Venice in Peril Fund is delighted to announce two annual coursework prizes for Warwick University students who are undertaking their third-year undergraduate course in Venice.
The aims of the awards are to encourage students’ engagement in their study of Venetian topics and to raise awareness of the efforts of Venice in Peril. 

Established in 2024, two Venice in Peril prizes are awarded annually to Warwick undergraduate students (one studying History, the other studying History of Art) who have participated in the Warwick Venice term. 

At the start of their term in Venice, History and History of Art undergraduates hear about the work of Venice in Peril from our Venice representative and the coursework prizes are announced. 

Submissions for the Venice in Peril coursework prizes are selected from Warwick students’ Venice term coursework after the term has concluded and demonstrate excellent engagement, insight, and research skills on a Venetian topic the student has encountered. Prizes are then presented in the Spring term by the Chair with other representatives of Venice in Peril in the UK, where a presentation is given by the recipient on their winning coursework. 

The first recipient of the prize is History undergraduate Guy Ridsdill Smith who was chosen by his tutors based on his overall mark for the Venice in the Renaissance module. His assignments included an essay on the impact of the Venetian printing press on writers and consumers of books as well as a review of Andrea Palladio’s The Four Books of Architecture. 

This year’s prize ceremony (pictured) was held at our London offices in April with Guy Elliott, our Chairman, Anthony Roberts, our Vice-Chair and the Venice in Peril team, where Mr. Ridsdill-Smith gave a presentation on his essay which explored the history and impact of the Venetian printing press. 

This inaugural prize giving cemented the partnership between the University of Warwick and the Venice in Peril Fund. This partnership has continued to flourish since the 1967 founding of the Warwick History Programme in Venice – a programme established by professor of History at Warwick, Professor John Hale, with support from our Honorary President, Lady Frances Clarke.

For more information about the Venice term at Warwick University, click here.