The Hills of Florence: Bellosguardo and Arcetri with Kate Bolton-Porciatti
The hills and villages around Florence offer an idyllic mix of art, history, and culture immersed in classic Tuscan landscapes: olive groves, vineyards and cypress-lined alleys that lead to historic villas, monasteries, and convents. Led by cultural historian Kate Bolton-Porciatti, this pair of Context Conversations meanders through the hills to the north and south of the city, with videos recorded on location, photos, and a narrative that threads together cultural and practical information. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with a deeper appreciation of the serenity, beauty, and cultural riches of ‘the sweet hills’ of Florence.
Event Description:
To the south of the city, the hilly areas of Bellosguardo and Arcetri have been a magnet for novelists, poets, musicians, scientists, and intellectuals. Henry James described the view from his villa on Bellosguardo as ‘simply the most beautiful in the world’, and he was one of many famous writers, painters, and musicians who lived or sojourned here and whose work was inspired by its landscapes and inhabitants; others included Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Brownings, Nathanial Hawthorne, Clara Schumann, and Frank Duveneck. While the scenery of Bellosguardo inspired the Romantic spirit, the night skies from the hills of Arcetri led to the building of Florence’s observatory, a mere stone’s throw from where Galileo Galilei lived for the last decade of his life.
Details about Part One of this series are available here.
Kate Bolton-Porciatti is a professor of Italian cultural history and music at the Istituto Lorenzo de'Medici in Florence, where she teaches BA and MA courses in the humanities. She also lectures at the British Institute, Florence, and at the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena. Kate has published extensively as an academic and a journalist; she is a music critic for BBC Music and a travel writer for The Daily Telegraph, UK. Before moving to Italy permanently in 2005, she was a senior producer and broadcaster for BBC Arts & Classical Music in London and has won prestigious Jerusalem and Sony Awards for her programs. She did her M.Phil. thesis in Italy, exploring the musical culture of early Renaissance Florence.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
I just finished watching this lecture. I loved it as much as the first part, esp. all the interesting poets, etc. who lived in the area.
As always, a wonderful presentation and so informative
Kate provides great ideas for lesser known excursions into Florence's hillsides. If you haven't had a seminar with Kate, you're missing a treat.