Vanessa Frances Hall-Smith MBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 was the director of the British Institute of Florence

British Institute of Florence

The British Institute of Florence is a cultural institute founded in 1917 in Florence, Italy, with the aim of promoting Anglo-Italian cultural relations, teaching English and Italian languages, and running a Library of English books to illustrate British and Italian literature, art, history and music...

 from 2004 - 2011.

Hall-Smith came from a family of doctors. She attended Roedean School

Roedean School

-Roedeanians in fiction:* Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward * Dawn Drummond-Clayton * Emily James...

, lived in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 where she attended the University of Perugia

University of Perugia

University of Perugia is a public-owned university based in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale....

, later studying law at the University of Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

 and conducted postgraduate studies in Germany and France. At Exeter, Hall-Smith played viola

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

 and violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and recorded an album with a progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band Fuchsia

Fuchsia (band)

Fuchsia was a British progressive folk rock band formed in 1970. Named after Fuchsia Groan they released one album before disbanding. Their self titled album was featured as one of Mojo's Forgotten Classics...

.

She passed the English bar exam in 1976 and practised as a barrister for a number of years. She later requalified as a solicitor and was a partner with the London firms The Simkins Partnership and Harrison Curtis, specialising in advertising rights. She spoke publicly on copyright issues; specifically on copyrighted media used in advertising and the associated risks for the advertisers and state regulation of the industry.

In 2008 Hall-Smith became a Member of the Order of the British Empire "for services promoting UK culture in Italy."