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HISTORY
It is unique that the Circolo in 2010 can celebrate the 150th anniversary of its creation. And the thought behind the Circolo – Nordic artists’ community spirit in Rome – is even older. It goes back to 1833 when a number of the most important contemporary Danish artists were in Rome at the same time. They founded “The Danes’ Book Collection in Rome”, and among the originators were Bertel Thorvaldsen, H.C. Andersen, C.V. Eckersberg, M.G. Bindesböll, Constantin Hansen, L. Bödtcher and others.
Around 1845 a similar Swedish library was created with the assistance of the sculptor B. E. Fogelberg and thanks to a number of private book donations from Sweden. The Norwegians followed suite in 1854 when the University of Oslo and some booksellers organized a consignment of books to Rome.
On 2 July 1860 the three libraries formally merged as “Skandinavisk Forening for kunstnere og vidensskabsdyrkere”, or Circolo Scandinavo, and with financial support from the Scandinavian governments.
Finnish, and later Icelandic, artists eventually joined as members, and Circolo Scandinavo became, in spite of its name, a Nordic institution – and has remained so ever since.
Through the years a host of outstanding Nordic artists have been connected to the Circolo – or stayed there - such as Bjørnson, Heise, Walter Runeberg, Constantin Hansen, Ibsen, Grieg, Marstrand, Heiberg, Bournonville, Brandes, Strindberg, Lundbye, Hammershøi, Lagerlöf, Johannes Jørgensen, Drachman, Bergsøe, Krøyer, Sophus Claussen, Carl Nielsen, Willumsen, Andersen Nexø, Undset, Pontoppidan, Evert Taube, Vigeland, Laxness, Jónsson and many others.
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