‘The Season’ 2024: Inaugural Events

The Season, hosted by New York University Florence, will once again take place at Villa La Pietra, for the 18th consecutive year. The picturesque 15th century villa will host events including exhibitions, readings, classical compositions, concerts, film screenings, dance and theatrical productions across six weeks, from May 23 to July 5, 2024. 

Actors, musicians, intellectuals and artists will be working in unison and in an interdisciplinary environment to deliver these nine evenings of entertainment and culture. As a celebration of creative collaboration, The Season welcomes those across the wider Florence community, holding free events in English and Italian. 

May 23 – Garden – 6 pm 

The Season will commence with a concert by the Accademia Degli Assetati orchestra entitled The Unconfined Music, directed by Mastro Leonardo Pacini. There will also be an art and photography exhibition, But Who Reads the Light?, by artists and New York University Florence lecturers Alessandra Capodacqua, Jacopo Santini, and Andrew Smaldone at 7.30 pm. The collection of photographs aims to explore ideas about light and shadow and time and space. 

Capodacqua is a photographer, curator, and lecturer, she has a special interest in the themes of identity and gender roles, which she has explored since the mid 1990s through the means of self-portrait. She is recognised internationally with her photographs displayed both in the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and at home in Italy in the Galleria degli Uffizi, in Florence. 

Santini, is involved in the domain of archaeological photography and is also involved in documentary photography. He teaches various programs in photography, art and architecture. Smaldone is interested in painting architectural interiors and abstract spaces, comparing both genres and their visual differences.  (Lucy Turner)