Why did winning the Prix de Rome require Hector Berlioz to live in Italy?

Winning the Prix de Rome required Hector Berlioz to live in Italy because the scholarship was specifically designed to enable young French artists to study at the Académie de France in Rome.1

Established by the French government, the prize mandated that winners reside at the academy—which was housed in the Villa Medici—to further their artistic development abroad. For Berlioz, this meant he was contractually required to spend three years away from Paris, with two of those years spent in Italy. Although the residency was intended to be a prestigious opportunity for study and reflection, Berlioz found the experience stifling; he felt it interrupted his momentum in the vibrant Parisian artistic scene and ultimately returned to France after 18 months, forfeiting the remainder of his prize.123