That Beastly Venus: Twain (and Others) and the Florence Venus by Titian
A Lecture by Rosella Mamoli Zorzi Honoring the Memory and Legacy of Patricia Meilman and Celebrating the Opening of the Sala Meilman at Casa Muraro
Friday, October 23, 5:00 p.m.
Casa Muraro, Dorsoduro 350, Venice
Rosella Mamoli Zorzi, Professor Emerita of American Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, will deliver a lecture honoring the memory and scholarly legacy of Patricia Meilman (1947–2012) and celebrating the opening of the Sala Meilman at Casa Muraro.
The event will feature welcoming remarks by Prof. Giuseppe Gerbino (Columbia University) and Prof. Holger Klein (Columbia University).
The lecture will explore how Mark Twain and other nineteenth-century Anglo-American writers encountered and interpreted Titian’s celebrated Venus in Florence. Bringing together literature, art, and transatlantic cultural exchange, the lecture reflects on the enduring dialogue between American literary culture and the art and heritage of Venice and Italy.
A distinguished scholar of Titian and the Venetian Renaissance, Patricia Meilman earned her PhD in Art History from Columbia University in 1989 and was the author of Titian and the Altarpiece in Renaissance Venice (Cambridge University Press, 2000) and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Titian (2004). Through her scholarship, teaching, and research, she made lasting contributions to the study of Titian and Renaissance art. Her work continues to shape the field and to inspire students and scholars of Venetian art and culture. The Sala Meilman Reading Room at Casa Muraro now houses Patricia’s scholarly works and research library. The collection, donated in her honor by her family, preserves an important part of her intellectual legacy while providing a lasting resource for students and scholars.
About the Speaker
Rosella Mamoli Zorzi is Professor Emerita of American Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Her scholarly work focuses on American literature and culture, particularly nineteenth-
century American writers, transatlantic cultural exchange, and the dialogue between literature and the visual arts. Much of her research explores the enduring presence of Venice in American literature, examining how writers such as Henry James and Mark Twain encountered and interpreted the city’s painting, architecture, museums, and cultural heritage. Her interests also include literary translation, museum studies, and Anglo-American responses to major Venetian artists such as Tintoretto, Titian, and Carpaccio. At Ca’ Foscari, she directed the PhD Program in American Studies and the MA Program in Literary Translation from English into Italian. She also served as President of the Venice Committee of the Società Dante Alighieri, where she organized Italian-language courses for immigrants.
Her recent publications include: Wonder and Irony, with Henry James and Mark Twain in the Venice Ducal Palace (2018); “Almost a Prophet”: Henry James on Tintoretto (2018); From Darkness to Light: Writers in Museums 1798–1898, edited with Katherine Manthorne (2019); The Aspern Papers and Other Tales, edited with Simone Francescato (2022); Carpatcher or Carpaccio? Carpaccio and 19th Century Anglo-American Writers in Venice (2023); An American Painter in Venice: Ralph W. Curtis and the Palazzo Barbaro (2024); and Quella bestiale Venere: Tiziano visto dagli scrittori anglo-americani dell’Ottocento (2026).
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