Gabinetto Vieusseux: 2026 between memory, research, and new cultural visions
With over 11,000 users each year between events, educational activities, archival consultations, and library services, the Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux confirms its status in 2026 as one of the most vital and recognizable places in Florentine and national cultural life. Created as a space for reading and international exchange, Vieusseux continues today to be a point of reference for those who experience culture as a living, shared, and constantly evolving practice.
Housed in Palazzo Strozzi, the Institute reinforces its role as a link between past and present, combining the promotion of a unique archival heritage with a program capable of dialoguing with contemporary life, new generations, and emerging technologies.
A program that reflects the present
The calendar of cultural activities at the Gabinetto Vieusseux for 2026 stands out for its breadth and consistency. Documentary exhibitions, series of meetings, interdisciplinary reviews, educational projects, publications, and digitization activities make up a varied offering designed for different and complementary audiences. The Vieusseux thus confirms its role not only as a place of conservation, but also as a space for cultural production, a laboratory of ideas, and an observatory on our times.
Exhibitions, anniversaries, and cultural identity
2026 is marked by important historical and literary anniversaries that provide an opportunity to reinterpret our heritage in the light of the present. March sees the opening of “Raccontare il mondo. Donne, letteratura e infanzia” (Telling the world. Women, literature, and childhood), an exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Laura Orvieto, a central figure in children’s literature and women’s cultural engagement between the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the fall, it will be the turn of “Once upon a time… There was a King!”, a documentary exhibition dedicated to Carlo Lorenzini, known as Collodi, on the bicentennial of the birth of the author of The Adventures of Pinocchio. The exhibition traces the complexity of a figure capable of moving between journalism, satire, literature, and civic engagement.
Alongside these exhibitions, the 2026 program offers initiatives dedicated to key moments in Italian cultural history, such as the hundredth anniversary of the death of Piero Gobetti, the sixtieth anniversary of the 1966 flood in Florence, the eightieth anniversary of the birth of the Italian Republic, and the twentieth anniversary of the death of Oriana Fallaci.
Meetings, literature, and cross-pollination
The “Martedì del Vieusseux” (Vieusseux Tuesdays) continue in 2026 in the Sala Ferri, with meetings dedicated to non-fiction, contemporary fiction, and reinterpretations of the classics. The dialogue between languages remains central: poetry and music, literature and science, collaborations with the Accademia dei Lincei, and a focus on the Beat Generation curated by writer Pietro Grossi broaden the scope of literary reflection.
The Gabinetto Vieusseux also participates in TESTO [How to become a book], the contemporary publishing fair in Florence, with special openings of the Bonsanti Contemporary Archive, guided tours, and meetings that recount the editorial work and history of archives as living places.
New generations at the center
One of the distinctive elements of the Gabinetto Vieusseux’s activity is its constant attention to new generations. In 2026, educational projects aimed at schools of all levels will continue, with workshops, thematic courses, and meetings with contemporary writers. Initiatives such as Writers in the Classroom and First Time at the Gabinetto bring students, children, and families closer to literature as a concrete, accessible, and shared experience, strengthening the role of the Vieusseux as a space for education and cultural citizenship.
Archives, research, and innovation
On the scientific front, 2026 confirms Gabinetto Vieusseux’s commitment to cataloguing, restoring, and promoting authors’ collections. Work continues on the collections of Raffaele La Capria, Alberto Arbasino, and Federigo Tozzi, together with the digitization of a significant part of the collection of Pier Paolo Pasolini, which opens up new possibilities for study and enjoyment.
Alongside these activities, special projects are being developed, such as Scripta, dedicated to the promotion of 20th-century women’s writing, and SAIDD, an artificial intelligence-based system designed for teaching and dissemination, which experiments with new languages to tell the Institute’s bicentennial history.
A place that continues to think
In 2026, the Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux continues to be one of the places where Florence reflects on itself and the world. A circulating library, research archive, meeting place, and cultural laboratory, the Vieusseux continues to combine memory and contemporaneity, rigor and openness, study and experimentation.
An institution that not only preserves the past, but questions it, makes it accessible, and puts it in dialogue with the present.
