Roman Holiday?

OK, this isn't really about the Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck movie, but thinking about Rome when you're writing from South Bend, Indiana does make your mind wander a bit! Here's an FYI on a perennial fellowship opportunity.

Rome Prize 2009
The American Academy in Rome invites applications for the Rome Prize competition. One of the leading overseas centers for independent study and advanced research in the arts and the humanities, the Academy offers up to thirty fellowships for periods ranging from six months to two years.
Rome Prize winners reside at the Academy's eleven-acre center in Rome and receive room and board, a study or studio, and a stipend. Stipends for six-month fellowships are $12,500 and stipends for eleven-month fellowships are $25,000.
Fellowships are awarded in the following related fields:
- Architecture
- Design (including graphic, fashion, industrial, interior, lighting, set, and sound design, engineering, urban planning, and other related design fields)
- Historic Preservation and Conservation (including architectural design, public policy, and the conservation of works of art)
- Landscape Architecture
Fellowships are also awarded in: Literature*; Musical Composition; Visual Arts. In the field of humanities we award fellowships in Ancient Studies; Medieval Studies; Renaissance and Early Modern Studies; and Modern Italian Studies.
*Awarded by nomination through the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

1 November 2008 competition deadline
For further information or to download guidelines and application forms, visit the Academy’s website at www.aarome.org or contact the American Academy in Rome, 7 East 60 Street, New York, NY 10022-1001, Attn. Programs. T: (212) 751-7200, ext. 47; F: (212) 751-7220; E: info@aarome.org. Please state specific field of interest when requesting information.