A lecture by Gianfranca Balestra
In 1904, American writer Edith Wharton published Italian Villas and their Gardens. In preparation for this project, she visited more than seventy villas and organised them by region.
In this lecture, Gianfranca Balestra will focus on Wharton’s insight on Florentine villas and gardens, sharing illustrations from the first edition of the author’s book . According to Wharton, gardens have to be adapted to the architectural line of the house and must fit into the surrounding landscape.
Professor Balestra’s point of departure is Wharton’s Introduction, ‘Italian Garden-Magic’, and the fact that she dedicated her book to English author Vernon Lee “who, better than anyone else, has understood and interpreted the garden-magic of Italy”.
Gianfranca Balestra was Professor of American Literature at the University of Siena. She has published widely on Edith Wharton, particularly on her works related to Italy such as The Valley of Decision, Italian Backgrounds, Italian Villas and their Gardens, and poems about Italian art.
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
The registration fee is 15 Euro per person.
To join this lecture online, simply click on this link to register and receive the Zoom meeting invitation: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/5KGi1SHLQPeHmKkmqJnwaw. The virtual doors will open at 18:00 Italian time on Wednesday 28th May.
There is no charge to attend the event on Zoom, but we ask you to consider making a donation to support the Institute and its beautiful library if you wish to attend an event.
This Lecture is sponsored by Calliope Arts and forms part of a larger 3-year programme: “Florentine Gardens: Early Women Expats and Artists of Today”, organised by Calliope Arts and Il Palmerino Cultural Association, in collaboration with the British Institute of Florence.