Bibliothek Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte During my study journey this summer in Rome, about Roman Villas and Creativity, I am doing research outdoors and some indoors: Based in Rome, the Bibliotheca Hertziana is one of the institutes in the humanities and social sciences section of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG). It was opened in 1913 under the umbrella of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society which had been founded only two years earlier. Situated in central Rome, in the immediate vicinity of the famous Spanish Steps, the Bibliotheca Hertziana owes its existence to the generosity of Henriette Hertz (1846–1913), who provided the Palazzo Zuccari – complete with a well-stocked specialist library and an extensive photographic collection – as the seat of the research institute. Henriette Hertz wanted to create an institute that was dedicated to »the study of art and culture, from the Renaissance on up, especially in relation...