PHAIS Seminar Series Week 9: Dr Carmen Belmonte (Art History)

The PHAIS Seminar Series meets weekly in term time to discuss a paper by a visiting Philosopher, Historian, Art Historian or a member of our academic staff.

Legacies of Colonialism in Contemporary Italy. Monumental narratives and Decolonial claims in urban space

Dr Carmen Belmonte, University of Roma 3

This seminar critically examines the legacies of colonialism as they manifest in urban spaces, with a particular focus on monumental narratives that continue to mark pivotal sites within Italian cities and towns. The aim is to investigate the lives of monuments, engaging with rituals and displacements from the late nineteenth century to the present. The seminar will also highlight the asynchronicity of monuments in relation to historical events, the re-enactment of nineteenth-century colonial memories during the era of fascist imperialism, and the establishment of new monumental projects that emerged in the aftermath of the formal conclusion of Italian colonialism. 
In recent years, such monuments have emerged as focal points of public discourse, embodying the tensions between colonial nostalgia and decolonial claims, and gathering conflicting and transcultural memories of imperialism. This seminar will explore the aims and assertions of decolonial initiatives that have increasingly redirected attention toward monuments and public space. 

Biography

Carmen Belmonte is an Assistant Professor at the University of Roma 3. She coordinates the research group Decolonizing Italian Visual and Material Culture at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History within the collaborative project SPAZIDENTITÀ, promoted by the École Française de Rome (2022–2026). Her research focuses on the visual and material culture of Italian colonialism, on the legacies of Fascism, and on cultural heritage in post-disaster scenarios.
She obtained a PhD in Art History from the University of Udine (2017) and a "Diploma di Specializzazione" from the University of Pisa (2011). She was awarded fellowships from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa; the Bibliotheca Hertziana – MPI, the American Academy in Rome, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut, and the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at the Columbia University, New York.  Her book Arte e colonialismo in Italia. Oggetti, immagini, migrazioni (1882-1906), was published by Marsilio in 2021. She is the editor of the multi-authored volume A Difficult Heritage: The Afterlives of Fascist-Era Art and Architecture (Silvana Editoriale, 2023).

The seminar will be delivered in person, but a Zoom link will be available for those who wish to attend remotely. Please email phaispg@essex.ac.uk to request the link.

Image: Romano Romanelli, Monumento ai Caduti Italiani in Africa (detail), 1938-1968, Siracusa