Jennifer Ashby

Doctoral Programme in History and Civilisation strongImportant note: The deadline to apply for the 202627 academic year is 15 January 2026 at 14:00 CET Time in Italy Later applications will not be accepted

Interested in pursuing a #PhD in #History in a uniquely multicultural environment?

📣 Applications for our fully-funded PhD programme are now open 👉 loom.ly/pvk17dc

⏰ Apply by 15 January 2026

Want to know more? Meet us on our:
🌐Virtual Open Day - 2 December 2025 👉 loom.ly/sp5lOKM

🎓 #academicsky

Autumnal sunset looking down on to the panorama of Florence, Italy. Trees, hills, and the Duomo.

Beautiful sunset tonight @eui-eu.bsky.social @eui-history.bsky.social

I am climbing a distorted mountain of agony Incidentally with the exhaustion of control I reach the summit And gradually subside into anticipation of Repose Which never comes. For another mountain is growing up Which goaded by the unavoidable I must traverse Traversing myself

Mina Loy understood how it felt to write a thesis:

Manuscript of Mina Loy's 'Parturition' held in Yale University's Beinecke Library. The first few stanzas are visible.

This #ModWrite I am finishing a section on Mina Loy's 'Parturition' (1914) and early twentieth century mysticism

Ahhaha it is tempting! I am planning on living here after my PhD is completed.

Yes, this autumn has been stunning (my favourite weather - mildly cold and bright)! Last autumn it felt like it never stopped raining and there were devastating floods - it can be a bit hit or miss as a season here.

Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, Firenze, Italia (Cathedral of Florence, Italy) at sunset. Renaissance architecture.

Autumn sunset in Florence

Image of 'The Empress' tarot card by Pamela Coleman Smith, depicting a figure with long hair, crown, and sceptre. Text: Weird Modernisms, BAMS/MSA 26, 1-4 July 2026, Loughborough University, UK.

We're delighted to share that the CFP for the joint @modernistudies.bsky.social and @moderniststudies.bsky.social 2026 conference, Weird Modernisms, is now live!

1-4 July, Loughborough University @lborouniversity.bsky.social

More info here: moderniststudies.org/conference/MSA2026/CFP/

City centre of Florence, Italy. Blue skies over the Arno River. The Ponte Vecchio is visible.

Domenica.

Roberto Assagioli, founder of psychosynthesis and pioneer of transpersonal psychology, scan in black and white. Image of a cosmos with writing on top of it which reads: 'From the Eternal / Out of the past / In the present / For the future'. The original is a predominantly a golden colour.

"From the Eternal
Out of the past
In the present
For the future"
- Roberto Assagioli

Sunset over Florence, Italy. Blue skies over a panorama of the city. The cupola if the Duomo is noticeable but many other buildings of the Renaissance centre are visible.

Weekend walk

Long story, recommend having a search. But Roberto Assagioli was an Italian psychiatrist who was fascinated with psychology & the inner life but was dissatisfied with Freud. He developed his own self-development practice called Psychosynthesis which is about harmonising the Self (mystical elements).

Office of Roberto Assagioli in the Institute of Psychosynthesis, Florence, Italy. There are a range of catalogued books as well as archival boxes and a desk in the centre of the room.

Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn artwork gifted to roberto Assagioli. On the top of a chest of draws is an amethyst crystal as well as two of Assagioli's handprinted evocative words.

Archival boxes, a lucky horse shoe, and a series of spheres.

Last week I attended the 11th International Psychosynthesis Meeting at the final home of Roberto Assagioli. Met some fascinating people & spent a lot of time in the archives! His office remains as it was when he died. The house is not a museum tho - it's an active centre for practitioners still.

Egg shaped candle burning surrounded by flowers.

Lots of painted pieces of papers on a round table with wood block stamps in the centre.

His diagram of the consciousness took the form of ovoid shape so of course there were lots of egg-shaped candles & one morning we have the opportunity to print an "evocative word" with his own wood blocks.

Office of Roberto Assagioli in the Institute of Psychosynthesis, Florence, Italy. There are a range of catalogued books as well as archival boxes and a desk in the centre of the room.

Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn artwork gifted to roberto Assagioli. On the top of a chest of draws is an amethyst crystal as well as two of Assagioli's handprinted evocative words.

Archival boxes, a lucky horse shoe, and a series of spheres.

Last week I attended the 11th International Psychosynthesis Meeting at the final home of Roberto Assagioli. Met some fascinating people & spent a lot of time in the archives! His office remains as it was when he died. The house is not a museum tho - it's an active centre for practitioners still.

There's an amazing range of books from psychology through to psychical research, studies on mysticism & consciousness, yoga, & A LOT of old Theosophical books. Most are probably Italian but there's also English, German, & French. I love reading his annotations & notes inside.

Artist Mina Loy was a friend & their children would play together there. Looking at the pics I can see why Loy felt so out of place visiting Florentine villadom in her (unpublished) autobios. Beautiful but absolutely, horrifyingly gratuitous wealth held be some.

Elegante villa del XIV° secolo con parco di un ettaro Sito ufficiale - Italy Sotheby’s International Realty. Comprare, vendere o affittare ville, castelli, appartamenti e case di lusso in Italia: scopri Sotheby's International Realty e scegli l'immobile ...

Villa Braggiotti, prev. home to American musicians (& enthusiasts of vegetarianism & the Bhagavadgītā) Lily & Isadore Braggiotti in the early 20th C, is for sale for €12,000,000.

www.italy-sothebysrealty.com/it/vendita/i...

Forthcoming this Autumn with the
CSMBR ONLINE LECTURE SERIES

#CSMBR #Lecture #astromedicine

Ah, that's interesting - what drew you to Assagioli? It's a bit of an underrated gem. I think a lot of his collection was lost during fascist persecution but there's an array of his books still (which he often annotated) & then there's the archive on site. I live close by so I often like to go.

Beekeeper inspecting a hive in Tuscany, Italy.

Beekeeper with a bee hive on a tuscan hilltop. Honeycomb is visible as well as larvae and lots of bees. European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

The bees of @eui-eu.bsky.social in Villa Salviati, Florence (@eui-history.bsky.social)

A small red rose bush on a table in front of a book case. Institute of Psychosynthesis, Florence, Italy.

This #ModWrite I am writing about the founder of Psychosynthesis, Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), in his personal library in Florence

The Modernist Review Issue #57 8th September 2025 All the months are crude experiments out of which the perfect September is made. (Virginia Woolf, ‘The Lands End’, 1905) September arrives again, and with the beginning of autumn…

We’re excited to share #TheModernistReview57, our first autumn issue! It includes seven reviews on diverse topics in modernist studies. Go check it out! we hope you enjoy reading:
modernistreviewcouk.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/t...

The Franciscan Convent of Scarzuola was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1218. It is said that the saint used a marsh plant, the scarza, to build a hut. The church " Sancte Marie loci fratrum minorum de Scarciola" was built on the same site.

Buzzi purchased the site, deep in the woods, in 1956. It included a Franciscan convent, built in 1282, which legend has it is located where St. Francis stopped in the night, using the marsh plant "scarza" to shelter.

The Franciscan Convent of Scarzuola was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1218. It is said that the saint used a marsh plant, the scarza, to build a hut. The church " Sancte Marie loci fratrum minorum de Scarciola" was built on the same site.

Buzzi purchased the site, deep in the woods, in 1956. It included a Franciscan convent, built in 1282, which legend has it is located where St. Francis stopped in the night, using the marsh plant "scarza" to shelter.

A twentieth century architectural work by T. BUZZI. An alchemical sun, the partner of a moon, stands in an amphitheatre with a tilted stage and a complex of architectural references to major works such as the Colosseum and the Pyramids. The Umbrian countryside is visible behind, with high rolling hills and woods.

Pilgrimage to Tomaso Buzzi's fantastical "ideal city" of theatres, La Scarzuola - hidden in the hills of Umbria down an unpaved road

A golden figure holding the inscription "Pulsate et aperietur vobis" below a collection of architectural homage to major works.

A symbolic portal with a winged hourglass referencing alchemy, eye and wing and hand motifs, and a spiral clock.

Pulsate et aperietur vobis

La Scarzuola, Italy. A lily pond below arches and an architectural experiment.

A golden coloured symbol of a shooting star with wings and eyes

A circular theatre with a thunderstruck cypress and stars.

A modernist feminine torso with two alchemical portals covered with gold coloured embellishments

Some more details

A twentieth century architectural work by T. BUZZI. An alchemical sun, the partner of a moon, stands in an amphitheatre with a tilted stage and a complex of architectural references to major works such as the Colosseum and the Pyramids. The Umbrian countryside is visible behind, with high rolling hills and woods.

Pilgrimage to Tomaso Buzzi's fantastical "ideal city" of theatres, La Scarzuola - hidden in the hills of Umbria down an unpaved road

Sunset over Perugia, Umbria in Italy. The clouds are red and purple and a moon rises above the borgo in blue skies.

Umbrian road trip begins in Perugia