Anghiari si racconta

I was born in 1982 in Reggio Emilia where I grew up and attended high school. I went to University in Parma, where I graduated in Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Then, in 2006, I moved to Milan to attend the School of archiving and diplomatic palaeography at the State Archive. At the same time, I was attending the 3 year school of historical-artistic heritage at the Università Statale. It was there that I started to specialize in antique graphics, drawings and prints from the mid 15th century to the beginning of the 19th century.

During that time, I started to collaborate with the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan as an assistant to the curator of drawings and prints. I became the youngest person and first woman to be nominated Adjunct Doctor when the collegium of monsignors decided to welcome lay scholars to help in the research and management of the library. In 2012, I was in London on a Bloomberg Fellowship at the British Museum. Then I won scholarships in Italy and began collaborations with museums and universities in the United States, some of which continue today.

In 2017, I gained my PhD in Art History at the Università di Ca’ Foscari in Venice-IUAV-Università degli Studi di Verona with a thesis on the so called ‘prints in imitation of drawings’. It is a distinctive phenomenon that spread from the mid 17th century till the beginning of the 19th when they were replaced by photography. They imitated ancient masters’ drawings and were used to promote their creations. While still living in Milan, I often travelled around Italy, Europe and the United States. In 2020, I won a Getty Paper Project with the Biblioteca degli Intronati in Siena.

I first arrived here in Anghiari around 2 years ago, in the summer of 2022. I was invited by the Soprintendenza di Siena, Arezzo and Grosseto – the director of this museum, the Museo della Battaglia, Gabriele Mazzi, was looking for someone to catalogue the 218 prints in the collection. I had never been to Anghiari, I arrived from Milan after travelling for 5 hours and, in less than 5 minutes, I was in love with the place. It was August, it was very hot, but here, in Anghiari, thanks to the valley air and the many shady corners, the high temperatures were bearable. I stayed for 10 days to catalogue the prints. I really enjoyed being here and I had a very good rapport with Gabriele, a very fine scholar … we have remained in close contact.

I returned to Milan but, after 3 months, they called me back to organize an exhibition in March 2023 dedicated to the representation of women in prints. It was titled ‘History of women’ and I selected engravings portraying Eve, the Virgin and other significant female figures like Cleopatra, Medea … a selection including works from the mid 15thcentury till the end of the 19th. In February this year, the Anghiari municipality called for proposals for a new director of the museum after the former one had moved to the offices of the Regione Toscana. Since the 18th of March I have been the director.

Turning to my private life: since 2019, I have been engaged to Daniele Rossi; when lockdown came, we immediately started to live together. He is from Milan but was tired of living there and wanted to move. At the beginning, I wasn’t interested but, when I discovered Anghiari, I said to him ‘Look, perhaps there is indeed a place that could take me away from Milan’. And so, at the earliest opportunity, I brought him to see Anghiari and he also liked it a lot. Then we brought our friends and suggested it as a holiday destination. Around a year ago, we started fantasizing about moving here, but without work … it was a nice thought, a project. Then I got the job here!

Daniele is a graphic designer and works from home – his clients are all in Milan where we go as seldom as possible. I have this position for a year, so, for the moment, we are not thinking about buying a place. We chose to stay in a house in the historical centre because it is the most fascinating part of the town – we like it very much, it has a view of the valley, and, in 15 seconds, I am here at work. In Milan, you’d have to leave at least a half an hour before arriving somewhere. At the beginning, I was doing that here, and I’d be waiting, waiting, waiting! Now I have learnt that I can leave home 2 minutes before the time of an appointment!

At the moment, the museum is a building site because last year the former director won a PNRR project from the Minister of Culture to make it more accessible by removing physical and cognitive barriers. We have installed a lift and 2 ramps; we are also working on a new internet site where there will be a database of all the works in the museum, presented with texts in augmentative communication, easy to read, and audios. There is a fantastic project with the Italian Union of the Blind in Arezzo to display tactile maps and captions in Braille.

There will be changes and many surprises – I can’ talk about them now!

A collaboration between LUA (the Free University of Autobiography) and the museum goes back many years and my intention is to continue that. LUA is a very important institution for Anghiari.

Anghiari is a special town. It has had special personalities like don Nilo Conti who did a lot for the cultural life here – it was his idea to open the State Museum in palazzo Taglieschi and also this museum, which opened between 2007 and 2009. If you consider that the town has fewer than 6000 residents and 3 museums (as well as these two, the Museo della Misericordia) … it is rare. There is a strong sense of community, many people are very active in maintaining the cultural life of the town. There are lots of events, every day there is something that enhances the area – a ballet, a theatre show or trekking in the hills.

If I had a job here, I certainly would like to stay. I don’t think I’d miss much from Milan. I have found lots of things that are enriching from a professional as well as a personal point of view. And, my partner feels at home here; we are much less stressed, more relaxed … our quality of life is better. Many friends have come to visit and, now that it is easier to work from home, some would like to change their lives and move here.

I would like to be part of the community. I don’t know everybody as I’ve been here for less than 2 months, but I feel at ease. Whenever I can, I go for a stroll in the piazza. I have the best job in the world, I feel on holiday even if I work 12-14 hours a day. I am in a wonderful place that I love a lot… and the people I have met here are really helping me to adapt.