Elitism Florence ::. issue 9

YOUR PERSONAL COPY issue n° 9 June ∙ July ∙ August 2019

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Welcome

If you’ve chosen Florence as your holiday destination, you will already know that however long your stay is going to be, in any case, it will always be too short to reveal the wonders of Florence, a city full of monuments, art, museums, squares, and unforgettable experiences. As locals, we’re the ones who experience the many gifts of the city first, and therefore Elitism aims to be a collection of suggestions, a notebook, a smart guide, to make your stay in the cradle of the Renaissance a piece of your life that you’ll always carry in your heart.

Those three months around late spring and early summer is our favorite time.

Long runs in the Cascine Park at sunset, aperitifs in the city center late into the evening, your swimsuit ready in your bag so that you can leave for the seaside straight from the office. And the bike rides, the sunrises that are already warm, the first ice cream of the year, the desire for fun and relaxation.

How can you not love this time of year? We Florentines know all about it, and just after December, we’re already waiting for it, starting to coamplain about the cold temperatures and too many “layers” of clothing. Well, in this issue of Elitism Florence, we’ll reveal how the true Florentines live in the Spring-Summer season. Where to eat the best ice cream in the city? And the trendiest place to have an unforgettable aperitif. The most beautiful park for stretching out and having a picnic? And how to get to the nearest and “coolest” seaside spot in Tuscany. In all of this, let’s not forget style. We’ll tell you where to buy T-shirt, shorts, accessories, swimsuits, and trendy products in Gucci’s home town.

And when you get home from your holiday, Florence will be your wonderful memory of warm days full of a thousand experiences and unforgettable images. Happy reading!

Elitism Florence: the quarterly magazine focused on discovering and experiencing the city and its magnificence. What to see, where to eat, trendy bars, historical places, architecture, shops, clubs with complete address lists and all the advice you need to enjoy the city the way Florentines do. And more, interviews with locals, details on the surroundings, highlights on what to buy, fun facts, and all of the top events you don’t want to miss out on in town.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails” - Mark Twain –

DESIGN + COVER Sally Studio CONTRIBUTORS Cinzia Azzerboni, Serena Becagli Marta Matteini, Liliana Antoniucci Cristina Tedde, Francesco Sani PHOTO CREDITS Matteo Vistocco, Giulia Vezzosi TRANSLATIONS NTL traduzioni PRINTING IGV s.r.l. - Piazza Nasoni, 4 San Giovanni Valdarno (AR) PUBLISHER F Society SAS Via del Leone 37, Firenze p.iva 06722440481 Aut.Trib.

Firenze N. 6048 del 14 Aprile 2017 WRITE US AT General : info@readelitism.com Advertising : adv@readelitism.com ONLINE CONTENT www.readelitism.com You can follow us on:

@elitismflorence @elitismflorence #elitismflorence

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“This issue is dedicated to Leonetta Pieraccini” Leonetta Pieraccini (1882-1977) was an Italian painter and writer. With a degree in fine arts from Florence, [1] she was a pupil of the Macchiaiolo, Giovanni Fattori, and became a skilled portraitist. At the home of her painter friend Fillide Giorgi, Levasti met Emilio Cecchi and married him in 1911. In the 1930s and 1940s, she exhibited works at the I Quadriennale in Rome, then at the Venice Biennale.

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VICE - EDITOR Francesca Cellini

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EDITOR Francesca Querci

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In partnership with: Windows On Italy Doorways to Italy Apartments Florence Family Apartments Madeinitaly Holiday Home Dot Florence bb Charme Suite Florence FLOspirit Holiday Itaco Florence Concierge What about a house in Florence?

Florence Luxury Rent Incredible Tuscany haloria.com Acacia Firenze www.torremannellisuites.it

ELITISM FLORENCE There’s beauty all around you Issue n° 9 June | July | August 2019 Quarterly ~ Florence ~ Italy

Le informazioni diffuse hanno finalità divulgative, le fonti utilizzate riflettono le esperienze e le opinioni degli Autori. I link citati e le immagini tratte da altri siti sono proprietà dei rispettivi Soggetti. L’Editore, che ha posto ogni cura nel citare correttamente la fonte, si dichiara disponibile a pubblicare eventuali rettifiche per involontarie citazioni improprie. L’Editore e gli Autori di Elitism declinano ogni responsabilità per uso improprio delle informazioni riportate o da errori relativi al loro contenuto.

CONTENTS June~July~August 2019

TO DO

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TO SEE

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FLAIR

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Five amazing things to do in Florence we selected and guarantee for you

First things you have to see once you arrive

“La Cravatta”

WHERE TO EAT

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WHERE TO DRINK

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STYLE ICON

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SUGGESTED BY

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NO YOU CAN’T MISS IT

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The staff of Elitism presents you the top 5 restaurants of the month selected after a fine and accurate test

Best wines and drinks around town.. raise your glass with style

Monica Vitti

Diletta Malenchini

Places you will never forget

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Florence Factory shop via dei Neri 6/8 r, Firenze Opening Monday 13.30 - 19.30 Thusday - Sunday 10.30 - 19.30

www.florencefactory.it

CONTENTS June~July~August 2019

OUR SELECTION

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THIS IS SO CONTEMPORARY

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ONLY IN FLORENCE

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Our selection of beautiful products

Umberto Buscioni, the painter of mistery

Calcio in costume Fiorentino

AGENDA

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From events and festivals to attractions and tours, find out what’s going on in Florence

NEARBY Siena

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Via Tornabuoni

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You cannot miss the recently renewed Mercato Centrale, a real gastronomic melting pot, for those who want to taste emotions. The Loggia del Porcellino where you can buy genuine leather products and caress the famous luck charm bronze boar muzzle at the side of the market.

Arno River

Enjoy the Diladdarno discovering San Frediano, snooping around workshops, antiques and art galleries. Piazza Santo Spirito is the right place for a typical dinner or a late evening drink. Piazza del Carmine with its mixed between sacred and profane atmosphere is another must-see.

· The Rive Gauche

To do

· Not just Art

Go for some top-level shopping in Via Tornabuoni: Gucci, Emilio Pucci, Tiffany, and many more are there waiting to fuel your vanity. Discover vintage jewels in Piazza Strozzi at Barducci Jewelry. Design and crafts lovers are welcome in Via della Spada where a tour is a must.

· Tuscan Food

Taste tradition: a Lampredotto sandwich in Piazza de’Nerli, Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Cambi restaurant, extraordinary Pappa al Pomodoro at Santo Bevitore. Want some ice cream?

Sorbetteria in Piazza Tasso and the world-famous Vivoli near Piazza Santa Croce are waiting for you.

Il ratto delle Sabine

Loggia del Porcellino

· Markets Tour

Second Italian museum for number of visitors, the Accademia displays the largest amount of Michelangelo’s sculptures in the world. A must-see, where you can find the original Michelangelo’s David and probably experience the Stendhal Syndrome. Remember to book in advance!

· Galleria dell’Accademia

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Piazzale Michelangelo

Ponte Vecchio

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Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the city’s civil and administrative authority. Sight is surrounded by ancient marble, bronze and stone statues, like Donatello’s Marzocco, the lion leaning on the coat of arms, and the Nettuno fountain. Here, the most famous gallery: the Uffizi.

Links the main part of the historical city centre with the “Diladdarno”, with artisan goldsmiths that once were butcher shops lining the path to the scenic terraces. The Vasari Corridor, that crosses the Arno at Ponte Vecchio, was built in 1565.

· Ponte Vecchio

To see

Palazzo Pitti

· Piazza della Signoria

Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Campanile di Giotto and Battistero; with its white Carrara marble front, hallowed in the year 1436, the Duomo dominates the whole square and Giotto’s Campanile. The Cathedral’s dome, finished with red bricks, outstands everything around.

· Piazza Duomo

Piazza della Signoria

A 5 minute walk to embrace absolute beauty: the city sight from Piazzale Michelangelo. You can walk the ancient stairways “Rampe del Poggi” starting from San Niccolò to climb up toward Piazzale. Once there just a few more steps to fall in love with the Church of San Miniato.

· Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato

Residence of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, home to the Medici, the Lorena and the Savoia families. The palace hosts an articulated compound of different galleries and museums: Palatina Gallery, Appartamenti Monumentali, Modern Art Gallery, Boboli Garden.

· Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Garden

Campanile di Giotto

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THE MUSEO NOVECENTO Florence is contemporary Florence is alive 12 readelitism.com

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rom June 24th, 2014, the Museo Novecento (Museum of the Twentieth Century) will be displaying a selection of works from the Florentine civic collections, which illustrate a wide range of Italian art from the first half of the twentieth century. There is the very prestigious Alberto Della Ragione collection, donated to the city of Florence in the aftermath of the 1966 flood, enriched with works by Giorgio De Chirico, Filippo De Pisis, Gino Severini, Giorgio Morandi, Mario Mafai, Renato Guttuso, Felice Casorati, Arturo Martini, Marino Marini, Lucio Fontana and others.

The itinerary is completed by Ottone Rosai’s legacy, received by the City of Florence in 1963.

In addition to the permanent collection, every three months, the museum periodically hosts temporary exhibitions, special projects, screenings and conferences, conceived in thematic cycles, dedicated to Italian and international art, from the historical avant-gardes to the most contemporary artists.

The museum in its present form was opened to the public in spring 2018. It was designed as a dynamic institution, capable of understanding and generating multiple practices and experiences, a place for narration and contemplation, as well as discovery and education. It aims at creating fruitful connections between past and present and taking up the challenge of a city open to the contemporary and not tied only to its historical heritage.

Running until June 27th at the museum is the exhibition Exit Morandi, dedicated to the Bolognese master, a tribute, around fifty years after his death, to his personal figurative synthesis, executed in an essential and unconventional language. The exhibition contains works that belonged to or gravitated within the sphere of four illustrious Italian art historians, Roberto Longhi, Cesare Brandi, Francesco Arcangeli and Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti who, as time went by and seasons changed, accompanied and remained faithful to that silent steady painting that still makes Morandi a contemporary master even today. Opening on July 12th is an exhibition of Gino Severini’s paintings with Commedia dell’Arte masks as subjects, as well as paintings with musical objects and theatre symbols. At the same time, as part of the exhibitions related to drawing, the Museo Novecento presents a selection of approximately seventy works by such masters as Giorgio de Chirico, Mario Sironi, Enrico Prampolini, and Osvaldo Licini, from the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome.

MUSEO NOVECENTO P. Santa Maria Novella 10, Florence www.museonovecento.it IG: @MuseoNovecento Summer opening hours (1st of April – 30th of September) Mon - Tue - Wed - Sat - Sun | 11.00am – 8.00pm Thursday | 11.00am – 2.00 pm Friday | 11.00am – 11.00 pm The last entry is one hour before closing.

Information, booking, tours and activities: MUS.E Firenze Phone: +39 055 2768224 – +39 055 2768558 info@muse.comune.fi.it www.musefirenze.it

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GIULIA MATERIA ATELIER Just a few steps from Palazzo Pitti is a special place, where designer Giulia and her partner Enzo, in a flurry of colour, create and sell notebooks, cases, bags, buttons, dresses and much more. An expert in the best binding and screen printing techniques, her innate creativity lets her complete what she designs from scratch to perfection. A special place, sometimes magical, where you can find wonderful gifts to take home. //Sdrucciolo de’ Pitti, 13/R

CO.AR.U This creative, energetic space has select garments that all have one thing in common: style.

Strictly “Made in Italy”, jackets, Tees, trousers and dresses are made with care and passion so that every possible combination is “different”. The acronym for the shop means “Cool Around You”, so be cool and look around, and take the advice of the super sales staff! //Piazza Di San Pancrazio 2/r

Dress Well & Accessories AVAVAV This is an affordable high-end brand that is contemporary and confident with a big love for luxury fabrics and kind silhouettes. AV likes to find new ways in the traditional fashion industry. They create monthly capsule collections with weekly drops from a selection of fabrics that are available instead of the opposite. A sustainable brand, made in Italy. //Via Madonna delle Grazie 4

ANGELA CAPUTI The creative soul of the Angela Caputi Giuggiù brand is based in Florence’s historic centre, a stone’s throw from the Ponte Vecchio, in an old 17th-century palazzo better known as the “Palazzetto Medici”. The creations, which are somewhere between Fashion and Art, are made with with creativity and a fervent and constantly evolving imagination. // Via S. Spirito, 58/r

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Flair ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT..TIES

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espite the fact that the Italian word for tie, “Cravatta”, comes from the French “Cravate”, born in Louis XIV’s France to indicate the scarves used by Croatian knights, some texts trace its true origin as far back as the 2nd Century AD. Roman legionaries used to wrap a long piece of fabric around their necks to protect themselves from the cold.

In actual fact, the origin of this accessory as we understand it today is more recent, from around the 18th century in America, while the “modern” tie, very similar to today’s, came into being at the end of the 19th century in England.

The tie is defined as a “highly important accessory, reflecting the personality of the wearer” better than any other garment could do.

It is almost comparable to “a thermometer of good taste” on the scale of absolute sophistication and it is not simply a habit but a need that is felt by the truly elegant man.

There is a tie for every occasion and even if this follows the tastes of the moment, it must always be perfect with a well-balanced knot.

For example, if the occasion calls for a white tie, the man wears a tailcoat and the woman a long dress. A groom will waer a tailcoat, and will need a grey Ascot tie with a pin.

In the event that the invitation has the wording “black tie”, the man must wear a tuxedo and the woman an evening gown.

These are rules dictated by etiquette, although today, sometimes, even at weddings and less demanding occasions, everyone tends to follow their own rules, dictated by their own tastes.

In fact, while the tie was once considered an accessory to be worn when elegance and formality were mandatory, today this trend has been newly sanctioned and is now sometimes used to give a touch of personality to more casual and informal outfits, to flaunt during one’s free time and also used by young people.

Oscar Wilde said “a well-knotted tie is the first serious step in life” and it is no coincidence that many high-profile actors and political figures are never without the jacket and tie that are such an important part of their image.

WORKS OF ART The tie was also immortalized in many famous portraits, including the well-known painting by A. Modigliani “Woman in a Black Tie.” There are also ties around the necks of Magritte’s “Men without Faces.”

by Marta Matteini readelitism.com

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Experiences in Florence

“Unique tours for every traveller”

SMALL GROUP TOUR HISTORY AND FLAVOR Our tour begins in the Piazza della Repubblica where Julius Caesar founded the city in 59BC. Make our way along the Via Roma toward the iconic Ponte Vecchio once a very smelly bridge lined with butchers and fish mongers. See part of the Vasari Corridor used for the powerful Medici who ruled Florence for 350 years when Tuscany was a separate city state. The Corridor was a private passage from the town hall ‘Palazzo Vecchio’ to the Pitti Palace the last home of the Medici. Arrive at Piazzale degli Uffizi you will stroll down the walk surrounded by the impressive Uffizi Gallery. See the monuments of famous Florentine personalities including Dante Alighieri, Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo to name a few. See the Lanzi Lodge, an open air sculpture gallery that houses original sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini along with copies of sculpture by Giambologna.

Small Group Tour: 1-12pax Tour Duration: 2.5 Hours Price per Person: 90 € Inclusions: All samples and tastings, local English-speaking guide

SMALL GROUP TOUR MERCATO CENTRALE SAN LORENZO FOOD LOVERS Hidden behind the many stands at the San Lorenzo Market we arrive at Gianni’s Wine Store. You will discover the meat & fish stands along with the growers markets or fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. Continue to a cheese and salumi stand with local products from the hills that surround our city here we will also taste local craft beer made with Saffron taste Tuscan Pecorino cheese with honey from the Casentino Valley. Arrive to the top floor that became the Mercato Centrale. You will witness one of the most ideal gourmet food halls in the world. Arrive at Valerie Rugis stand of fried vegetables when in season we will taste the fried artichoke and zucchini flower. We’ll stop by Local Baker David Bedu’s stand called Pank to enjoy a tasting one of Florence best bakeries using 100% Italian Ancient Grain.

Small Group Tour: Up to 1-12 persons Starting Time 12.30 -02.30pm Price per person: 90 € Inclusions: All samples and tastings, local English-speaking guide PRIVATE HILL TOWNS IN TUSCANY Enjoy a drive along rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves through the Chianti Region. Arrive at the medieval town of San Gimignano. Your guide will explain the historical aspects and give you an insight to find the best artisanal stores, great coffee and gelato for your free time to visit the main squares of this architectural marvel. Continue to Monteriggioni a fortified hamlet strategically built between the two rival towns of Florence and Siena. Dante called the town the ‘crown jewel of Tuscany’.

Continue to Siena. Visit the Piazza del Campo to see the political centre of the medieval city. As we return we will stop at Piazzale Michelangelo to the most spectacular view point of Florence.

Small Group Tour: Up to 1-6 persons Starting Time 09.00am - 05.00pm Price per person: 165 € Inclusions: All samples and tastings, local English-speaking guide

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SMALL GROUP TOUR FLORENCE FOODIES TOURS Get ready for the perfect introduction to Florence, especially if you like food and history.

Our tour begins with a stroll around the main squares and sites. We stop in to the oldest cafe in Florence for a morning cappuccino before heading to on the ancient street of Via dei Tornabuoni to discover a Nobile wine family who have been producing wine for over 30 generations! Visit their palace an architectural marvel along with other historical palaces along the street. Arrive at a local bakery to taste a few sweet delights. Learn about our DOP breads and use of ancient grains and regional product. Arrive at a delightful food store specialising in earthy truffles, where we’ll enjoy a glass of Prosecco with a truffle panini.

Cross over the Arno River to arrive in a quaint square for a taste of local gelato. Arrive in the Piazza della Signoria to witness the Town Hall and Uffizi Gallery. As you make your way to the Duomo Complex we stop in to a chocolate store for a tasting.

Small Group Tour: Up to 1-12 persons Starting Time 03.00 - 05.30pm Price per person: 67 € Inclusions: All samples and tastings, local English-speaking guide

SEASONAL TOUR -ITALIAN SOCCER WITH A LOCAL Meet your expert local guide at the train station and take the train to Artemio Franchi, the home stadium of our local football team, ACF Fiorentina, situated on the outskirts of the city. Upon arrival at the stadium, we’ll do as the locals do and make a street food stop.

Your options are delicious and varied but we recommend that you try either a bread roll with local salami, cheese, sundried tomato or artichoke or the original roast pork roll which we call ‘porchetta’ — mmm delicious!

After filling our bellies, we’ll take a walk around the stadium, soaking up the atmosphere and watching local punters enjoying a beer and buying typical football souvenirs before the big game.

Once the game begins you will see the locals and the opposing team’s fans singing and cheering. As always, after 45 minutes there will be a 15-minute break when you can pick up a snack, espresso coffee or a beer. After the game, your guide will take you back to the central train station.

Seasonal Tour Price per person 120 €

SMALL GROUP TOUR APERITIVO TIME! FLORENCE WINE TOUR It’s wine o’clock! Enjoy a late afternoon stroll around Florence to discover our famous Tuscan red wines along with a selection of original tastings. This fun and informative tour is a great way to begin your evening and get a solid introduction to delicious Tuscan wines and Italian Mixology. We will stop at three very different locations around the city. Our first stop will include a tasting at a local ‘Fiaschettteria’ an original term for the wine bars around Florence that would serve Table Wine Chianti in the straw based bottle. Here you will taste the most traditional street food in town ‘Trippe’ with a glass of Chianti or local schiacciata, Tuscan Prosciutto and Pecorino. Continue to one of the most important wine bars in Florence. You will see a selection of National wine and much more. Visit the largest wine cellar in Florence and enjoy a tasting of Chianti Classico and other special local foods. Our last stop is at a classic Bar where you will learn about Italian Mixology.

Enjoy a cocktail and gourmet tastings as you savor the charm of a local aperitivo in Florence.

Small Group Tour: Up to 1-12 persons Starting Time: 05.30pm - 08.00pm Price per person: 77 € Inclusions: All samples and tastings, local English-speaking guide

FLORENCE URBAN ADVENTURES www.florenceurbanadventures.com - info@florenceurbanadventures.com Via Dei Sassetti, 6 - 50123 Florence - Italy

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10 MINUTES WITH..

Maddalena & Pietro (owners of Todo Modo coffee+library)

photo by: Georgette Jupe @girlinflorence

Todo Modo is an independent book store in the heart of Florence. Stopping by Via dei Fossi, you step into a world unto itself, a world of brilliant and hard-to-find titles. Of funny magazines that always make you smile. There are readings in the evening and more.

Good music, good wine, good food.

A dark chocolate cake whose first bite makes you say “wow”.

You often go into Todo Modo empty-handed, but you never leave without taking something with you.

First of all, there is the warm welcome.

The wine you would recommend for an evening for two here at Todo Modo

What do you like most about Florence

P Twisted, Borgo San Frediano

M The Fiorentina team, even though it’s a real disaster at the moment Where do you like to go for breakfast (besides Todo Modo)

The characteristic that distinguishes true Florentines (habits or ways of doing things).

P The sea

P The Rossese

M the Sciornaia Because people should come to Todo Modo

P Why is it a lovely bookstore?

M Because there are books that are not seen elsewhere as well as all the others Your favorite store

M Babel, Via Gioberti

P Da Pollice, in San Frediano

P Distrust, stinginess and elegance

M S.Forno on Via Santa Monaca

M Spirit, reserve and avarice

The book you are fondest of and why

What does it mean to be radical chic booksellers

M. Romain Gary’s Promise at Dawn because its author resembles Pietro

M if radical stands for independent and chic stands for great books, I would say it’s indispensable

P Fictions by Borges, because I am a bibliomaniac

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P It’s a question of marketing

Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam / live in Berlin / September 2006

LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER IN FLORENCE:

EDDIE VEDDER

Eddie Vedder is the last hero of Generation X. Two years after the famous concert at Florence Rocks, the leader of Pearl Jam, who needs no introduction, is back in town for a solo performance on June 15th, once again at the successful festival in the Visarno Arena (daily ticket: 69 €).

“Music is the only reason I haven’t committed suicide yet,” he joked in a 1994 interview, when rock in Seattle, renamed “grunge”, was at the top of the hit parades and had sold millions of records throughout the world. It must have been a curse, because then we saw the “grunge” rock stars fall one after another in a “Spoon River” worthy of Edgar Lee Master’s anthology. In fact, it was precisely 25 years ago that Kurt Cobain of Nirvana shot himself in the mouth. In 2002, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains put an end to the torments of his heroin addiction with the last fatal speedball and finally, in 2017, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden inexplicably hanged himself in the bathroom of a Detroit hotel before a concert. Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, on the other hand, are still there to remind us that music is also means resistance, and they celebrated their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. With music, civil battles become bearable and the soul’s demons are exorcised. In this, the charismatic singer born in Illinois in 1964 and raised in California, has been masterful in how not to be crushed by his talent. And perhaps this is also a therapy for others: Dennis Rodman, a famous basketball player with the Chicago Bulls, in his biography, wrote that in 1996 he was about to commit suicide when the sound of Vedder’s voice diverted him from his purpose. He was in a car in an isolated parking lot with a gun in his hand. In that moment, a Pearl Jam song came on the radio, and he threw the gun out the window and went home. This is how the golden world of NBA basketball avoided losing one of its most talented as well as extroverted players.

We too will always be grateful to the Seattle band, if not for having saved our lives, at least for reviving ‘90s rock, which inextricably marked anyone who was a teenager at the time: albums like “Ten”, “Vs” or “Vitalogy” are now classic records for a cult band. Vedder, once having passed the age of fifty, has proved to still be in excellent shape and his unmistakable baritone is so warm and mature that we can safely say that the singer is at the top of his game right now. He decided to embark on a series of solo concerts around Europe between June and July, and will be giving live performances of the songs from his successful solo album “Into the Wild”, composed as a soundtrack for the homonymous film directed in 2008 by his friend Sean Penn (and thanks to Guaranteed, he won the Golden Globe for best original song), some of his band’s songs in an acoustic reinterpretation, and some covers of rock classics. Keep on rockin’ in a free world!

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Where to Eat Enjoying food is one of the best pleasures of life. The staff of Elitism presents you the top 5 restaurants of the month, selected after a fine and accurate test.

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Ditta Artigianale

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French toasts, Pancakes with maple syrup, Jams, Cheese cakes, Scrambled eggs and bacon with baked potatoes and much more. A large room, two floors set out with an eye to the last detail. Large windows overlooking the street, attentive smiling staff.

Famous throughout Florence for their selection of coffees, brunch from Ditta Artigianale is a must on a Sunday. // Via dello Sprone 5/r

// Via Vacchereccia 4/r

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Caffè Cibreo

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If you want a little of that Parisian Belle Époque atmosphere (but enjoying traditional Florentine food), this is the right place for you. All the dishes are based on seasonal availability. Research, wholesomeness, care and commitment are the most obvious features of this magical place. The choice of dishes? From bread soup to meatloaf with mayonnaise, squash soup and cinnamon to cod alla Cassi, chicken meatballs and ricotta to the historic roast beef made by the chef, Picchi.

Via Andrea del Verrocchio, 5R

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Ristorante Natalino

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Run for over twenty years by the Mazzanti family, who have managed to maintain and preserve the precious simplicity of an authentic cuisine, dictated

by Florentine tradition. Simplicity. This is all that is needed to serve up the goodness of a cuisine that has always preserved the dishes of the past, where all the flavours are the result of knowledge and skill. You can taste the rich Tuscan appetizer, try the delightful fresh pasta, potato tortelli with wild boar ragout, the classic but always delicious tomato and bread soup, made according to tradition with fresh tomatoes. //Borgo Albizi 17/r 20 readelitism.com

B R E A K F A S T

$$ Rivoire In 1872, Enrico Rivoire, the chocolatier for the Royal Savoy family, opened his venue in Florence on the edge of Piazza della Signoria, making all his experience available to the Florentines. Today Rivoire is a point of reference for all lovers of subtle good taste and elegance. Here you can try coffees and chocolates accompanied by expertly prepared desserts, according to ancient recipes.

A P E R I T I F Fusion

T I M E $$$

Let yourself be swept away by the flavours and unusual cocktail combinations created by our awardwinning mixologists. Try the 7 new Signature cocktails, a taste journey that starts in Italy and goes to distant destinations through flavours and fragrances. Drawing inspiration from the VENTAGLIO (FAN), from its shape, history and evolution, this is a journey of stories that unites East and West: did you know that it was Caterina De Medici that had the fan brought from Asia to Florence? // Vicolo dell’oro 3

Where to Drink Places to taste fine wines and artistic cocktails. Our top 3 selection, with some alcoholic degree.

TOP 3 ICE CREAM

VOLUME In a former artisan workshop, in the evening and later this museum bookstore and coffee shop becomes a meeting place for all Florentines.

On display are wooden forms, in a very welcoming ambience with vintage sofas and retro lamps. And also a small stage for live music. Great cocktails and snacks. // Piazza Santo Spirito, 5/red

LA SORBETTIERA Located in the Oltrarno, in the ever crowded and lively Piazza Tasso, this ice cream shop was founded in 1934 and today is still one of the most appreciated and renowned in the city.

A real artisan workshop where the mastery of ice cream making gives life to an exclusive product, to be enjoyed at every opportunity.

The ice cream shop is run with passion, research and selection of the highest quality ingredients, for an ice cream whose simplicity is and always has been surprising. // Piazza Torquato Tasso, 11

EMPIREO HOTEL LUCCHESI Ever since opening in 2014, the Empireo has shown the guests of Hotel Plaza Lucchesi and Florentines an unprecedented and breath-taking view of the city.

Sip a drink in the pool while you admire the Duomo; read a book until the sun goes down, when the beautiful sunset takes your breath away. This is what you experience at the Empireo. The Empireo is open during the summer season. // Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia, 38 VENCHI

ODEON BISTRÒ

A chocolate and ice cream boutique where Italian tradition and quality are celebrated.

Located in the historic centre of Florence, a few steps from the famous Piazza della Signoria and near the Ponte Vecchio, the chocolate and ice cream shop is spacious and welcoming, with a coffee shop and area with seating on the first floor as well, ideal for a break during your tour or to enjoy an ice cream cone with your family and children. // Via Calimaruzza 18

With its very elegant outdoor area, open every day from morning until late at night, customers are welcome at all times of the day. Recommended especially for an aperitif in the evening at the foot of Palazzo Strozzi, sipping excellent cocktails and tasting the appetizers. // Piazza degli Strozzi, 8.

STICKHOUSE It opened with two main objectives: - to produce quality artisan ice cream thanks to a careful selection of basic ingredients; - to made the taste fully appreciable by not adding air to the finished product. The flavours and taste are 100% original, undiluted and with no need for artificial flavours.

Alternative and natural. // Via Antonio Giacomini, 9 readelitism.com

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By Cinzia Azzerboni

She started acting as a teenager in amateur productions, then trained as an actor at Rome’s

She had many covers and she won many Awards, five David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress, seven Italian Golden Globes for Best Actress, the Career Golden Globe, and the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award.

Yes! Monica is Monica and for her just one world to to capture and express her full essence : talent!

She has been, and still is , one of the greatest existing actresses, she has been capable to move easily from starring roles in art films to comedy movies, on stage in theatres and on television. Very talented, very gifted and chameleonic, so at ease in any role she played, and always so good at anything she did , always with passion and professionalism. She embodied the women of her times, many of them could see themselves in the portraits of her characters.

A special beauty, beautiful regardless of her defects, beautiful of an unique beauty that only imperfections can shape and create.

A long important nose, and for this she was told that if she wanted to act and pursue an acting career, she had to go through surgery to correct it …she did not do it and became a star!

She was told her voice was too hoarse…and she also dubbed italian and foreign actresses.

She was only a teenager when she knew she wanted to act…and indeed she did!

At 88 today, and after more than 20 years she is away from the scenes and the public life, due to personal health reasons, Monica Vitti is still an acclaimed actress with many admirers and fans still loving her dearly, cherising her and missing her .

Monica is Monica with her unique features, unmistakable husky and sexy voice, her myopia which donates her that special way to wide-eyed stare in the camera.

Monica, what a woman! “ The Dolce Vitti “ .

Unforgettable Monica grazie!

Among many of her great movies, we like to remember : Ettore Scola’s highly successful romantic comedy “Dramma della gelosia” (The Pizza Triangle, 1970) where she starred with Marcello Mastroianni Polvere di stelle (1973) with Alberto Sordi for which she won the David di Donatello Award for Best Actress . “L’Anatra all’arancia” (1975) with Ugo Tognazzi a funny sex comedy.

And then “The Girl with the Pistol” ( La ragazza con la pistola - 1968) a comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli, probably the movie that gave her more success, for it she won the David di Donatello and the movie was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The story is about a Sicilian woman, “dishonored” by her lover, who goes to England with a pistol to find and murder him. According to the local traditions of those times infact, to restore the honor of the family, someone in the family was to kill the offender. She decided to do it herself. But when she arrives in London something happens and in the end instead of chasing and killing her ex lover, she creates for herself a new and wonderful life in England. Memorable the line in the movie when she says : “ a real man must try and a real woman must resist “

Muse of Michelangelo Antonioni she was to become Italy’s favourite comedienne in films, among others, such as “Amore mio aiutami “ or the hilarious “Polvere di Stelle” both together with her good friend, the great Alberto Sordi Monica Vitti dominated in the cinematographic period of the Italian comedy when ruled giants and legends as Alberto Sordi, Nino Manfredi, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman e Marcello Mastroianni.

National Academy of Dramatic Arts (graduating in 1953) and at Pittman’s College, then in the early 1960s she had starring roles in films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, her lover at that time. Vitti received critical praise for starring roles in the Antonioni films La notte (Night, 1961), L’eclisse (Eclipse, 1962) and Il deserto rosso (Red Desert, 1964)

Style Icon MONICA VITTI

Malenchini

Crazy shopping in Florence I love to spend my salary after a hard month of working in this pretty hidden shop Momonì, Via degli Agli, in Florence

The best walking routes On my bucket list is to walk the Via Francigena, once in my life I want to walk this historical pilgrims route.

Your unforgettable brunch For the unforgettable brunch in Sunday, the only place in Florence is the Four Season Hotel, impeccable and a very relaxed atmosphere.

Best time of the day The best time for me will be after office hours to find myself in a lovely wine bar called Golden View Open Bar and spend time with my lovely friends.

Your place for a special breakfast I personally love to have breakfast down town Florence in one of the most beautiful cafes’ overlooking the Famous townhall Caffe Rivoire is my favourite place to wake up.

For more

www.medicivilla.com

The moment you will never forget The moment that will never forget is the rare snowfall blankets in Florence, 17 December 2010

And..what about wine?

I love to drink all kinds of red wine, last year we lounged our new Chianti Colli Fiorentini Riserva and I love to drink this in Eataly Firenze. If you like our award-winning wine you can purchase this and bring it home.

Your favourite Florentine dish 7 My favourite typical Florentine dish is Bistecca Fiorentina al Sangue!

Let’s talk about art There are such an amazing museum’s in Florence, there is no shortage of art and the city is full of excellent museums, my very best is the new restored Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, an absolute must visit!

Owner of Villa Medicea di Lilliano Wine Estate

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PRATO

LEONARDO EFFECT works from the Carlo Palli collection

1997 Ori, A pranzo da Leonardo

1990 Kolar, Cosa avete portato

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he echo of widespread celebrations for the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci also reflects from Prato, which until the 30th of June 2019 proposes the exhibition “Leonardo Effect.

Works from the Carlo Palli collection” created by the Palazzo Pretorio Museum, in collaboration with the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art to which the Prato collector in 2006 donated 200 works from his collection.

The exhibition at the Palazzo Pretorio Museum - curated by the head of collections and archives of the Pecci Center Stefano Pezzato, with the coordination of the Museum curator Rita Iacopino and installation by the architect Francesco Procopio - presents more than 80 works by 50 Italian and international artists divided into a thematic route inspired by Leonardo, as a tribute to the genius of Vinci and in “continuity” with the great historical-artistic tradition of Tuscany and with the vocation to the contemporary art of the city of Prato, where various contemporary collections of excellence are based.

The symbol of the exhibition is the famous senile Leonardo’s portrait, with the cigar in his mouth, graphically reworked

by Man Ray. An introduction to the exhibition becomes the canvas of the “lyricist” Ben Vautier which reports the manifesto of conceptual art: art is a speech on art. In fact, the whole exhibition is a “speech on art” by Leonardo, his myth, his research and his activities, his masterpieces and his codes, revisited and reinterpreted, taken up or evoked by dozens of artists in Italy and in the world over three decades, from the late 1960s to 2000.

On the ground floor of the Palazzo Pretorio Museum the exhibition unfolds in contiguous sections of works dedicated to: Leonardo and Monna Lisa; words on art (and Leonardo); reflected writing; last dinner; the nature; anatomy and physiognomy; drawing and painting; tools and machines; the flight.

On the first floor of the Museum, on the other hand, other

1967 Man ray, Le père de la Joconde

“collector’s choices” are presented around the Leonardo imaginary which is the theme of the exhibition.

The whole journey, after all, is the result of choices, intentions and opportunities of Carlo Palli from Prato (former gallerist, art dealer and auctioneer, therefore a passionate collector), of his predilection for the new avant-garde New Dada and Fluxus, of his frequent visits to actionism and performances, the verbal-visual, pop and radical experiences in which genres are mixed and cultural reasons or social facts are resumed and retraced in an amused and cultured key, through captivating and original artistic forms such as those proposed in the exhibition.

ARTISTS ON SHOW Ay-O, Anna Banana, Massimo Barzagli, Mirella Bentivoglio, Alighiero Boetti, Umberto Buscioni, Giuseppe Chiari, Philip Corner, Giuseppe Desiato, Paul De Vree, Herman De Vries, Jean Dupuy, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Giovanni Fontana, Claudio Francia, John Furnival, Fabrizio Garghetti, John Giorno, Klaus Groh, Pietro Grossi, Al Hansen, Geoffrey Hendricks, Allan Kaprow, Jiri Kolar, Ketty La Rocca, Arrigo Lora-Totino, George Maciunas, Roberto Malquori, Lucia Marcucci, Eugenio Miccini, Larry Miller, Yoko Ono, Luciano Ori, Orlan, Ben Patterson, Lamberto Pignotti, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Man Ray, Gianni Ruffi, Serge III, Mario Schifano, Daniel Spoerri, Stelarc, Luigi Tola, Karel Trinkewitz, Ben Vautier, Emilio Villa, Rodolfo Vitone, Wolf Vostell Palazzo Pretorio Museum, Prato 5th of April - 30th of June 2019 10.30 AM -6.30 PM on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Closed on Tuesday.

The last ticket at 6PM! Contact: Telephone: +39 0574 1934996 - +39 0574 1837860 (weekends)

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A journey through the flavors of Prato’s food and wine

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his year, the city’s food and wine is also paying tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci, dedicating the 2019 edition of EatPrato to the brilliant artist and scientist.

Running from May 30th to June 1st, for four years now, this event has been helping people get to know and enhance the local products and recipes of restaurateurs, products that today are exalted in recipes that respect tradition and are, at the same time, innovative. And it is precisely in the city’s restaurants that, at any time of the year, one can find the pleasing flavors and tastes of the foods and wines of Prato and its province.

The Prato area boasts its Carmignano wine, the oldest DOC in the world (which became DOCG in 1990). One of the main characteristics of Carmignano is the presence of a quantity of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon, which varies according to the specification from 10 to 20%. The specification for components of Carmignano DOCG are a 50% minimum of Sangiovese, 0 to 20% Canaiolo neroda (used only by a few producers), Trebbiano Toscano, Canaiolo bianco and Malvasia del Chianti, alone or jointly, up to a maximum of 10%. In recent years, there has been a tendency to not use Trebbiano Toscano, Canaiolo bianco and Malvasia del Chianti, replacing them with grapes such as Merlot and Sirah. Carmignano DOCG lends itself to aging and requires at least two years, one in oak or chestnut barrels, before being marketed. The Carmignano area also produces Vin Ruspo (Rosato di Carmignbano DOC), Vin Santo, aged from three to five years, and Barco Reale DOC, a

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young version of Camignano.

Typical and unmissable products from the city of textiles are also the Biscotti di Prato, the Bozza pratese and the Mortadella di Prato.

The Biscotti di Prato, biscuits, made with sweet almonds

and pine nuts, should not be confused with similar Tuscan “cantucci� and to distinguish and enhance them, the bakeries that produce then have formed a Consortium (the most famous and ancient bakery is the Forno Mattei, which opened on Via Mazzoni in 1858).

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Night Fever. Designing Club Culture 1960 – Today an exhibition by the Vitra Design Museum and ADAM – Brussels Design Museum 07.06 — 06.10.2019 opening: Thursday June 6, 6pm press preview: Thursday June 6, 12pm Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato 30 readelitism.com

- CENTRO PER L’ARTE CONTEMPORANEA LUIGI PECCI Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci is delighted to present Night Fever. Designing Club Culture 1960 – Today, an exhibition produced by the Vitra Design Museum and ADAM – Brussels Design Museum that arrives at Pecci as the only Italian venue. The polyhedral and multidisciplinary project, with a specific focus on architecture and design, represents once again the attention of the Centro to the many languages of contemporaneity, and the more recent aim to investigate the non-conventional areas of knowledge to collect and deepen the testimonies of counter-culture.

Nightclubs are epicenters of contemporary culture.

During the 21st century they questioned the prefix codes of collective leisure and allowed to experiment alternatives lifestyles. In nightclubs we see the most advanced design, graphic and fashion, lights, sound and special effects manifest as one to create a modern Gesamtkunstwerk.

Night Fever. Designing Club Culture 1960 – Today considers the history of clubbing, with examples ranging from Italian clubs of the 1960s, created by the protagonists of Radical Design, to the legendary Studio 54 designed by Ian Shrager in New York (1977-80); from the Les Bains Douches by Philippe Starck in Paris (1978) to the more recent Double Club in London (2008), by the German artist Carsten Höller for Fondazione Prada.

The exhibition features films, vintage photographs, posters, clothing and artworks, as well as a series of light and sound installation, which will take visitors on a fascinating journey through a world of glamour, subcultures and in search of the night that never ends.

The exhibition follows a chronological itinerary that begins in the 1960s, exploring the emergence of nightclubs as spaces where for the first time the act of dancing is transformed in a collective ritual officiated in a fantastic world of lights, sounds and colors. Electric Circus (1967), designed by architect Charles Forberg and renowned graphic designers Chermayeff & Geismar, was a beacon of New York subculture,

which influenced many clubs in Europe thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, including Space Electronic (1969) in Florence. Designed by the collective Gruppo 9999, this was one of several nightclubs associated with Italy’s avant-garde Radical Architecture.

The exhibition also features Piper in Turin (1966), designed

by Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi and Riccardo Rosso as a multifunctional space with a modular interior suitable for concerts, happenings, experimental theatre, and dancing.

Gruppo UFO’s Bamba Issa (1969), a beach club in Forte dei Marmi, was another highly histrionic venue, its themed interior completely overhauled for every summer of its three years of existence.

Completing the chronological structure of the exhibition, a music and light installation created specially by exhibition designer Konstantin Grcic and lighting designer Matthias Singer offers visitors a silent disco bringing them within the dynamic history of club culture. Additionally, a display of record covers, ranging from Peter Saville’s designs for Factory Records to Grace Jones’s album cover Nightclubbing, underlines the significant relationships between music and design in club history since 1960 to today.

Represented artists, designers and architects (selection): François Dallegret, Gruppo 9999, Halston, Keith Haring, Arata Isozaki, Grace Jones, Ben Kelly, Bernard Khoury, Mark Leckey, Miu Miu, OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), Peter Saville, Studio65, Roger Tallon, Andy Warhol Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci Fondazione per le Arti Contemporanee in Toscana Elena Magini, associate curator (Centro Pecci) opening hours: everyday 10am-8pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-11pm, closed on Monday readelitism.com

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No, you can’t miss it San Giovanni Baptistery A masterpiece of Florentine Romanesque architecture. The interior of the dome is decorated with mosaics. The splendid bronze doors (including the Door of Paradise) were made by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Treasury of the Grand Dukes Located in the rooms on the ground floor at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, visitors can admire precious objects of all kinds, like gems, cameos, pietre dure, ivories and jewellery, all documenting the royal pomp and collecting tastes of the dynasties that succeeded each other in Tuscany.

La Specola Museum Special pride of this amazing Museum is the collection of anatomical wax models, which had its moment of maximum splendour and technical-scientific accuracy in the 1700s.

Opificio delle Pietre Dure Museum The museum hosts a collection of works dating from the 16th to 19th centuries that have remained in the Opificio’s workshops, offering visitors a centuries-long journey through art and history.

Salone dei Cinquecento Is the largest and most important room in the historic-artistic style of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The hall has a length of 54 meters, a width of 23 and a height of 18 meters. By volume it is the biggest room in Italy for the management of civil power.

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Piazza San Marco

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Giardino dei Semplici

Galleria Dell’ Accademia

S.M. Novella Central Train Station

Mercato Centrale

Piazza dell’Unità

Piazza della S.S. Annunziata

San Lorenzo

Piazza S. Maria Novella Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore

Palazzo Strozzi

Piazza Goldoni Ponte Alla Carraia

Piazza della Repubblica

Piazza San Firenze

Piazza S. Trinita Ponte S. Trinita

Mercato Nuovo

Piazza della Signoria

Piazza Santa Croce

Galleria Degli Uffizi Piazza Ponte Mentana Vecchio

Piazza Santo Spirito

Arn o

Piazza Dei Pitti Palazzo Pitti

Piazza De’ Mozzi

Ponte Alle Grazie

ei

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Giardino Giardinodella della Gherardesca Gherardesca

a

Sinagoga

Piazza Piazza Dei Ciompi Dei Ciompi

Piazza Piazza S. Ambrogio Ambrogio

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AArrnno Torre Torre G. G.Poggi Poggi

Get lost in Florence · Santa Croce Impossible not to stop to admire this gorgeous Church, that gives its name to the neighborhood. Walking the narrow streets and the small squares in the area you will find old workshops and small but precious museums like the Museo Horne and the Museo di Storia della Scienza. The first one displays a significant collection of paintings and sculptures collected by the art critic Horne itself, who lived there. The second is kind of a shrine to Galileo Galilei and hosts his telescopes and the lenses he used to discover the largest moons of Jupiter. Among the many peculiarities of this area, Michelangelo Buonarroti lived for a short period of his life right in Via Ghibellina. Time for the best ice cream in the world now, Vivoli! · Santo Spirito and San Frediano Workshops, goldsmiths, restorers and antiques shops make this two adjacent districts the area of the city in which still lives the old Florentine craftsmanship tradition. A visit to Church of Piazza Santo Spirito, Piazza del Cestello and to the Church of San Frediano in Cestello is in order. Walking through typical cobblestone small alleys named like the old jobs once exerted in the streets themselves (via dei Tessitori, via dei Cardatori, etc…) you can reach Piazza del Carmine. Don’t let the unfinished front side mislead you!

Inside the Church one of the greatest Renaissance masterpieces, the Cappella Brancacci, especially known for the astonishing fresco “Expulsion from the garden of Eden” painted by Masaccio. · Duomo and San Lorenzo San Lorenzo was one of the districts where the Medici family lived and where you can discover unbelievable beauties, strolling around the lanes maze. After the Duomo named Santa Maria del Fiore, the main city Cathedral, you can find the Cappelle Medicee, with their gorgeous marble and stone walls cladding and the first Medici palace, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, at number one in via Larga (now via Cavour). If you are hungry, the best for a quick meal is the Mercato Centrale, that offers a wide food and drinks choice in a fine steel, glass and cast-iron Art Nouveau building.

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Piazzale Michelangelo Michelangelo Piazzale

· Sant’Ambrogio Lively, dynamic and always hot! The Sant’Ambrogio area usually surprises first time visitors. The main square, with the Sant’ambrogio Church, is one of the oldest in town and it is one of the locals favorite night-life places because of the plenty of clubs, bars, bistros and restaurants all around. A must-see is the Sant’Ambrogio covered Market where you can taste some of the traditional Tuscan products like “la Pattona”. This district is also home to the Synagogue and the Jewish Museum.

· San Niccolò It is not a district, not even a block, it is Via San Niccolò! In the Diladdarno is one of the oldest streets, and takes its name from San Nicola di Mira to whom the Church of San Niccolò Oltrarno is dedicated. The area is rich of notable historical buildings like the Palazzo del Rosso from the 17th century, the Palazzo Demidoff-Amici and the Palazzo GianniLucchesi-Vegni that shows on its facade a plaque to the memory of the Russian director Andrej Tarkovskij and his Florentine days. At number 99 Palazzo Stiozzi-Ridolfi, attributed to Baccio D’Agnolo, and at 107 the decorated front side of Palazzo Nasi-Quartesi with paintings from the 15th century.

· San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo The San Miniato al Monte Abbey is one of the most beautiful Romanesque Churches of Florence and is sacred to San Miniato, one of the first Florentine martyrs. Once you exit the Church, there you see it! The magnificence and the heart of Florence... Forte Belvedere, Santa Croce, the Arno, the Bridges...with the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Bargello and the Badia Fiorentina bell tower standing out among the breathtaking panorama and, north-side, the smooth hills of Fiesole and Settignano. Piazzale Michelangelo can be reached from Viale Michelangelo, a lovely tree-lined avenue that climbs the hillside, or from the old stoop of the Rampe di San Niccolò.

info@readelitism.com www.readelitism.com Follow us Instagram: @elitismflorence Facebook: @elitismflorence readelitism.com

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Hear ye, hear ye!

Roberto Bolle Piazza S.Annunziata July 13

Caetano Veloso / Piazza S. Annunziata / July 19

J T ∙ U

N

G U S

E ∙ J

U

U

LY ∙ A

“The Legend of Ennio Morricone” / Teatro Romano di Fiesole / June 28

Steve Hackett Piazza S.Annunziata / July 18

Lodovico Einaudi Teatro Romano di Fiesole / July 23

Loreena McKenneth Piazza S.Annunziata / July 20

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It rains gold and everything glitters.

“Santo Spirito is a bit like a city within the city. Everyone smiles and makes you part of an extended family “.

FROM FLORENCE with love

“Florence is like an old lover who knows everything about you and despite everything, still loves you”.

By Cristina Tedde

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Our Selection

03 / TWINSET 01 / PATRIZIA PEPE

02 / PRADA

05 / FURLA 04 / PATRIZIA PEPE

01/ PATRIZIA PEPE BAG | € 83.00 |

04/ ABITO PATRIZIA PEPE | € 148.00 |

02/ OUTLY, SUN GLASSES PRADA | € 149 |

05/ FURLA BEG | € 169.00 |

03/ TWINSET SABOT | € 166.00 |

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AREZZO What a beautiful place!

O

ne of the world’s most beautiful and enigmatic women hints at a smile. Perhaps she is glad to be in Arezzo. She is the Mona Lisa, and behind her you can make out the Buriano Bridge, surrounded by greenery. In Romanesque style, it crosses the Arno River carrying centuries of history, art and old fables.

We like to think that Leonardo da Vinci, together with his Mona Lisa, might have taken part in some outdoor pursuit right here, in Arezzo, an arts town where visitors can enjoy myriad open-air activities.

Starting from the Buriano Bridge itself, which lies in a nature reserve and stunning park named after the Penna reservoir and ideal for walking and spotting protected species.

But in Arezzo, an outing begins as soon as you pass through the old town walls, overseen by the Quartieri, the four districts that compete in the renowned Giostra del Saracino (the Saracen Joust).

Outdoor activities, whether on the maps or on the trails, go hand in hand with stunning natural scenery just a few kilometres from the town centre, reachable by both footpaths and cycle paths.

Whether downhill mountain biking along the Casentino forest trails, or birdwatching on the cycle paths and footpaths of the Canale Maestro della Chiana, you can explore nature in a land that human ingenuity has shaped into a work of art.

Religious walks following in the footsteps of Saint Francis are where anyone can experience deep spirituality.

There is so much to do here, with the added advantage that you are never very far from Arezzo’s historic town centre. So many wonderful small villages are accessible by train or car, incredible places with plenty for visitors to enjoy. Towns to explore at your leisure, losing yourself in the natural rhythm of life. And from

where you can return to the town to experience to the full its culture, history, wine and food.

In Arezzo, the concept of “well-being” becomes the experience of “living well”: a land where the culture, spirituality, wine, food and sport mean there is something for everyone. A holiday that will be truly unique.

FONDAZIONE AREZZO INTOUR Fondazione per lo sviluppo del Turismo della provincia di Arezzo www.arezzointour.it fb: Arezzo Intour

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Bandiera geranio 1973

UMBERTO BUSCIONI The painter of mistery

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- The painter of mistery - Umberto Buscioni -

This is so contemporary

by Serena Becagli

U

mberto Buscioni (Pistoia, July 13, 1931 - Pistoia, May 6, 2019) began painting in the late 1960s. He worked in the late informal style but soon became famous for what is known as one of the most interesting periods in Italian Pop Art, what critics called the Pistoia School, together with Roberto Barni, Gianni Ruffi, and for a short time Adolfo Natalini, who then left painting to work in architecture.

I met Umberto Buscioni in 2000, when I decided to write my thesis on him. I was left with a permanent and deep sense of connection to Buscioni, as an artist and a man. It is hard to find words now that Umberto is no longer with us, but artists are immortal and continue to live in their works and in everything they have left us. He was a painter of skies, an artist on a constant quest for the infinite and beyond, throughout his entire artistic career.

Motorcycles, jackets, flags, shirts, chairs, shoes, ties in the wind: these everyday objects were transported into an atmosphere of suspension, magic, where a mental light was the protagonist. It was curious to learn that despite all the motorcycles that Buscioni painted, he never owned one himself and never knew how to ride one. It was an object dreamt of while leafing through an advertising brochure.

And among all those objects is a certain predilection for those made of cloth, for an attention to the casing, to the surface of things. “Painting is all conceptual. In painting it is the skin that counts more than meaning. It is the painting that elevates one towards spirituality.”

In Buscioni’s work, in fact, painting was always the undisputed protagonist, even in the years when the artist’s international research was moving towards conceptual and behavioral horizons.

“Painting (the rare one) does not follow fashions, is in the present and goes beyond everything”.

Over the years, Buscioni became increasingly interested in biblical and sacred themes. Almost mystical visions of falling saints and angels appeared, their fabrics swelling during flights and ascents, even catching fire. In the sky there appeared darkness and atmospheres that were far from the crystalline light of the early works. Even when some of the private and everyday objects reappeared, they were recalled with a more intimate and reflective eye and tones. All accompanied, always, by the undisputed love and reference to the great painters of the past, Pontormo and Salviati, in particular.

His solo exhibition at Palazzo Fabroni in Pistoia ended just a few months ago, an exhibition that retraced his work and, at least in part, paid tribute to this great, shy, sometimes melancholy and introverted, albeit gentle, artist.

It was an opportunity to see past works once again, but also the paintings produced in recent years and never exhibited, and to be surprised by some works seen only in catalogues until now.

It was nice to see Buscioni’s amazement at seeing, all together, so many works, even works that he hadn’t seen for a long time, and I always wonder what an artist feels when separated from his work and then sees it again. It was also astonishing to find so many friends, and feeling so much admiration and affection for that painter and those canvases that seem to have stopped time forever.

“There are certain paintings that I don’t seem to have painted, as if the painting were fleeing from me.

That is when painting becomes like going beyond oneself. For me, painting means capturing the secret soul of things.”

Continue to grasp, Umberto, the secret and the mystery. Ascend to your sometimes clear and sometimes dark skies, filter that divine light the way your windows did and still continue to do, like the magnificent ones in the Church of San Paolo in Pistoia where we gave you a last goodbye and your stained glass windows acted as the mediator between the Earth and the divine mystery.

Umberto’s stories always comfort me, about when he was starting out and needed very little to be happy. The joy of selling the first paintings, the first exhibitions and then all going to a trattoria together. And then those wonderful friendships he always talked about, those curious anecdotes you never tire of hearing: the Bonelle of the past, Fausto Coppi in Pistoia, the “granocchi” eaters and Buscioni in the Louvre, stories that you wanted to record. Every now and then, we happened to meet again, eat together and meet some of those friends from the past, with whom the bond was always deep and strong and that made you understand how easy it was to fall in love with Umberto and his work and how providential fate was for having brought me to knock on the door on Via Simoncini that day, at Stazione Masotti in Serravalle Pistoiese; that house that you could also recognize from afar because you could see the windows and above all find his ties in the wind at the gate.

La caduta di Saulo, Chiesa di San Paolo, Pistoia

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ONLY IN FLORENCE

NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD

T

he “Calcio Storico Fiorentino” is the Historic Florentine Soccer Tournament which takes place every year in June. There are two semi finals played early in June and then the final which is always held on June 24th, Florence’s patron day, Saint John the Baptist.

A day which is a celebration for the City, starting with a medieval pageant, with marching bands and costumed people, including all the Calcio Storico players from each of the four City’s teams, all walking together through the city’s streets to arrive in Piazza Santa Croce, the most beautiful square in Florence, and also the historical home to this game, and ending then at night with spectacular fireworks.

Santa Croce turns into an arena covered with sand, to recreate the setting of the old times and to host the matches.

Florentine soccer has ancient origins. In the second half of the 5th century, soccer had become so popular among young Florentines that they often practiced it all over the city. It is also reported that in January of 1490, the Arno river was completely frozen, and somebody thought to mark off a field and so games were played there till it was possible doing it.

The “Calcio Storico Fiorentino” is still played today in historical costumes.

The players play for glory, there is no prize and there are no medals.

But it is a competition strongly felt in town, and the teams fight really hard to win and be crowned the champions.

In the ancient times, the winning team was given a butchered calf, now they only get a free dinner at a restaurant, but the flag of the winning district is waving for a year in front of the Palagio di Parte Guelfa.

Four teams of 27 players each take part in the Florentine Calcio Storico, each one representing a different district of the city, each one a distinctive colour of the neighborhood : Santa Croce (blue), San Giovanni (green), Santo Spirito (white), and Santa Maria Novella (red).

We can say that this game is a kind of football, a mix and combination of soccer and rugby, definitely quite a violent sport, sometimes brutal, infact often players get injuried, but substitutions are not allowed.

Players can use both hands and feet. There is a long list of rules, updated from the original version written by a Renaissance Count, to try to minimize injuries. There have been problems in the past, last episode was in 2007 when the match was banned for a year after a fight so violent that almost all of players were taken to court. Since then rules have become much more severe and strict.

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The game is played right in the middle of Piazza Santa Croce, a rectangular field is outlined on the sandy ground, and it is divided into two matching squares, with goal nets at both ends. The rule of the game is to get the ball into the opponent’s field, by any means.

The ball is a large ball stuffed with rags or leather and the game is a continuous body to body, head to head combat for the possession of the ball.

If now you are curious to watch a game, and see what’s all about, you only have to first pick the colour of the team you want to support and then go and enjoy the event…

Cinzia Azzerboni

Calcio storico Fiorentino

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FALAFEL WITH YOGHURT SAUCE

SERVES

4

METHOD

COOKING PAN

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE 250 g of Coop chickpeas 1 Coop Vivi Verde onion 2 cloves of Coop Vivi Verde crushed garlic 50 g of fresh parsley Coop bread crumbs 1 t. cumin Coop mixed salad salt and pepper For the sauce: 1 clove of Coop Vivi Verde garlic 130 g of Coop Vivi Verde plain yoghurt 60 ml of water 70 g of tahini sauce 1 tbsp. lemon juice 2 tbsp. Coop extra virgin olive oil Parsley salt and pepper

MINUTES

60

DIFFICULTY

5/10

1. Put the chickpeas in cold water for about 12 hours, and change the water twice. Drain and rinse them, then dry them well: to ensure the mixture has the right consistency, they must be perfectly dry (you can dry them for 10 minutes in a convection oven at 100°C).

2. Prepare the sauce by mixing the yogurt with the chopped and crushed garlic. Add the tahini sauce, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

3. Use a blender to mince the chickpeas, onion, garlic and parsley, then add the mixture to a bowl with the cumin, salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs only if the mixture is too wet. Let it rest for an hour in the refrigerator.

4. Form the mixture into falafel balls by pressing it well between your hands, then covering them in the breadcrumbs. Fry them in hot oil placing them gently. Cook until golden brown and drain the falafel balls on a sheet of absorbent paper.

Serve the falafel balls with salad, yoghurt sauce and chopped parsley.

Coop Vivi Verde whole yoghurt has the taste of simplicity, because it is made with ingredients like hay milk and live active cultures. Organic hay milk comes from cows fed almost exclusively with fresh grass, wild flowers and naturally dried hay. With no added flavourings, it is ideal for breakfast or a break during the day.

Organic yoghurt Live active cultures Made with hay milk

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Agenda: For information and to buy tickets: Box Office

www.boxofficetoscana.it - info@boxofficetoscana.it

JUNE

JULY / AUGUST

Imagine Dragons Monday 02 Firenze - Ippodromo del Visarno

The Beatles Revolution. The Musical Thursday 4 Firenze - Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Tool Thursday 13 Firenze - Ippodromo del Visarno

Yann Tiersen Wednesday 10 Prato - Anfiteatro Centro Pecci

Ed Sheeran Friday 14 Firenze - Ippodromo del Visarno

Franz Ferdinand Thursday 11 Firenze - Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Eddie Vedder Saturday 15 Firenze - Ippodromo del Visarno

Roberto Bolle Saturday 13 Firenze - Piazza Santissima Annunziata

The Cure Sunday 16 Firenze - Ippodromo del Visarno

Loreena McKennit Saturday 20 Firenze - Piazza Santissima Annunziata

Sergei Polunin in Sacrè Sunday 23 + Monday 24 Firenze - Chiostro Grande di Santa Maria Novella

Calexico and Iron & Wine Thursday 25 Firenze - Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Ligabue Tuesday 25 Firenze - Stadio Artemio Franchi

Jova Beach Party Sunday 30 + Monday 31 (August) Viareggio - Spiaggia del Muraglione

Woody allen & the eddy davis new orleans jazz band Sunday 30 Firenze - Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Free art trail in the village of Panzano in Chianti Tuscany, Italy @panzanoarteitaly www.panzanoarte.com

Photo credits Matteo Vistocco

NEARBY Siena

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Piazza del Campo It is the heart of Siena, the fulcrum of its historic center, declaredUNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most beautiful squares in the world. Piazza del Campo, the “shell” divided into nine sections as a testament to the Nove Signori (Nine Lords) that governed the city at the end of the 13th century, impresses visitors with its elegance and truly unique shape.

Siena Cathedral The Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta, Siena Cathedral, is one of the most important and magnificent Romanesque-Gothic churches in Italy.

Siena was at the height of its powers and wanted an even larger Cathedral, but this dream dissipated as a result of the 1348 plague: traces of this ambitious project are still visible in the remnants of its columns and the large incomplete Facciatone (façade).

Mangia Tower Dominating piazza del Campo, in the heart of Siena, the Mangia Tower stands tall, one of the most famous in Tuscany and, with its 87 metres in height (102 if you include the lightening rod), the third tallest historic tower in Italy.It’s the civic tower for the Palazzo Pubblico, the city’s town hall, and its height was meant to symbolize the free communes and the liberation from feudal power.

More on www.visittuscany.com

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WE ARE A SUSTAINABLE CITY, WE TAKE CARE OF: INCREASE TAP WATER CONSUMPTION

Play with Waste YouApp! can win Florence Urban Water Urban flask andWater flas Playthe with the App! Waste Youthecan win the Florence pick it up at the tourist infopoints. Search with the APP the fountains,where you can fill them up. You can also get the Urban Waste Florence map at t you can fill them up. You can also get the Urban Waste Florence map at the tourist infopoints.

Project realized by Regione Toscana

nfo points. Search withProject the APP the fountains,where realized by Regione Toscana in collaboration with Publiacqua Spa.

sk and pick it up at the tourist info points. Search with the APP the fountains,where qua Spa. the tourist infopoints

a in collaboration with Publiacqua Spa.