On June 23, 2022, Mrs Elizabeth Nobrega Tsakiroglou, President of The Maria Nobrega Foundation and the International Institute of Traditional Knowledge (ITKI) and trustees, visited Florence and the Gualchiere di Remole fulling mill.
On behalf of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, The Maria Nobrega Foundation supports the promotion of the restoration of the Remole fulling mills. For this purpose, The Maria Nobrega Foundation, asked the technical group on Gualchiere, established at the Circolo Vie Nuove in Florence to which they belong among others Luciano Bartolini, former mayor of Bagno a Ripoli and Pietro Laureano, architect and urban planner, to contact the Municipality of Florence to be able to visit the Gualchiere on the works that are in progress, which will be reported to HRH The Prince of Wales. The Municipality of Florence has welcomed the proposal and has organized the visit that was held together with the Councilor for Heritage Alessandro Martini and the architect Giorgio Caselli, manager of the Fine Arts of the City of Florence. The visit explored the quality and importance of the work carried out in the Gualchiere. The Foundation welcomes the decision of the Municipality of Florence to secure this extraordinary monument with a huge investment and encourages them to continue with this initiative by making the Gualchiere, as indicated at the time by the technical team Vie Nuove and proposed in the project of the Municipality of Florence, a multifunctional system that guarantees the public use of the monumental part, the realization of prestigious institutions linked to traditions and the Arno and a series of initiatives compatible with the nature of the monument that ensure its economic sustainability. Converstations with the Municipality of Florence are underway to create a hub of culture, crafts and the environment (crafts and art, museum for understanding traditional and cycle technologies manufacturing).
The Maria Nobrega Foundation is providing its support for:
- Securing funds for the necessary operating costs for a headquarter in the part of the Gualchiere equipped as a museum of the traditional techniques, of the manufacturing cycle and for the observatory dell’Arno, the enhancement of artisanal and artistic activities considering already existing initiatives.
– International scholarships tied to databases, innovative application of traditional conversion techniques, ecological and sustainable city.
– Donate a collection of art objects, silver, statues and paintings owned by Michael Carrington.
The visit ended with refreshments offered by The Maria Nobrega Foundation in the splendid setting of the Gualchiere between the Arno and the mediaeval towers.
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