Please note: because of the Federal Government shutdown, it is possible that the Consul General Benjamin Wohlauer will be unable to give his lecture on Wednesday evening. In that case Mark Roberts will speak on "Harold Acton in China", and the Consul General's talk will be rescheduled for after Easter. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Lecture in English by Benjamin Wohlauer

In May 1819, the US consul in Livorno, a friend of Thomas Jefferson’s and lover of Tuscan wine named Thomas Appleton, appointed a Florentine named Giacomo (James) Ombrosi to represent US interests in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  The early years were tough, as the Grand Dukes refused to fully recognize Ombrosi and the upstart United States. Over the course of two centuries, though, the tentative US-Tuscan relations established by Ombrosi flourished to become one of the US’s and Italy’s strongest bilateral partnerships. Ombrosi’s distant successor, US Consul General Benjamin V. Wohlauer, examines the evolution of these 200 years of (mostly positive) official and unofficial ties.

The Cultural Programme is open to members of the British Institute of Florence. Membership options range from 24 hours to Life. For membership see here.

The 2019 opening season is made possible by a generous donation from Michael and Alessandra Griffiths