In the United States, they were known as the Roaring Twenties. But what was this time like for the rest of the world? Through the lens of the Acton family, we see that in Florence, Italy, the period had the same air of glamour and frenzy, with a unique dash of Tuscan influence.
Transatlantic Modernities: Villa La Pietra in the Twenties displays original objects, photographs, clothing and literature from the Acton home in a real-life narrative that rivals the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Instead of grand mansions on Long Island, the Tuscan revelry took place in villas hidden amongst the hills between Florence and Fiesole. Originally built for Francesco Sassetti in 1460, then passed between the Capponi and Incontri families before ending up in the hands of Hortense Lenore Mitchell and her husband Arthur Mario Acton in 1903, Villa La Pietra in particular served as a social hub for Italians and foreigners living in the city.