“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 University 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 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, thoughtful gift planning, including many additional bequests, have allowed I Tatti to grow and thrive. Today, we welcome these generous friends into The Berenson Society, a community who have made provisions for I Tatti in their estate plans, to ensure future generations are afforded the same opportunities as current appointees.
No official documentation or minimum contribution is required; gifts of all sizes are welcome. We are available as a resource to help facilitate the best expression of members' intentions or to work with members to identify where future gifts might be most helpful.
To join, you may leave a specific amount or percentage of your estate, or its remainder, to I Tatti. You may also wish to consider additional ways to give. These include naming I Tatti as the beneficiary of a retirement fund, such as an IRA; through life income gifts, where you or someone designated by you to receive income for life and the remainder of your gift passes to I Tatti; or by giving assets such as real estate (as Berenson did), art, business interest, or stock.
The Berenson Society is our way to acknowledge the friends who have thoughtfully made arrangements to remember I Tatti in their estate planning, and to thank them publicly. Their names are listed below. Members receive invitations to I Tatti events, both in Europe and the U.S., as well as news and updates from the larger Harvard community.
To join the Berenson Society or for further information on making a gift, please contact Christiana Killian, Chief Development Officer, at ckillian[at]itatti.harvard.edu.