Curator-led visit: FROM BALLROOM TO BOUDOIR AT VILLA LA PETRAIA

Exploring LA PETRAIA’S WOMEN

November 28, 2023 (in Italian), 3pm, admission free

Reservations are required, to reserve your place,

please write to: associazione@palmerino.it

Villa La Petraia by Carmen Cardellicchio, Gruppo Fotografico Il Cupolone

Join us with museum curator Giulia Coco, for an afternoon visit of Villa La Petraia, one of Tuscany’s most celebrated Medici villas, seen from the perspective of the many women whose presence can be felt there, starting with Christina of Lorraine, to whom the villa was given after her marriage to Grand Duke Ferdinando I in 1589.

A glimpse of Medici women can be found in the villa’s fresco cycle The Glories of the Medici, featuring notable figures like Catherine de’ Medici (with daughters on her left) and Maria de’ Medici. In the 1800s, during Florence’s stint as capital, the villa became a favourite of Rosa Vercellana, King Vittorio Emanuele’s morganatic wife, known as ‘La Bella Rosina’. In her boudoir, expect rare pastels by 18th-century female artists, including Giovanna Fratellini and Violante Siries Cerroti.

This programme, organised by Calliope Arts, the British Institute of Florence and Cultural Association Il Palmerino, is made possible with the generous support of Alice Vogler, Donna Malin, Margie MacKinnon and Wayne McArdle. For full programme calendar...