In the 17th century,
Pope Benedict XIV responded to public and
Church interest in archaeology by establishing an association of students of
Roman archaeology.
Antonio Bosio's work on the
catacombs had drawn the attention of international archaeologists to the early
history of Christianity. In 1816
Pius VII, on the recommendation of
Cardinal Consalvi, gave official recognition to the
Accademia Romana di Archeologia and the academy became an important international centre of archaeological study. Its foreign members and lecturers included
Barthold Georg Niebuhr,
Johan David Åkerblad,
Bertel Thorvaldsen, as well as sovereigns
Frederick William IV of
Prussia and
Charles Albert of
Sardinia.
Pope Pius VIII gave the Academy the title of "Pontifical Academy". In 1833 an attempt was made to remove the tomb of
Raphael, but the Academy protested to
Pope Gregory XVI and was successful. Later through the efforts of one of its members, the Academy was responsible for the restoration of the
Tabularium on the
Capitoline Hill. In the mid-19th century, the Academy became involved in a series of
property rights disputes, as it hoped to prevent damage to monuments by restricting the rights of residents in low-cost housing near the
Pantheon in
Rome. It succeeded in obtaining from
Pope Pius IX a decree for the demolition of the houses on the left side of the
Pantheon; it also protested against the digging of new holes in the walls. ==Modern operations==