Civitella Ranieri Foundation


The Civitella Ranieri Foundation is an American artists’ community located at a 15th-century castle in the Umbria region of Italy.
The Foundation provides four sessions of six-week long unstructured residencies every year to visual artists, writers and composers; and, occasionally, it organizes events for the general public.
Founded by arts philanthropist Ursula Corning in 1995, Civitella Ranieri Foundation has hosted over 800 Fellows and Director's Guests from across the globe.

History

Civitella Ranieri is an early Renaissance castle in Umbria. The Ranieri family, a noble Italian bloodline, first settled in Perugia and has owned the land since the early 11th century. Ursula Corning, a distant relative to the Ranieri family, turned the castle into the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, which started operating as an artist residency in 1995.

Foundation

Each residency community at Civitella Ranieri Foundation is selected by a jury, and it brings together 12-15 international artists, writers and composers at pivotal moments in their careers.
The Foundation provides studio space, accommodation, board, and covers travel expenses.
Dana Prescott has been the Foundation's Executive Director since 2007.

Notable Alumni

Civitella Ranieri Fellows have been awarded numerous honors, including Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim Fellowships, Fulbright Grants, National Endowment for the Arts Grants and Fellowships, and MacArthur Foundation Grants. Compositions by Civitella Ranieri Music Fellows have been performed by symphonies worldwide and have received awards such as the Grammy’s; Civitella Ranieri Visual Arts Fellows are represented in museum collections and exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial; Writing Fellows have received awards such as the National Book Award.

Notable Fellows

Film

A select number of Director’s Guests are invited to join each residency session. Notable Director’s Guests include Vivien Greene, Rosanna Warren, Fred Hersch, Ann Beattie, Tobias Wolff, John Eaton, Mark Strand, James Siena, and Yehudi Wyner.