To join the event, tune in LIVE on-line, with organizers Advancing Women Artists and The Florentine, on Friday February 5th at 6.30pm in Italy; 12.30pm EST; 9.30am PST; 5.30pm in the UK. Please use this link: Restoration Conversations: The world's oldest drawing academy, Accademia delle Arti del Disegno or access directly through TF's Facebook and YouTube channels. This event is free.

Where the Renaissance really started? Don’t miss our next Restoration Conservations and the unique Florentine chance to see where art training began – the world over. Florence’s Drawing Academy – which has been open continuously since 1563 – was conceived by Giorgio Vasari and founded by Cosimo I de’ Medici, as an association for artists at a time when painters still belonged to the Guild of Physicians and Spice Makers, because their craft involved the grinding of colors.

Accademia delle Arti del Disegno president Dr. Cristina Acidini is set to reveal the secrets of this intriguing venue at the very heart of Florence's art history, whose ranks include Michelangelo, Bronzino and Artemisia Gentileschi, the first-ever woman granted membership, in 1615.