We are proud to share that Professor Laura Fenelli, SU Florence’s Teaching and Learning Manager and instructor of the class Walking Florence, recently took the stage at this year’s Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino — Italy’s largest and most celebrated international book fair — where she presented a talk entitled Art Saved by Girls: Education, Exclusion, and Empowerment of Women Artists from the Renaissance to the Modern Era. Her title was a play on this year’s theme “Il mondo salvato dai ragazzini” (The world saved by kids).
“In 1971, Linda Nochlin asked: why have there been no great women artists? The answer lies not in a lack of talent but in the denial of access to art academies. This event is dedicated to the young women who, from the Renaissance through the modern era, sought — and sometimes found — a place in art education, thereby safeguarding the right to create art for themselves and for future generations.”
The Salone del Libro, now in its 38th edition, welcomed over 254,000 visitors across five days, bringing together readers, authors, and publishers from around the world in Turin. It was Professor Fenelli’s first appearance at the fair — and her first time presenting publicly from a project she has been developing, before an audience that turned out to be larger than expected.
Reflecting on the experience, Professor Fenelli shared:
“It’s been a week since my trip to Turin, but the excitement is still very much alive. My first time at the book fair, my first time as a speaker, the first time I spoke out loud — in front of a larger-than-expected audience — about the project I’m working on. Above all, thanks to everyone who came to listen, because there’s nothing better than sharing your passions with an attentive audience.”
Professor Fenelli’s talk is part of a broader research project for a high school textbook that she is working on with Loescher, one that bridges her deep expertise in Italian art history with a commitment to amplifying overlooked voices — themes that enrich her teaching here at Syracuse Florence.
We congratulate Laura on this wonderful milestone and look forward to following her work as it continues to grow.