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The Innocenti Hospital’s historical archive in Florence comprises more than 13,000 documents and objects from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries, including ‘tokens’ that parents left with their foundling children, as proof of identity. Located in the ancient refectory, the archive hosts one of the world’s most unique archival collections, that of the city’s foundling children – mostly girls. In a multi-faceted research and restoration project, curators and conservators

Becoming Suzanne Valadon By Margie MacKinnon Originally published in RESTORATION CONVERSATIONS magazine Autumn/Winter 2025 - Issue 8 Suzanne Valadon, 1923, The Violin Case, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Source: Wikipedia Suzanne Valadon’s life reads like a paperback novel, with a plot that takes the heroine from obscurity to notoriety and, belatedly, much deserved acclaim. Its setting is Montmartre, the bohemian centre of turn-of-the-century Paris, and the cast of

Carla Danella in conversation with author Vanessa Nicolson By Linda Falcone Originally published in RESTORATION CONVERSATIONS magazine Autumn/Winter 2025 - Issue 8 Art historian and author Vanessa Nicolson, ph. courtesy of the author Freelance writer and curator Carla Danella speaks with long-time friend Vanessa Nicolson, an art historian and author of the memoirs Have you Been Good?  and The Truth Game . More recently, Nicolson published Angels of Mud , a novel set against

Exploring Pasquarosa’s home and history By Federica Parretti Originally published in RESTORATION CONVERSATIONS magazine Autumn/Winter 2025 - Issue 8 Pasquarosa, 1913, Still life with flowers and a fan , Civico Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea We passed Tivoli, with its lovely view of the whole plain from the Aniene to the Tiber valleys, dotted with their renowned Roman hills. Then we continued on to Arsoli, amidst nature still groggy from its sleep, which offered unexpect