Palazzo Barberini

Your Expert lecturer

Sandra Laville is an art historian, scholar and educator specialising in European history and civilization. Originally from Canada, she completed a BA Honours in Linguistics at Queen's University, with a special field concentration in French and Spanish history and civilization. She relocated to Europe in 2001 and has lived there ever since, moving subsequently to a number of destinations in France, Italy, and Spain, including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Rome, Florence, and Paris.

Sandra has a Masters in Art History from La Sorbonne, in Paris, where she specialised in Early Italian Renaissance Painting and was privileged enough to research on the topic of the emerging child portrait in 15th century Italian art. She also has a Master's degree in Education from the Universitat de Valencia, in Spain, and has worked for more than ten years as a guide and educator in Italy, Spain and France. She now divides her time between Rome, Florence, and Paris, where she still enjoys guiding and leading educational walking tours and talks for school groups and private parties. Since 2020, she has been giving lectures on topics related to French and Italian history, including a lecture series on the Italian Princes of Northern Italy and a spotlight on court culture and etiquette at the Palace of Versailles. As an expert in French, Spanish and Italian art history, Sandra's work is appreciated for its unique, cross-cultural perspective on the literature, art, and history of these three civilizations.