A RE-IMAGINED RENAISSANCE: THE VILLAS & COLLECTIONS OF THE ANGLO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN FLORENCE IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY

These Italophiles reimagined the Renaissance for a new age and fiiled their homes with extensive collections of Renaissance objects.

The lecture will step inside some of the villas and gardens created in and around Florence by English and American expatriots at the end of the nineteenth century.

Their passionate interest in Italy is perfectly parodied in E M Forster’s social comedy 'A Room with a View', written in 1908; a social comedy in which this ex-pat community is minutely examined.

IMAGES: Vila La Pietra and Il Sogno e La Gloria (both courtesy of the lecturer)

How to book this event:

Entry is free to Members of TAS SW London, but guests are welcome to attend in return for a £10 fee at the door.

Doors open at 7:30 pm for the lecture at 8:00 pm.

This will be a hybrid lecture. The fee for non-members to watch online is £5. Please email theartssocietyswlondon@gmail.com for details of how to pay and for the link to the live stream.

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Dr Lydia Goodson

Dr Lydia Goodson is an art historian and lecturer specialising in the art and material culture of Renaissance Italy. After a career in television production and raising a family Lydia returned to academia and now holds a BA in Renaissance History, an MA in History of Art and was awarded her PhD in 2020 from the Warburg Institute of the University of London, for her thesis on painting and patronage in Renaissance Perugia. This return to study as a mature student has given Lydia a passion for the benefits of life-long learning and she hugely enjoys writing and delivering lectures for audiences of all ages. She is an art history tutor for CityLit and regularly speaks to other adult learning groups. Lydia’s research interests centre on painting production in Central Italy in the Renaissance. Lydia lives in Kent and the Umbrian region of Italy.

GALLERY