Event Details
Tue, April 08, 2025
18:00 – 19:30
VILLA LA PIETRA
Villa La Pietra
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
Book presentation by the author, Katia Lysy.
In 1924, Iris and Antonio Origo bought a vast, largely barren, Tuscan estate with a crumbling 15th-century villa at its heart. Together with the architect Cecil Pinsent, their energy and vision lead to the creation of the Paradise in Tuscany that is, today, La Foce. They refurbished the villa and created an elegant Italian garden with box hedges, a rose garden, fountains, and a wisteria-covered pergola.
Drawing on Iris Origo’s letters and diaries, along with the unpublished memories of Benedetta Origo, her daughter, Katia Lysy, Iris Origo’s granddaughter, shares a unique insight into the development of the estate as we see it now. Along with historic photographs she also uses new images, taken by renowned photographers Simon Upton and Matteo Carassale, to bringing La Foce’s rich history to life; from taming the wild landscape, to war-time difficulties, to our current times.
About the Author
Katia Lysy is a journalist and literary translator who assists her mother, Benedetta Origo, in managing the family estate of La Foce