Book Presentation in Greve in Chianti: A Bridge for Giovanni da Verrazzano

On December 16, 2025, the Municipal Library “Carlo e Massimo Baldini” in Greve in Chianti hosted the presentation of A Bridge for Giovanni da Verrazzano. Stories of Cultural Diplomacy from Greve in Chianti to New York (Morlacchi Editore, 2025), the newly published bilingual volume by Antonella Valoroso. The event, part of the “Vivi la Biblioteca!” series, placed the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at the center of a broader reflection on cultural bridges between Italy and the United States.

The book retraces the twentieth-century rediscovery of Giovanni da Verrazzano and examines how his legacy helped shape transatlantic cultural relations—linking his birthplace, Greve in Chianti, to New York. The presentation offered a moment of meaningful “restitution,” as the history and the book that tells it returned to the places where it originated, engaging an attentive and enthusiastic local audience.

Alongside the author, speakers included Monica Toniazzi, Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Greve in Chianti; Luigi Giovanni Cappellini, President of the Verrazzano Foundation; Ruggero Ranieri, President of the Sorbello Foundation; and Marco Hagge, journalist and writer. Their reflections reaffirmed how historical memory can serve as a powerful space for dialogue and shared understanding between communities on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Sorbello Foundation extends its sincere thanks to the community of Greve in Chianti and to all who attended and contributed to this event, continuing to support the enduring value of cultural bridges between Italy and the United States.