Jan 15, 2025 / 2:48PM
NYU Florence is different from any other Study Away site. Its campus is made up of Villa La Pietra’s world-famous gardens and the bucolic agricultural landscape that surrounds them. As a small, but perfect, 37acre Tuscany Villa Estate it produces food but its main purpose for more than 550 years has been the wellbeing of the community it serves. Today, that community is the students and staff that form the NYU Florence family.
Broadly, the estate may be divided in to two parts: the formal gardens where students may participate in outdoor classes, revise for upcoming exams or simply relax, take the sun and enjoy a homemade picnic in beautiful surroundings; the Community Farm made up of the olive groves and the walled garden, the Pomario, supplying the on-site cafeteria with fresh, zero-miles, produce in a way that is also good for our environment. Together they form a Green Laboratory of learning opportunities for a range of courses and extracurricular activities.
Through talks, workshops and the possibility to work on the Community Farm, Terra Firma aims to facilitate a deeper appreciation of this special place, to more fully enjoy it and to use it as a mirror reflecting wider issues in the world.
The Estate and Collections of Villa La Pietra: History, Practice and Engagement
With an introduction to Museum Meetings and Terra Firma programs by Francesca Baldry, Villa La Pietra, Collection Manager, and Nick Dakin-Elliot, La Pietra, Horticultural Associate.
A review of how gardens and contact with the natural world may improve personal wellbeing and a look at how we may all use the unique estate that is Villa La Pietra to improve our own wellbeing.
An important part of this event will be the chance to sample some of Villa La Pietra’s home-grown produce and to meet the gardeners who produce it.
Speak to Nick if you like the idea of getting involved by working in the vegetable garden alongside professional gardeners who know what they are doing. An hour a week, or more if you wish, will allow you to witness seeds sown and plants planted that will grow to maturity during Spring 2025 in time to be harvested, cooked and served at the cafeteria before the Semester is finished.
Tuesday, January 28, at 6:00 PM – Villa Sassetti
Garden Restoration: Philosophy and Practice
Gardens are works of uncompleted art, yet garden restoration starts with the premise that, at some fixed point in the past, that work of art looked better or felt more important than it does to day. Restoring a garden is no small undertaking, it requires drive, intellect, money, a knowledge and understanding of garden history and plants, practical skills across a wide range of fields and the diplomacy it takes to ensure the end result is not the famous horse designed by a committee; a camel. This talk draws on the half century of experience that has been Nick Dakin Elliot’s career as a gardener and uses Villa La Pietra’s garden as its primary example to look at the philosophy and practice of restoring historic gardens.
No Dig: A Chance to Make the World a Better Place
No-dig, used on a garden scale, and no-till, used on an agricultural scale are terms used to describe a way of growing crops with minimal soil disturbance that allows the earths natural ecosystem to thrive. The results are positive: reducing the need for water, fertilizer and pesticides while producing healthier food for us, in a way that is more resistant to climate change and reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. No-dig has a lot going for it but will all our food soon be produced in this way?
Foraging – with a Picnic
Who knew you can pick and eat an abundance of natural wild-growing herbs on campus? Come help forage for edible greens from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm followed by lunch at the Stone Table.
Lemon Day
The Medici family had a thing about lemons; indeed citrus fruit in general. Come celebrate the history of citrus fruit in Tuscany, look at how they are grown, harvest fresh fruit, and join the gardeners and Italian students from local schools and colleges for a citrus-themed lunch and ice cream in the Pomario!
Planting and Sowing
Villa La Pietra produces zero-miles, organic, produce for its on-site cafeteria. Taking part in this practical session of sowing and planting will allow you to say that you helped grow some of the food that will be on your plate later in the semester.
La Foce: Paradise in Tuscany
Book presentation by Katia Lysy. Topics of the book include new documentation on the architect Cecil Pinsent’s involvement at La Foce and the little known history of the Origo family, owners of the property during World War II, who transformed their lavish estate into a safe place for refugees.
Visit to the Private La Foce Estate
Visit of La Foce, Val D’Orcia (UNESCO World Heritage Site) with the owners. More details to follow.