The Roman Forum: Summer Symposium

Summer Symposium

Since 1993, the Roman Forum has used a ten day Summer Symposium in Gardone Riviera, on Lake Garda, in northern Italy, to introduce participants to a full sense of the Catholic life. These explore the historical development and character of Christian Civilization. On the literary, musical, and artistic plane, the Symposia offer an environment in which writers, singers, instrumentalists, painters and sculptors may practice their art, teach, write, perform, and exhibit their work. In the active sphere, they provide a forum for contact and strategy planning between Catholics and Catholic organizations in the United States and those in Europe. Spiritually, the Symposia are built upon use of the local parish church of San Nicolò for daily, approved celebration of the Traditional Mass.

Finally, all of these activities are conducted in a truly Catholic atmosphere of conviviality and joy in life. Accommodation and lectures are at the Locanda Agli Angeli. Rooms are mostly doubles, with bath. A limited number of singles is available. The Locanda is located in Gardone Sopra, a ten minute walk from the lakefront. Special arrangements, at different prices, can be made for those who wish to stay and take their meals in one of the many higher quality hotels in Gardone or Salò. Arrangements to arrive earlier or stay later, at additional cost, may be made through the director. Gardone is within easy traveling distance of Verona, Venice, Trent, Brescia, Milan, Ravenna, Pavia and Padua. In years past, participants have rented cars to tour the area, taken boat trips on the lake and attended the opera in Verona. The region offers opportunities for swimming, hiking, biking, boating and scenic walks. The lectures are scheduled in such a way as to allow time for recreation and sightseeing.

So far, fifteen programs have been offered:

• Christianity and Late Antiquity (1993)
• The Church in the Early Middle Ages (1994);
• Christianity and the High Middle Ages (1995);
• The Church, the Late Middle Ages, and the Early Renaissance (1996);
• Protestant Revolt and Catholic Reform (1997);
• Regalism, Revolution, Terror and the Assault on Catholicism: 1648-1794 (1998);
• Phoenix in a Fiery World: the Church in the Nineteenth Century (1999);
• The Church of Eugenio Pacelli (2000);
• My End is My Beginning: Contemporary Catholicism (2001);
• Crusading, the Crusader, and Christian Order (2002);
• The Black Legends: The Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the Anti-Catholic Myth (2003);
• When the Salt Loses Its Savor: The Apology That Dares Not Speak Its Name (2004);
• Early Christianity & the Greco-Roman World 27 B.C. – Early 400’s A.D. (2005);
• From Augustine and Chrysostom to the Papal-Frankish Alliance Christianity in the Early Middle Ages, 395-752 (2006);
• Christendom in the Carolingian Period, 751-896 (2007);
• These Ruins are Inhabited: Catholic Emergence From the Rubble of Two “Iron Ages”, the 10th and 20th Centuries (2008)
• A Tale of Two Enlightenments: Modern Image Versus Catholic Truth (2009)
• The Politics of Faith and Reason? Or the Triumph of the Will? (2010)
• New Beginnings and False Starts: Catholics, Change, Tradition, and Custom (2011)
• Catholic Social Doctrine: Its Truth & Implementation; Its Friends & Enemies (2012)
• The Divine Comedy Versus the Theater of the Absurd: Navigating a Path Between Scylla and Charybdis (2013)
• 1914-2014: Have We Learned Anything From This “Hundred Years’ War”? (2014)
• Forbidden Topics: A Free and Rational Catholic Challenge to the Frightened Modern Mind (2015)

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Information about the 2023 Summer Symposium is available here.