Joyce Acciaioli Rudge, founder and creative director of the Splendor of Florence festival, was awarded with a Florence Ambassador Award on October 30 in the Salone dei Cinquecento.
Presented every year by the City of Florence, Fondazione Destination Florence and Firenze Fiera, the Florence Ambassador Awards recognizes individuals whose work has brought major academic, cultural and scientific events to the city. Rudge was celebrated for her visionary leadership and tireless dedication to promoting Florence’s cultural heritage.
“I can think of no better way than giving life to Florence’s extraordinary art, where making things by hand has always been of primary importance,” Rudge said. “In 1999, that dream came true with the Friendship Pact between Florence and Providence, and the launch of the first Splendor of Florence Festival in Providence.”
The inaugural festival, held 26 years ago, brought together Florentine master craftspeople, live demonstrations, artworks from the Uffizi Gallery and a number of collaborative programs. The event ended with a concert featuring opera singers from Florence’s Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
Over the years, the festival has expanded, connecting chefs, artists and musicians from Florence with counterparts across the U.S. It has introduced American audiences to Florence’s cultural legacy in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Florence itself and, most recently, Providence with the 2024 edition, Sott’Acqua: A Tale of Two Cities Underwater. This edition highlighted the shared history of floods in Providence and Florence and explored how both cities are responding to climate change.
Looking ahead to November 2026, Rudge and her team are planning Splendor of Florence: Rising from the Arno, a program commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the devastating 1966 flood. The event will continue the Friendship Pact between Providence and Florence and will feature music, art and educational programs at Florence’s major cultural venues.
