Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome began publication in 1915, shortly after the union of the American School of Classical Studies in Rome and the American Academy in Rome. The contents of the first thirty-nine Quarto volumes have varied, consisting at different times of collections of articles, monographic studies, final excavation reports, and collections of conference papers.

Volume 40, bearing the calendar date of 1995, initiated a new phase in the life of series, which has subsequently appeared as an annual journal containing articles in the wide range of fields that have traditionally been important to the Academy. These include classical studies and archaeology, art history, and Italian cultural and historical studies from the Middle Ages to the present. Submissions are encouraged from any scholar working in these fields; formal affiliation with the Academy is not necessary. An ancillary series, entitled Supplements to the Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, will accommodate illustrated monographs in art history and archaeology as well as excavation reports.