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Last July, Franco Pisani (Prof. of Architecture, ISI Florence) organized the international design workshop titled Interior Urbanism in collaboration with colleagues Alessandro Ayuso (University of Westminster, London), Igor Marjanovic and Regan Wheat (both from Washington University in Saint Louis). The workshop’s main goal was to encourage a group of American students, coming from different interdisciplinary backgrounds, to collaborate with fellow British students in order to develop projects for the reuse of the Cimitero de’ Pinti, an underutilized urban area in Florence.

Another important part of the workshop was the lecture series called The July Issue. The topic chosen for this edition (Art Saved the City’s Soul, as the title on the posters read) was addressed by distinguished guest lecturers, including Gianni Pettena (Università degli Studi di Firenze), Paolo Parisi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze), Elena Barthel (Rural Studio, Auburn University) and Jonathan Hill (Bartlett School of Architecture, London). The lectures were given at the Fondazione Giovanni Michelucci in Fiesole, offering a breathtaking view of Florence from atop the hill overlooking the Arno valley.