Ursula Nilgen Hertziana Foundation

Ursula Nilgen (1931–2018) was one of the most important twentieth-century scholars of medieval Roman art, in particular of its political iconography. She was an assistant at the Bibliotheca Hertziana and latterly became the first woman in Germany to obtain a professorship in art history.

The Foundation was created by Nilgen at the end of 2018 with the aim of promoting research on medieval Italian art (up to about 1250) at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History. This purpose is fulfilled by supporting excellent young researchers, promoting the preservation and conservation of early medieval Italian art, and organizing conferences and seminars.

After its establishment, the Foundation financed a fellowship as part of the project “Mapping Sacred Spaces”. From this year onwards, the Foundation will sponsor at least one six-month fellowship every year in order to support young scholars working on medieval art in Italy. In addition, travel grants and other subsidies are also regularly advertised. The current funding offers are published under Opportunities.

The members of the Foundation’s scientific committee are:

Prof. Dr. Sible de Blaauw
Prof. Dr. Rebecca Müller
Prof. Dr. Tanja Michalsky 

Fellows

• Gian Marco Hölk, M.A. (2026): Città turrite. Der Geschlechterturm und die Entstehung der italienischen Turmstädte
• Francesco De Naro Papa, M.A.(2026): Imported Ceramic in Italian Maritime Cities: Trade Routes, Reuse, Contexts of Reception (11th-13th Century)
• Chiara Stombellini, M.A.(2026): Beyond Cluny. Reconstructing Cluniac Monastic Spaces in Medieval Venice (11th–13th Centuries)
• Cecilia Goletti, M.A. (2025): The Marble Floor of the Cathedral of Sant'Agata de' Goti (XIII Century). Sacred Space, Symbolism, Iconography and Material Aspects
• Chiara Audizi, M.A. (2023): Clients and Artists: Spaces and Forms of Self-Representation in Medieval Churches of Basilicata (XII–XIII Centuries)
• Ruggero Longo, Ph.D. (2019/2020): Mapping Sacred Spaces - The Digital Archive Project. Searching, Collecting, Cataloging, Archiving Medieval Marble Liturgical Furnishings and Decorations

Travel Grants 

• Mina Miyamoto (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena). Project: „Reliquisierung“ liturgischer Textilien als Praxis im Hochmittelalter. Travel grant: 29.07.–15.08.26, archival work in Rome
• Ella Sophie Beaucamp (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München). Project: Schlucken, beißen, singen. Eine audiovisuelle Erkundung der romanischen Ambone in Kampanien. Travel grant: archival work in Turin and Naples
• Lucio Oriani (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II). Project: Codici miniati di ambito aragonese in Siciliy. Travel grant: 17.10.–01.11.2023, for archival work in Sicily
• Michela Young (University of Cambridge). Project: The Vallombrosan ‘neighbourhood’ of Florence, networks of artistic patronage, c. 1350-1575. Travel grant: 04.–26.09.2023, for archival work in Florence and Pisa
• Alexis Wang (University of Binghamton). Project: The Embedded Object. Travel grant: Autumn 2024, for archival work in Naples, Amalfi, Salerno, Palomonte