Cultivating the Renaissance
A social history of the Medici Tuscan Villas
Wednesday Lecture, on Zoom and at the British Institute Library
by Katie Campbell
The name Medici is virtually synonymous with the Renaissance; from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century the family dominated the European stage; their patronage of art, architecture and horticulture shaped the modern aesthetic and their rediscovery of villa life created a new ideal of rural living. Used variously for pleasure and sports, for scholarship and amorous liaisons, for commercial enterprise, botanical experimentation and international diplomacy, their rural villas influenced - and expressed - the developing philosophy and aesthetics of the period. In ‘Cultivating the Renaissance’, Katie Campbell will explore the evolution of the Medici villas, from defensive farms through humanist retreats to princely palaces as the family rose from humble farmers to European royalty.
Katie Campbell is writer and garden historian. She lectures widely, has taught at Birkbeck, Bristol and Buckingham universities, writes for various publications and leads art and garden tours. Her most recent book, British Gardens in Time, accompanied the BBC television series. Earlier books, Paradise of Exiles, explored the Anglo- American garden-makers in late nineteenth century Florence. Earlier garden books include Icons of Twentieth Century Landscape Design and Policies and Pleasances, A Guide to Scotland’s Gardens.
If you are in Florence and would like to attend the lecture in person at the British Institute Library, please register here or send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it
Please note, only people with confirmed registrations can attend the lecture in person. The registration fee is 10 Euro per person.
Please note that, following national regulations, all attendees will be required to show a Super Green Pass (or equivalent International certification) for entry and will have to wear a FFP2 mask throughout the event.
To join this lecture with Zoom (no reservation necessary), simply click on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81574411180?pwd=OVV5SkljTDJydFNoNWdDQTM1MmVoZz09 at 18:00 on Wednesday 30th March.