Maria Valentina Tonelli

Maria Valentina Tonelli died in Rome from an incurable illness on 9 February 2016, leaving her daughter Paola to continue her work on the conservation of Michele Valori's memory, thought and works.

Always committed to supporting and promoting cultural initiatives, putting it at the forefront of the sector alongside the great cultural and artistic institutions, in 2011 the museum founded the Michele Valori Association, which it will lead with tenacity and firmness, sensitivity and passion, until 2016.

Her husband was the architect and urban planner Michele Valori. She expressed a similar commitment in her conservation of the artistic and intellectual work of Michele Valori, which she was able to collect and pass on to the rich archive acquired in 2007 by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities for the collection of MAXXI Architecture. However, the story of the reassembling of Michele Valori's private archive actually began as early as 1980, as Tonelli realised the importance of acknowledging his indisputable skills with a complete collection. With perseverance and determination, she was able to recover all her husband's papers, both professional and academic, from across his studios and their home.

It was thanks to the generous donation of Maria Valentina Tonelli and her daughters Giovanna, Paola and Francesca that MAXXI Architecture received the entire archive in 2007, catalogued and digitised in line with the archival standards of the Museum in order to facilitate consultation and promote historical research.

In 1995, the archive of Michele Valori's projects and writings was declared of historical interest by the Archival Superintendency of Lazio, who described it as "a precious resource for the history of architecture and urbanism in Italy".

Maria Valentina Tonelli documented this exhibition with the publication of the volume "Architectural Notebooks", a collection of writings by her husband alongside testimonies, travel and visual notes from the years 1949 to 1979. A story in images followed by testimonies from those who knew and respected him, prominent figures such as Leonardo Benevolo, Masolino, D'Amico, Federico Gorio, Arnaldo Bruschi, Giulio Andreotti. The volume won the literary essay prize "Locanda del Doge" and was shortlisted for the Nabokov Prize.

Maria Valentina Tonelli (16 April 1939 – 9 February 2016) was an Italian pharmacist, essayist and editor.

Maria Valentina Tonelli was born in Rome, 16 April 1939. She graduated from Sapienza University in Rome with a degree in Pharmacy in 1963. With her choice of degree, she followed in the footsteps and traditions of her family, but in doing so she did not abandon her passion for writing, which she pursued through her research into testimonies and diaries.