THE CONVENT OF SANT’ORSOLA, AN ANCIENT CONVENT IN THE HEART OF FLORENCE. A place steeped in history, the Sant’Orsola complex, which covers more than 17000 m2, has undergone several transformations, and remained inaccessible for over 40 years. Founded in the early 14th century as a convent of Benedictine nuns, in 1435 it became a convent of Franciscan nuns. Since 1542, the tomb of Lisa Gherardini lies there. Identified as the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci, she is the most famous face in history of art! With an edict in 1810, Napoleon definitively put an end to its function as a convent and the dissolution of Sant’Orsola’s artistic heritage began. Between 1818 and 1940, the building was converted into a tobacco manufactory and underwent extensive renovation. After the Second World War, the former factory became a refugee centre for Italian families expelled from Istria by Tito’s regime. In the 1980s, the Ministry of Finance bought the building to convert it into a military barracks and create new offices. The work undertaken irreparably damaged and denatured the former convent. Both the interior and exterior walls were covered in reinforced concrete. The work was never completed, and Sant’Orsola remained closed and unused until the competition for its restoration, launched by the Metropolitan City of Florence and won by the French group Artea in 2020.

MUSEO SANT’ ORSOLA. “Museo Sant’Orsola, run by the non profit foundation Fondation Artea Storia and directed by curator Morgane Lucquet Laforgue, will open its doors in 2026 in part of the former convent of the same name which is currently under redevelopment. In anticipation of its official opening the museum organizes exhibitions in different spaces of the building site and invites contemporary artists to create site specific works that enter in dialogue with the monument and its history. These exhibitions herald the unique direction that this new Florentine cultural reality will take, conceived as a crossroads between a historical, archaeological and fine arts museum and a contemporary art center with its own collection of 21st century artworks.”

MUSEO SANT’ORSOLA, A MUSEUM BETWEEN MEMORY AND CONTEMPORARY ART. One of the main aspirations of the Museo Sant’Orsola is to help reveal the past of the site through contemporary artistic expression. The museum has taken on a twofold mission: to enhance the tangible and intangible heritage of the former convent and to create a new heritage that is relevant to our times and the issues we face. A permanent exhibition will present the testimonies of yesterday and today, in a fruitful dialogue between past and present, to help us better understand and build the future. The museum will be managed by the Fondation Artea Storia, a corporate non-profit foundation set up by the French group Artea – manager of the entire Sant’Orsola complex for the next 50 years and in charge of the renovation works. The foundation also aims to support contemporary creation in general, through specific commissions and a programme of artistic residencies for emerging talent, that has been launched in summer 2022. ( Morgane Lucquet Laforgue)