After organizing the most beautiful weddings, Rita decided to put her organizational skills and aesthetic sensibility to work to share Cortona’s cultural heritage. Already a restorer of antique textiles and scholar of the history of costume, Rita is now an independent researcher and cultural events organizer. She earned a degree in Humanities from the University of Siena with a thesis on the History of Modern Architecture focused on the Church of San Francesco in Cortona. 

Rita contributes to the publication of new books on the history and art of Cortona. She recently collaborated on the catalog and exhibition Del Barocco Ingegno: Pietro da Cortona and the 17th- and 18th-Century Architectural Drawings from the Gnerucci Collection, held at the Museum of the Etruscan Academy in Cortona, of which she is a Socio Effettivo.

Cortona, City of Hidden Treasures is a source of great joy for Rita because it combines her passions for the city, for beauty, and for teamwork.

Victoria started her career at Procter & Gamble as one of the first women in marketing and retired nearly thirty years later as Senior Vice President of an international advertising agency. Her clients included Disney, Frito-Lay, Kraft, Dial and McDonald’s (with three Super bowl commercials!).

In 2006, Victoria and her husband left Chicago and moved to Cortona – their retirement dream. In 2019, she published a 5-star memoir, The Little Lark Still Sings, about life lessons she learned from trying to fit into a different culture. After twenty years as a resident, she is more enchanted with Cortona than ever!

It is her great privilege to work with these remarkable women, to meet experts from around the world, to learn something new about her adopted city every day, and to contribute to the long-term vitality of Cortona by preserving the city’s treasures and their secrets and sharing them with others.

Silvia Vecchini has made art and culture her profession. After earning a degree in the Science of Cultural Heritage Conservation, she became a tour guide, transforming knowledge into stories and stories into experiences.

Welcoming visitors to her hometown and guiding them on a journey to discover its history is much more than a job for Silvia: it is a passion that is renewed every day. Living amidst the richness of Cortona has made all this even more natural and authentic.

Thanks to her passion and tireless curiosity, Silvia was a natural fit for the team, always on the lookout for surprising details and curiosities that reveal the city’s true soul. Silvia brings her expertise, sensitivity, and enthusiasm to the table, helping to uncover small wonders that often go unnoticed. Every discovery becomes a new reason to fall in love with Cortona—turning every day into an experience of wonder.

Victoria, Rita and Silvia Vecchini would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Municipal Administration for supporting and embracing the vision behind this project, and, in particular, to Silvia Navini, Counselor for the Historic Centre, for the attention and institutional sensitivity with which she facilitated the dialogue between the project’s promoters and the Administration.

Holding a degree in Cultural Heritage Conservation and enriched by professional experience in an international context, Silvia Navini has devoted her commitment to the protection and enhancement of the city’s historical, artistic and cultural identity. Her deep sensitivity to the themes of culture and urban regeneration led her to welcome with enthusiasm this innovative project dedicated to Cortona and the wonders of its historic center.