Civita Institute Fellowships

The mission of The Civita Institute is to inspire and foster an interdisciplinary understanding of the unique qualities of Italian hill towns that remain pertinent to our contemporary experience, through the promotion of historic preservation, education and scholarly research, artistic creation, cultural exchange, and professional explorations.

Inspiring creative excellence, education, and cultural exchange through exploration of the Italian hill towns.

The Civita Institute was founded on the idea that architecture and preservation, environmental stewardship, agricultural heritage, and cultural exchange are all linked, and that Civita di Bagnoregio and other hill towns of Italy provide a unique setting to experience these connections.

The Board of Directors has supported its Fellowship program since 1984. Since that time, close to 100 Fellows have been chosen. Their fellowship projects have been brought to the public's attention in various ways: in-person and virtual presentations, inclusion in the Institute's library and collections archive in Civita di Bagnoregio, and featured in The Civita Institute's quarterly newsletters and on its website.

The Civita Institute Fellowship program is dynamic. It strives to be responsive to its history, its members and supporters, and to the community where its facilities are located in Civita di Bagnoregio. As such, fellowship offerings change from time to time yet the ongoing support of The Civita Institute by past-Fellows has been significant to its overall success and continues to be encouraged.

The 2026 juried Fellowship offerings will be posted at a later date.

The Civita Institute Creative Retreat Fellowships may be applied for at anytime during the year. Applications will be reviewed during regular monthly meetings of the Board of Directors according to when they are received.

Creative Retreat Fellowships do not require jury review. But they are reviewed for approval by the Board of Directors according to the Evaluation of Proposals, Deliverables and Expections, and application requirements established for juried fellowships. These fellowships are self-funded at a favorable rate of membership in The Civita Institute. Read more about Creative Retreat Membership and Rebate, below. 

Please visit this page for The Civita Institute Creative Retreat Fellowship application process. Contact email: fellowships@civitainstitute.org 

The Board of Directors has collaborated with various sponsors in past years who were interested in financially supporting specific fellowship inquiries. Examples of these past fellowship collaborations include the Partners-in-Design Climate Action Fellowship, the Drexler Family Diversity Fellowship, the Civita Institute Northeast Chapter Fellowship, the University of Washington Rome Center Alumni Fellowship, and the Dennis Tate Fellowship.

If you are interested in discussing the potential of such a collaboration with The Civita Institute, please email us at fellowships@civitainstitute.org.

Fellowships are scheduled around the idea of "seasons" to encourage fellows to reside at the facilities of The Civita Institute, in separate houses, within the same time period. Fellowship seasons generate greater opportunities for creative thinking, cross-disciplinary exchange, and strengthening a sense of The Civita Institute community. The following seasons are generally available annually for 30-day fellowship stays:

• mid-June to mid-August
• January to March.

The allowable time frame for completion of a Fellowship, including residency and provision of deliverables, is within one year after notice of award. Fellowship stays may be postponed only by prior Board of Directors approval and only under extraordinary circumstances but must be completed within two years after notice of award or the Fellowship offer may be rescinded. The membership benefits of your Fellowship application fee will be extended to cover the allowable timeframe for your Fellowship.

Each Fellow will stay in one of three Renaissance-era tufo stone houses with a restored kitchen, bath, and bedroom at the facilities of The Civita Institute's historic properties and grounds in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy. Workspace and access to the Institute's library can be made available according to the needs of a Fellow's proposal. Read more about the facilities of the Civita Institute.

Fellows must be able to reside at the facilities of The Civita Institute for their entire 30-day fellowship period unless the approved fellowship project stipulates that overnight travel elsewhere is necessary for completion of the project. Family members, partners or pets cannot be accommodated, unless the fellowship proposal clarifies that their presence is required for completion of the project. 

Visitors are limited to a single, two-night stay. Visitors 18 years of age or older must be Individual members of The Civita Institute and have received approval of their completed Civita Institute Visitor Conditions form no less than two weeks prior to their visit. Read more about The Civita Institute's Visitor Conditions. 

Each Fellow will receive a stipend according to the benefit of their fellowship. Stipends will be disbursed in two installments: 50% will be provided one month prior to the scheduled stay and the remaining 50% will be disbursed after anticipated deliverables are received by The Civita Institute (see the ‘Fellowship Deliverables’ section below).

Creative Retreat Fellowship stays are granted to accepted applicants as member benefits and require a minimum member contribution to The Civita Institute of approximately 50% of market value. Creative Retreat Fellowship stays are 21 days minimum; maximum stays are 30 days. A full membership donation of $2,000, however, must be submitted at least 60 days in advance of the stay in Civita di Bagnoregio. Once the deliverables of the Creative Retreat Fellow have been received and accepted by The Civita Institute, the difference between the initial $2,000 membership donation and the rate of Creative Retreat membership donation, as established by the Board of Directors at the time of award, will be promptly returned as a rebate to the Creative Retreat Fellow.

The Civita Institute offers a reduced rate of membership for individuals applying for any active Fellowship application, as follows: 

• $0.00 for current 'Individual' level members, or better, of The Civita Institute at the time of the application’s due date
• $45.00 for the 'Fellowship Application' level membership. This membership includes a one-year membership in The Civita Institute, which enables Fellows to stay in the facilities of the Civita Institute upon award of a Fellowship.

Fellowship applications will be assessed for their compatibility with and illumination of the Mission, Vision and Founding Principles of The Civita Institute. Fellowship proposals will be evaluated by an independent jury consisting of three to five professionals or persons with relevant expertise, who are not affiliated with The Civita Institute Board of Directors, and two members from The Civita Institute Board of Directors. The jury will be moderated by a non-voting director of the Board. The jury will decide upon finalists for presentation to the Board of Directors, which has the responsibility to ratify finalists and award fellowships. The decision of the Board shall be final.

The following criteria will be used in the selection of all Civita Institute Fellowships. Please note that all proposals must meet the first two threshold criteria before receiving further consideration, and attention to the last criteria is strongly encouraged:

• Relevance of the fellowship proposal to The Civita Institute's Mission, Vision, and Founding Principles and its potential to beneficially impact The Civita Institute (Threshold Criterion)
• Applicant’s relevant experience to meet the requirements of the fellowship(s) being applied for (Threshold Criterion)
• Abstract of the fellowship proposal
• Feasibility of proposed methodology
• Final form of deliverable of the completed fellowship
• Ability to complete the fellowship proposal within the fellowship's allotted timeframe
• Authenticity and strength of the Statements of Support
• Potential for the fellowship experience to beneficially impact the applicant’s professional trajectory or stated goals
• Applicant’s interest in maintaining a long-term relationship with The Civita Institute.

Successful Fellowship project deliverables are important contributions to The Civita Institute Archive and Collections. They are records of time, of priorities, and have a dynamic influence on the trajectory of The Civita Institute. Provision of the anticipated deliverables also enable the release of the final Fellowship stipend to the Fellow. Criteria for The Civita Institute Fellowship deliverables are:

• Satisfy the originally approved fellowship proposal or, if an unforeseen situation prevents conducting your approved proposal, have your new proposal approved by the Board of Directors prior to activation.
• Provide a short-written description and a digital image of your fellowship project within 30 days of your fellowship stay in Civita.
• Provide documentation of your fellowship project in a digital medium best suited to The Civita Institute within 3 months of your stay.
• Provide the deliverable(s) as noted in your application for the Archive and Collections of The Civita Institute within 3 months of your stay.
• Present your fellowship project at a Civita Institute hosted event, either in person or via virtual media within 2 years of your stay.
• Presentation of fellowship projects to the local community in Civita di Bagnoregio prior to departure is optional but encouraged.
• Completion of all deliverables will activate the final fellowship disbursement or rebate.
• The Civita Institute plus the name of the Fellowship shall be clearly credited in any display, exhibit, or publication (whether online, in print, physical exhibit, or otherwise) that includes all or part of the product(s) of the Fellowship.
• The Civita Institute shall be permitted to publish all or part of the product(s) of the Fellowship in its nonprofit communications, marketing, publications, and events (live or otherwise), giving credit to the Fellow who originated the work, and without the necessity of obtaining additional permissions.