NYU Florence’s Villa La Pietra has remarkable collections of art, music, books, and a beautiful garden. It will now be sharing these treasures virtually, having joined the local  #museichiusimuseiaperti campaign, which involves Florentine museums and cultural institutions, with the hashtag #ActonsGoingVirtual. A new story or insights from the NYU Florence collection will appear regularly on the Villa La Pietra website and on the Instagram account. 

At this time of forced isolation, the campaign allows Villa La Pietra to be open and available virtually as a site of learning, exchange, discussion and meaning. Francesca Baldry, Acton Collection Manager at Villa La Pietra believes this “befits” the Villa, which has been welcoming visitors, both foreign and local, since the Renaissance. Villa La Pietra was bequest to NYU by the Acton family. According to Francesca, “the Actons were masters at welcoming guests from all over the world and always had great stories.” While welcoming guests to Villa La Pietra, the Actions fostered a sense of intellectual community and shared their passion for culture and ideas at the heart of their vision for NYU Florence.

Virtually opening the doors of Villa La Pietra and sharing the collection in this way is a continuation of a tradition started by the Actons and continued by NYU Florence. The stories will feature Acton family members, events that have happened at Villa La Pietra, objects from the collection, books, photographs, or rooms in the Villa or locations in the garden. This will also be an interactive initiative, with readers and viewers having an opportunity to share their own stories. Francesca is excited about this aspect of the initiative, saying, “Culture doesn’t stop, stay with us, and tell us your novella!” She adds that “the series will also remain on our website as a memory of our resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when we have used culture and our imagination to feel vital despite forced physical isolation.”