy
JUDITH GRANT LONG (Harvard University, Graduate School of Design) A Survey of Approaches to Planning for the Olympic Games
6:00 PM Fausto Milano (Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo) moderating
Imagining a Sustainable Olympics for the Eternal City: A Moderated Discussion
ALSO OF INTEREST:
Monday 4 October (evening): Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo (Lungotevere in Augusta, 28)
Book presentation of DAVID MARANISS, Roma 1960. Le Olimpiadi che cambiarono il mondo (Rizzoli 2010). With the patrocinio of the American Academy in Rome.