My initial contact with Bruni Ridgway was in 1971, two years before I came to Bryn Mawr College as the head of the art and archaeology library. I was asked by Claireve Grandjouan, then executive director of the Archaeological Institute of America, where I was working as manager of the lecture program that provided speakers to the local chapters of the AIA (among them Bruni), to act as aide-de-camp to Bruni and a group of Bryn Mawr-affiliated students and faculty on a Bruni-led tour of Sicily. The tour was one of my most memorable Bryn Mawr adventures.
I arrived separately from the rest of the tour participants after spending a week in Paris, but while in Paris I was attacked by a bout of strep throat, resulting in my being helped by Bruni instead of my helping her! Upon my arrival in Palermo, she solved the problem immediately by arranging for the hotel manager in Palermo to call a doctor, who administered enough antibiotics that by the very next day I was up and running across a mountain in the gloriously beautiful Sicilian landscape. This was my introduction to Bruni’s forceful yet cordial way of doing things. For the entire time since then, I’ve admired this combination of qualities in her get-things-done approach to everything from teaching and guiding tours to personal matters.
The tour began in Palermo and continued around the island counter-clockwise, visiting among other places Segesta, Selinunte, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina, and Cefalu. We learned about Sicily’s history, culture, and art at every stop. I learned to admire as well as love Bruni and after the Sicilian tour, was extremely lucky to just two years later come under her guidance when I accepted the position of head of the art and archaeology library at the College. We spent many years as colleagues and friends. I was able to benefit from her vast acquaintance with antiquity by sitting in on her classes and absorbing the knowledge that served to help me become a well-educated archaeology librarian.
Bruni was never less than forceful as well as informative in her teaching. Her students revered her, and went on to use the knowledge she offered to become professional archaeologists. I was blessed to watch this process and never stopped learning from Bruni during all our years of working together.
I salute her on the occasion of her 90th birthday and thank her for the many aspects of my life that were made more exciting and interesting over the many years we have known each other.
Brunilde Ridgway, Rhys Carpenter Professor Emeritus of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, is celebrating her 90th birthday. In honor of this milestone, her former students, colleagues, and friends have been invited to share memories of their beloved mentor, teacher, and friend. View the list of messages.