[1] She was educated at Downing College, Cambridge, where she earned a BA in art history (1987) and an MA (1991).

[1][2] Bagnoli joined the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland as assistant curator in 2002.

She organised exhibitions such as Treasures of Heaven (2011)[3] and A Feast for the Senses (2017)[4] and ended her tenure as the Andrew W. Mellon Curator and head of the museum's collection of medieval art and manuscripts.

[6][7][8] In May 2017, her appointment through the initiative, and that of four other directors, was voided following a ruling by the Lazio regional administrative tribunal.

[7][8] Bagnoli returned to her position a month later after the Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, temporarily suspended the ruling until a public hearing later that year.