Could Marilyn Monroe Have Visited Florence? A Photograph Fuels New Centenary Project

A photograph depicting a woman who closely resembles Marilyn Monroe at Florence’s historic Caffè Gilli has become part of an international project celebrating the centenary of the actress’s birth in 2026.

The image, set in Piazza della Repubblica and labelled simply “Firenze” on the back, is included in Marilyn Everywhere – The Secret Itinerary, a project by investigative journalist Stephan Grey that explores a series of vintage photographs discovered in a private Swiss archive. The photographs appear to place a Monroe lookalike in a number of cities across Europe and the United States during the 1950s.

The Florence photograph shows the woman standing at the marble counter of Caffè Gilli, laughing with a barman while pointing towards a pastry display. According to the project, the image may date from the summer of 1956, when Monroe was working in Europe. No independent evidence has been presented to verify that the actress actually visited Florence, and the photograph is presented as part of an ongoing investigation into the archive.

From Florence to Marilyn100

The image has been selected as the Florence chapter of MARILYN100, a wider artistic initiative marking the 100th anniversary of Monroe’s birth on 1 June 2026.

At the centre of the project is The Breath of Silence, a collection of 100 digital artworks by Franco-Italian artist Micheline Grisolame. The series reimagines five centuries of Western portraiture by inserting Monroe’s features into works inspired by artists ranging from Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci to Klimt and Sargent. The collection will be presented through an online museum and accompanying publications in 2026.

According to the organisers, the project explores changing representations of women in art history through what they call “cyberpaintings”, digitally created works inspired by historical masterpieces.

Global competition for Marilyn lookalikes

One of the most unusual aspects of the initiative will be MARILYN100 ICONS, an international competition scheduled to run from 1 June to 30 November 2026. Participants aged 18 and over, regardless of gender or nationality, will be invited to recreate one of the project’s 100 artworks through costume, make-up and photography and share the results online.

The organisers plan to publish weekly rankings based on a combination of social-media engagement, reach and activity. The winner will receive the original artwork corresponding to the chosen cyberpainting, valued by the organisers at $11,000, while second and third place will receive limited-edition works.

The competition is intended to coincide with worldwide celebrations marking what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday. Organisers describe it as a way of connecting the artistic project with a global community of Marilyn enthusiasts, performers and lookalikes.

A Florence connection

For Florence, the project centres on the image set inside Caffè Gilli, one of the city’s oldest cafés and a landmark of Piazza della Repubblica. Whether the woman in the photograph was actually Marilyn Monroe may never be conclusively established.

What is certain is that the image places Florence within a broader international narrative that combines photography, art, popular culture and one of the twentieth century’s most enduring icons.

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