Through a generous donation given by an anonymous donor in Naples in memory of Professor Trendall, the Trendall Research Centre has been able to establish a Scholarship for a young scholar from Italy. The Scholarship will be awarded every 12-18 months and has a value of approximately AUS $2500-3000. It provides a return economy airfare from Italy to Melbourne and some contribution towards accommodation at La Trobe University. The recipient is expected to spend a period of 4-6 weeks at La Trobe and to carry out research in some area of the art and archaeology of South Italy and Sicily, preferably red-figure pottery, using the facilities of the Trendall Research Centre.

The first Trendall Scholar was Dr Elisa Lanza from the University of Torino, who spent a month at La Trobe University in July, 2002. Her research covered two topics: a publication on the Greek pottery in the Moschini Collection in the Archaeological Museum of Torino; and an article dealing with labour and construction in Athens in the 5th century based upon the financial accounts of the Parthenon.