About

Florence was my home between 1976 and 2008. I lived in the centro storico, in a palazzo made up of ancient buildings joined together in the 19^th century to become the Neoclassical Palazzo Borghese. Originally I came to Florence to finish research for my doctoral dissertation for Princeton University. By the time I received my PhD, in 1983, I’d put down roots.

I continued to research my main scholarly interest, the art, architecture and culture of the Della Rovere dukes of Urbino (1508-1631), mostly through their correspondence, the bulk of which is preserved in the State Archives of Florence.

From 1988 to 2004 I was Senior Research Associate for the Italian Architectural Drawings Photograph Collection, directed by Henry Millon at CASVA, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. My base continued to be in Florence, from where I travelled to examine collections of drawings in various archives, libraries and museums in Europe.

At the same time, I began writing non-fiction and fiction for children. My story in verse about Brunelleschi’s dome of Florence Cathedral was published in The Florentine in June 2009. I continue to write children’s stories.

In 2011, having returned to Richmond, BC, I started contributing a regular column on a range of topics to the Richmond News. More than 300 have been published to date.

Nature and the preservation of the environment are my other main passions. I am one of a team of directors of the Garden City Conservation Society, involved in a series of projects to protect and restore biodiversity. Most recently our Society has been planning and planting Miyawaki Forests in Richmond.