Over the course of a year from 1965-66, the Woodman family lived and worked in Italy, just outside of Florence. During that time, Betty and George became close friends with the artists and then-couple Nancy Graves and Richard Serra, who, like Betty, was there for the year on a Fulbright-Hays scholarship. They spent many hours together around the table, sharing meals, funny hats and conversations about art.

Betty recalled that that was the year Serra presented Animal Habitats: Live and Stuffed at Galleria La Salita in Rome; she helped him obtain a live pig for the installation. She also noted that an 8-year old Francesca was particularly fascinated by one work in the show which paired a live caged chicken with a stuffed bird.