British Institute of Florence
The British Institute of Florence is a cultural institute founded in 1917 in Florence, Italy, with the aim of promoting Anglo-Italian cultural relations, teaching English and Italian languages, and running a library of English books to illustrate British and Italian literature, art, history and music. It is the oldest overseas British cultural institute in the world.
History
The institute was set up in late 1917, towards the end of the First World War, by a group of Anglo-Italian scholars, intellectuals and public figures who were keen to counter anti-British propaganda. Discussions had taken place shortly before the outbreak of war as to the possibility of founding an institute similar to the Institut Français de Florence (established in 1907). Among those involved in the early days of the British Institute were
In 1923 with Rodd's assistance and with Janet Trevelyan's hard work a
The institute occupied various premises (including the beautiful Loggia Ruccellai, where the sister of
Directors
The first two directors drew no salary and were therefore styled Honorary Directors:
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When the lease on the Palazzo Antinori expired in the mid-1960s, Greenlees's friend
Cultural programme
Among those who in the past have lectured or given readings at the institute are
.Library
The Library of some 50,000 volumes is housed on three floors of the Palazzo Lanfredini and is claimed to be the largest lending library of English books in continental Europe. It is intended to illustrate British and Italian culture. There are substantial holdings in literature, history, music and history of art, as well as smaller sections devoted to philosophy, religion, social sciences and language. Over the years, it has received donations of books from many individuals, including Harold Acton, Bernard Berenson, John Buchan, Irene Cooper Willis (the Vernon Lee collection), Henry Furst, Victor Gollancz, Dorothy Nevile Lees (the Edward Gordon Craig collection), Henry Newbolt, Osbert Sitwell, R.S. Spranger.
Archive
Since 2001 an archive has been housed in the Palazzo Lanfredini, comprising not only the institute's own records but also literary and historical collections donated over time, including the Craig, Horner, Hutton, Vernon Lee, Maquay and Waterfield collections.
Royal visits
Princess Margaret visited the institute in 1972, on the occasion of the Henry Moore exhibition at Forte Belevedere in Florence. Helen, former Queen of Romania, attended lectures and concerts in the 1970s. The then Prince and Princess of Wales visited the School and Library in 1985, after Prince Charles had agreed to become the institute's patron (together with the statesman Giovanni Spadolini). Prince Charles returned in 2002. His co-patron was Signora Wanda Ferragamo until her death in 2018. Catherine, Princess of Wales (then Catherine Middleton) spent part of her gap year in 2000 here. Prince Charles returned again to Florence in March 2017, accompanied by the then Duchess of Cornwall, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the institute.
Trivia
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- Notes
- ^ Beugnot, Arthur Auguste (1842). Olim. 1274-1318. Paris: Imprimerie Royale.
- ^ Beugnot, Arthur Auguste (1839). Olim. 1254-1273. Paris: Imprimerie Royale.
- ^ See List of organisations with a British royal charter
- ^ Claudia Baldoli, Exporting Fascism: Italian Fascists and Britain's Italians in the 1930s (2003), p. 20; and Chiara Chini, 'Il British Institute of Florence, Harold Goad e il Fascismo (1917-1940)' in Rassegna Storica Toscana, Gennaio-Giugno 2009
- ^ Hunter Davies, The Grand Tour, Hamish Hamilton, London 1986
Further reading
- Acton, Harold. (1948). Memoirs of an Aesthete. London: Methuen.
- Davies, Hunter. (1986). The Grand Tour. London: Hamish Hamilton.
- Donaldson, Frances. (1984). The British Council: the first fifty years. London: Jonathan Cape.
- Macadam, Alta. (2005). Florence (Blue Guides). London: Somerset Books.
- Moorman, Mary. (1980). George Macaulay Trevelyan: a memoir. London: Hamish Hamilton.
- Seton-Watson, Christopher. (1973). "British Propaganda in Italy." Inghilterra e Italia nel ’900, Firenze: La Nuova Italia.
- Rodd, James Rennell. (1925). Social and Diplomatic Memoirs (Third Series) 1902-1919. London: Edward Arnold.
- Toye, Francis. (1950). For what we have received: an autobiography. London: Heinemann.
- Waterfield, Lina. (1962). Castle in Italy. London: John Murray.
External links
- British Institute of Florence (in English and Italian)