1-31 May 2016

The Harold Acton Library of the British Institute of Florence takes part in the national campaign to promote reading "Il Maggio dei Libri" with a programme of events.

Exhibition "HENRY JAMES IN FLORENCE"

from 02/05/2016 to 27/05/2016                                                                                                                                                                   A small exhibition of books from the British Institute Library illustrating the inspiration Henry James took from the city of Florence.

STORYTELLING AND WORKSHOP, “ALFRED THE TIME TRAVELING DINOSAUR”

05/05/2016 at 17:00                      

Alfred has no friends and sets off a time traveling adventure to find someone who will play with him.                                  

Will Alfred find the friend he is looking for? After the reading we will make dinosaurs. For ages 3 to 8, but all ages welcome!  No booking is required, but spaces are limited! The storytime is open to members of the Library (minimum day membership, 5 euros).

TEA AND LIBRARY TOUR

12/05/2016 at 16:00                                                         

The Library staff offers a presentation of the history of the British Institute of Florence and of the Palazzo Lanfredini, where the Library is located. A tour of the Library with its 53,000 volumes will follow. The tour can be in English or Italian. The event is free. No booking is required. Please join us at 16.30 for the Afternoon Tea in the Ferragamo room with its stunning view on the River Arno. A minimum donation of 1.50 euro is requested for the tea which goes towards supporting the library.

TALK IN ENGLISH “BERNARD BERENSON AND TACTILE VALUES”

25/05/2016 at 18:00                                                                                                                                                                                This talk dicusses Berenson’s celebrated theory of ‘tactile values’, its significance for understanding the literary ‘impressionism’ practised in the work of British Decadent poets (with a particular focus on Arthur Symons and Oscar Wilde), and the historical significance of all of this for what we now think of as a framework of ‘Distributed Cognition’. Dr Thain is Associate Director of Digital Humanities at New York University.                                                                                       

The conference is open to members of the Library (minimum day membership, 5 euros).

TEA WITH SARAH DUNANT : “FROM THE MIND TO THE PAGE: THE BIRTHING PAINS OF A NEW NOVEL”

26/05/2016 at 17:00

Come and have tea in the Harold Acton Library while you listen to bestselling author Sara Dunant (The Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan).

Sarah Dunant writes internationally acclaimed books set in the Italian Renaissance and is just about to publish her sequel to “Blood and Beauty”.

Sarah will read from her forthcoming book and will talk about the process of getting a book from the author's mind into the reader's hand.