Event Details
Mon, October 28, 2024
18:00 – 19:30
Sala da Ballo
VILLA LA PIETRA
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
A conversation commemorating Giorgio Vasari on the 450th anniversary of his death.
Special guest speaker – Prof. Cristina Acidini, co-curator of the exhibition “Giorgio Vasari. The Theater of the Virtues”, at the Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Arezzo (Oct 30, 2024 – Feb 2, 2025) and Friend of La Pietra.
Introduced by Francesca Baldry, Villa La Pietra Collection Manager; Q&A panel moderated by Bruce Edelstein, NYU Florence Coordinator for Graduate Programs and Advanced Research and Lecturer.
(* “The Holy Family with the Virgin and Child, Saint Elisabeth, Saint Joseph and John the Baptist” by Giorgio Vasari, 1541-2, Details of the frame depicting Prudence and Charity. Oil on canvas, 110 x 90 cm, Sala da Pranzo/Dining Room, Acton Collection, NYU Florence.)
Featured Biographies
Cristina Acidini
PRESIDENT OF THE ACCADEMIA DELLA ARTI DEL DISEGNO, THE OPERA DI SANTA CROCE, THE CASA BUONARROTI FOUNDATION, AND THE ROBERTO LONGHI FOUNDATION
Cristina Acidini, an accomplished art historian born and educated in Florence, worked for 35 years in the Italian Ministry of Culture, where she rose to prominent leadership roles. She served as the director of 27 state art museums in Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Accademia Gallery, the Bargello Museum, the Pitti Palace, and its gardens, among others.
Her scholarly work has focused on Renaissance art, particularly figures such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Giorgio Vasari, as well as the patronage of the Medici family. She has also organized exhibitions in Italy and internationally, and overseen the conservation of significant works of art.
Today, in a volunteer capacity, she leads four prestigious cultural institutions in Florence: the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (founded by Giorgio Vasari), the Opera di Santa Croce, the Casa Buonarroti Foundation, and the Roberto Longhi Foundation.