Ana Šverko, PhD, M. Arch.
Research Adviser, Head of Subsidiary in Split – Cvito Fisković Centre
T. +385 21 345 036
E. asverko / ipu.hr
Biography
Ana Šverko is a Senior Research Adviser and Head of the Cvito Fisković Centre, the Institute's branch in Split, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Split. She graduated in architecture from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb, earned a Master of Urban Design from the University of California, Berkeley, and obtained her Ph.D. in Architecture and Urbanism from her alma mater. Her research brings together the history and theory of art and architecture, heritage preservation, and travel writing studies, with a particular focus on the eastern Adriatic and its reception in European and transatlantic contexts.
She is Principal Investigator of Croatia’s first interdisciplinary project dedicated to travel narratives – Grand Tour Dalmatia (2014–2017) – which produced a digital archive integrated into the European research infrastructure Time Machine Europe. She founded the yearly international scholarly program Discovering Dalmatia (2014–present), which has established the study of travel narratives about Dalmatia as a distinct research field.
In addition, she directed another competitive Croatian Science Foundation project – Glossary of Classical Architecture (2018–2019) – which resulted in a systematic online glossary of special field terminology, integrated into the national database STRUNA. She participated in the international project From Riverbed to Seashore. Art on the Move in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean in the Early Modern Period (Getty Foundation, “Connecting Art Histories”, Harvard University, led by Prof. Alina Payne, 2014–2015) and in the Institute’s project Ekspozicija: Themes and Aspects of Croatian Photography from the 19th Century until Today (Croatian Science Foundation, led by Dr. Sandra Križić Roban, 2019–2023).
She publishes in leading scholarly journals (The Burlington Magazine, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Radovi Instituta za povijest umjetnosti) and with distinguished academic publishers (Brill, Leuven University Press, Viella). She is the author of monographs awarded by the Society of Art Historians of Croatia (Giannantonio Selva, 2014) and by the Croatian Architects’ Association (Grad (ni)je kuća / A City is (not) a House, 2017). Her academic excellence has been recognized with fellowships and awards including the Bernard Berenson Fellowship (Villa I Tatti – Harvard University), the Paul Mellon Centre Research Grant, multiple Getty Foundation grants, and the Croatian National Science Annual Award for the Popularization and Promotion of Science. She is currently Principal Investigator of the four-year Croatian Science Foundation project Travelogues Dalmatia.
Alongside her research, she is actively engaged in teaching. She is Assistant Professor at the University of Split and contributes to doctoral programs at the Universities of Split and Zagreb. She regularly organizes student workshops and international scholarly conferences, thereby linking education, research, and cultural practice. An important aspect of her professional activity is her work on conservation studies and documentation for the protection of built heritage. Since 2018, she has been continuously active in the Croatian Architects’ Association, and since 2023 has served as its Vice-President and Chair of the Publishing Council.
Complete bibliography (100+ works): CRORIS profile