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36th International Seminar on Architectural History
WOMEN, SPACES, FREEDOM. Architecture and the Female Universe in the Renaissance
Vicenza, Palladio Museum, 21-23 May 2025
Organized by Donata Battilotti, Cammy Brothers, Bianca de Divitiis and Deborah Howard

 
We thank Villa Emo-Palazzo Garzoni srl for granting permission to publish the detail of the fresco.

Even today, when the majority of architecture students are female, the world of architecture continues to be male dominated. In Early Modern Italy, the role, space, and place of women was even more difficult to discern.
This seminar addresses the urgent need for an historical narrative of architecture which takes women into account, with a focus on Italian case studies between 1400 and 1700.

Rather than resuscitating lost or neglected figures of female architects or builders, it considers the relation between women and architecture in a multidimensional way.
Without neglecting noblewomen and patronage in the realm of convents, the seminar aims to propose a range of avenues for pursuing a consideration of the relevance and engagement of women in a wide array of architectural and urban settings: not only noblewomen and the space of the palace, but also women of other social classes and different ages, and their roles within the city.

The seminar will be livestreamed on the YouTube page of the Palladio Museum.

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