Vespucci, Hillary Clinton’s letter to the Mayor

WASHINGTON DC, USA – The United States of America are proud to join in the commemoration of Florence and Italy Amerigo Vespucci. These are the words of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a message sent to the Mayor of Florence, Italy, Matteo Renzi at the opening of the exhibition “Americans in Florence” opened a few days ago at Palazzo Strozzi. Read here the complete letter to the Mayor of Florence.

The Florentine navigator was the first to realize he had discovered a New world, and therefore the new lands were called with his name. Exactly 500 years since the death of Amerigo Vespucci, the city of Florence is going to mark this anniversary with many events.

The exhibition “Americans in Florence. Sargent and the American Impressionists” 2 March – 15 July 2012 at Palazzo Strozzi explores the American impressionists’ relationship with Italy, and with Florence in particular, in the decades spanning the close of the 19th and dawn of the 20th centuries. There was a marked upswing in the number of American artists travelling to Europe after the Civil War ended in 1865, and the trend continued on into the early 20th century.