“I want to put down in writing my ideas for the future of the institution that is to use I Tatti and my entire estate after my demise. Our present western world is harassed, hustled and driven. It excludes leisure, tranquility, permits no unexciting pursuits, no contemplation, no slow maturing of ideas, no perfectioning of individual style... Nothing opens mind and heart like free discussion of gifted maturing individuals coming together with their own national traditions and differing attitudes and approach.”
- Bernard Berenson
Vallombrosa, Aug. 18 1956
And so I Tatti, the Harvard Center for Renaissance Studies started with a single bequest. Following the example of the Reverend John Harvard, who left his Library and half of his fortune to the new college at Cambridge which came to bear his name, Berenson also left his estimable Library, as well as his art collection and the home in which they were housed to Harvard University in order to “establish a center of scholarship that would advance humanistic learning throughout the world, as well as increase understanding of the values by which civilizations develop and survive.”
Since then, many of the gifts which allowed I Tatti to grow and thrive have been bequests. As the decades went on, generous friends who shared Berenson’s vision, left funds for the Library, for Fellowships, for the upkeep of the gardens and grounds, and perhaps the most precious types of bequests – those directed to go to the area of greatest need.
Today the Center has a number of supporters who have thoughtfully made arrangements to remember I Tatti in their estate planning, to ensure that future generations are afforded the opportunities available to the current one and that the upward trajectory I Tatti has always enjoyed will continue.
The Berenson Society is our way to acknowledge these friends, and to thank them publicly. Their names are listed below.
There are no elaborate requirements to join. One need only express an intention to leave a gift of any size to I Tatti in the future. We do not ask that you provide any official documentation and neither is there any minimum suggested amount for a contribution.
We would, however, like to act as a resource for Berenson Society members, and would be delighted to provide sample language or to work with attorneys or estate planners to facilitate the best expression of the members intentions, or to work with members to identify where future gifts might be most helpful.
In return, we ask that members grant us permission to list their names on I Tatti’s website and in other publications. Members will receive invitations to I Tatti events, both in Europe and the US, but there is no obligation to attend. There is, in fact, no need for any further commitment and no ongoing obligation. The Society is in essence a way for I Tatti to acknowledge and thank these valued donors during their lifetime.
To join the Berenson Society or for further information please contact Christiana Killian, Chief Development Officer, at ckillian[at]itatti.harvard.edu..