VIDEO: ALII HORTI: A Dance Tribute to Historic Women at their Tuscan Villas

Where did the Medici princesses go to retreat from the pressures of court life? Which garden landscapes at Villa La Quiete, harboured their dreams and secrets? And centuries later, in the Roaring Twenties, where did Florence’s international community go for lavish spectacles? How did a woman like Hortense Acton create her identity by bringing Eastern Flair to Florence via tableaux theatre? International student dancers find a stage amidst the green, during ‘Alii Horti’, their original dance tribute to historic women at their villa homes.

Watch the performance, which tells a dance-only story of women who made Florence’s history, Vittoria della Rovere, Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Alessandra Strozzi and Maria Maddalena Frescobaldi Capponi are among those featured. This performance and its video were created by Il Palmerino Cultural Association and the Calliope Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the British Institute of Florence, Villa La Quiete (University of Florence, Sistema Museale di Ateneo) and New York University’s Villa La Pietra, as part of ‘The Garden Project’ and l’Estate Fiorentina 2026, with The Florentine as media partner.

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