New & Renovated Florence Cultural Spaces

Six cultural spaces will be consolidated and amplified as part of Mayor Dario Nardella’s plan to make Florence a premiere destination for cultural tourism. The historic library and archives of the Gabinetto Viesseux, respectively located in Palazzo Strozzi and via Maggio, will find a home in the former monastery Santa Maria Novella. In the same complex, low-income housing will be established in an effort to increase social reform.

The Andrea Bocelli Foundation will open its headquarters in the San Firenze complex, sharing the space with its tenants the Franco Zeffirelli Foundation. While the Andrea Bocelli Foundation will be given the space for free, renovations and regular maintenance will be required. The top floor of the former courthouse will be made into a space dedicated to performing arts.

The Novecento Museum of 20th century art, housed in the historic Leopoldine complex of Santa Maria Novella, will expand to make room for larger exhibition spaces and finally, the former Teatro dell’Oriuolo will also be reopened as a center for visual arts.

These spaces, some new and some renovated, will add to the hub of cultural offerings in Florence immensely.

“We are aiming to reinforce the cultural identity of the historic center and to discourage brief visits of Florence by tourists.” Mayor Nardella says. “We want a historical center to be worthy of the cultural capital that it is: this does not mean mere preservation of the past but also growth, the revitalization of neighborhoods and more educational opportunities, which in turn will attract a younger generation to downtown Florence.” (kelsey lentz)