Alas Count Rumford, the American traitor, Harvard knows and treats him well.

Because for nearly two centuries, the University has remembered the Revolutionary War spy by maintaining his grave, which is located outside Paris. And every year since the Count died in 1815, a Harvard official has sent Rumford's gravekeeper a $50 check to ensure that the ignominious American's tomb does not fall into disrepair.

Tending Rumford's burial plot does not signal a long-standing University policy of granting amnesty to past Benedict Arnolds'. Instead, Harvard agreed to maintain the traitor's grave in perpetuity after he bequeathed to them an endowed chair in the physical and mathematical sciences.

Rumford's resting place is just one of Harvard's many off-campus real estate holdings left to them by wealthy benefactors. Included among the School's 17 million-square-foot empire are a 16th century villa near Florence, Italy, a 19th century brick mansion in Washington, D.C., two 3000 acre forests, three summer houses in Maine, a backwoods boathouse in Connecticut and an observatory in Texas.

Most of Harvard's outside real estate holdings are used primarily for academic purposes, functioning as study centers for topics ranging from Renaissance art to radio astronomy. Scholars are able to indulge in the various institutions' vast resources--extensive libraries and art collections--provided they obtain an appointment.

University fellows and faculty gather and reside at these dwellings, where they are treated to intensive study combined with a sense of the highlife. Sumptuous home grown delicacies and brilliant vistas are among the fringe benefits of studying at such Harvard locales as the Italian estate, Villa I Tatti.

Closer to home, three vacation houses in Maine, catering on a first priority basis to faculty members and their immediate families, are owned and managed by Harvard Real Estate, Inc., the University's property holding company. In fact, all of Harvard's outside real estate possessions are owned and operated by the school's subsidiary firm.

"Nature lovers will enjoy walks along public paths around the island's perimeter and hiking through the acres of woodlands and grassy clearings that are part of the Harvard properties," reads a brochure advertising scenic Sutton Island that was recently circulated by Harvard Real Estate to faculty members. The island, "a place for quiet retreat and enjoyment of nature," is the site of Harvard's Kendall and Paine Houses.

A Harvard-owned forest in Western Massachusetts, which is currently used for research, functioned as a hiding place for valuable University art treasures when rumors persisted during World War II that German submarines lingered off the Boston coast.

Clearly, the Count Rumford grave is the University's least used and most unusual property holding. The Count, who was born Benjamin Thompson of Concord, New Hampshire, attended lectures on experimental philosophy at Harvard in the mid-18th century. After spying on America and defecting to England, Rumford conducted pioneering work in the caloric theory of heat. He later served the Bavarian government, receiving the title Count Rumford of the Holy Roman Empire.

As for acquiring graves, villas, and coastal retreats, Harvard does not actively seek such facilities due to the problems of management and finance, according to Vice President and General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54. He says he does not foresee any new acquisitions of this type in the near future.

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, The Center for Hellenic Studies and Villa I Tatti--the University's three academic buildings outside Cambridge--were donated to the University by wealthy benefactors and operate largely off of multi-million dollar endowments.

"We are fortunate in having three institutions quiet strong in quality, but there always is a serious risk that a project located either hundreds or thousands of miles away would not achieve the high standards of the University," he says.

Harvard's most elaborate property is the 16th century Italian estate, Villa I Tatti. Surrounded by two lines of grand cypress trees, carefully manicured hedges and impressive fountains, the Center for Renaissance Studies offers scholars a place to indulge in their studies and the Italian way of life.

Bequeathed to Harvard in 1959 by noted art scholar and authenticator Bernard Berenson, the villa houses more than 80,000 books and pamphlets and 150,000 photographs, while also providing a launching point for forays into Florence's vast art collections. Visiting fellows, full-time resident scholars and students with appointments are provided access to the facility's resources.