March 2018 Florence News by FN

Florence News MARCH 2018, N 020 www.florencenews.it

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Lorenzo Picchi GR APHIC & L AYOUT DESIGN: Narine Nalbandyan, Ekaterina Chebotareva CONTRIBUTORS: Christine De Melo, Lee Foust, Marco Bracci, Sarah Litchman, Serena Rutledge, Calogero Buscemi, Migle Vaisnoraite, Arcelita Martin, Caroline Rocha, Matthew Goydos, Valencia Wolf, Mercedes Carrara, Lee Foust, Cheyenne Curley, Marco Bracci, Cassidy Keola, Tayler Bradford. REGISTERED AT THE TRIBUNAL OF FLORENCE N. 6008, ON 9/12/2015. PUBLISHER: IAF PRINT: Rotostampa SRL, Florence

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Florentine Spring

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MARCH

CALOGERO BUSCEMI

n Florence, the recurrence of Michelangelo’s birthday and the Feast of the Annunciation announce the arrival of the Spring. The latter actually marked, in Florentine calendar and for a long time, the beginning of the new year. While the Gregorian calendar was used in other Italian states since 1582, in Tuscany it was introduced only in 1749 through a decree signed by the Grand Duke Francesco II. Celebrations on March 25 were linked to the worship of the Virgin Mary and included a pilgrimage to the church of Santissima Annunziata to venerate a 13th-century fresco representing the Annunciation. In Florentine tradition, this fresco was said to have been completed by miraculous intervention: lacking the inspiration to complete its only missing part which was the face of the Virgin, one day the artist who had been commissioned the work fell asleep, and when woke up the painting was done: perfectly and… miraculously. According to legend, it was the angels who finished it. To honor this legend, Florentines today devote a procession to the church and in recent years the city council has revived this tradition promoting free concerts as well as historical re-enactments of the procession on the day. However, the importance of March

in Florence stands primarily for the recurrence of the birth of one of the city most loved artists: Michelangelo. He was born Michelangelo Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on March 6, 1475 in a small town near Arezzo called Caprese, which at that time was part of the Florentine Republic. The best way to remember him here is perhaps recalling Vasari’s judgement on him: “Supreme not just in one art, but in three.” Michelangelo, in fact, was not just a painter, but also a sculptor, architect, and even a poet ‘labelled’ by his contemporaries as “the divine.” It is perhaps unnecessary to remind one what Michelangelo is famous for. It should be said however that he identified as a Florentine despite having spent most of his life in Rome, where he frescoed the Sistine Chapel and contributed to the construction of the St. Peter Cupola. Last month, a tribute to Michelangelo was unveiled: a restored bust representing him made by Daniele da Volterra around 1564, right after Michelangelo’s death. The bust it is now on display at the Accademia Gallery. “The bust of Michelangelo, located right at the entrance to the Tribuna, ideally welcomes the people who come here to admire his masterpieces from all over the world,” said Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Accademia. Ideally, we would add, it welcomes March too.

2018 Italy’s Year of Food ARCELIA MARTIN

taly’s Cultural and Agricultural Ministries launched a campaign in Rome at the beginning of the year announcing 2018 as Italy’s Year of Food. The campaign intends to promote food culture as an essential element of the Italian experience and centers around the cultural, social and aesthetic value of Italian food. Florence and Tuscany are ready to do their part. Year of Food includes several initiatives to promote local Italian food and wine productions as travel destinations with a special focus on food safety, fighting food waste, and educating tourists about the historic rural landscapes as well as the deep connection between food, landscape, identity and culture. The Cultural and Agricultural Ministry will follow out their mission by initiating a new project revolving food districts, which involves farmers, fishermen, chefs and breeders. Many of the events will be dedicated to what UNESCO recognized as World Heritage Products: the Mediterranean diet, Neapolitan pizza making, Parma—Italy’s creative city of gastronomy, the landscapes of the Langhe Roero and Monferrato and so on. The heritage of food tourism, coined as gastronomic heritage, will offer tourists

an intimate introduction to Italy’s cultures and traditions with the purpose to help them recognize local goods such as Prosecco and pasta amatriciana as UNESCO candidates. The demand for such goods are evident in the growing demands from abroad. “It’s not only a matter of stressing the economic success of this sector - which in 2017 reached record exports worth €40 billion - but also of stressing the deep connection between food, land and cultural identity,” Italian Minister of Food and Forestry Policies Maurizio Martina said in a press release. This campaign combines both art and food through social media, which can be found on Instagram using the hashtag, #museitaliani and #annodelciboitaliano. The relationship in Italy between food and art will be showcased as the centerpiece of Italian culture through the national tourism agency ENIT and the network of Italian embassies worldwide. “We have a unique heritage worldwide which, thanks to the year dedicated to food, we will be able to promote even more,” Martina said. Martina also said that 2018 Year of Food will be dedicated to the Gualtiero Marchesi, Italian chef, gastronomist and restaurateur who passed away last December.” “[Marchesi] embodied all of these values, promoting them at an international level,” Martina said.

lagnaK zaN yb ngiseD

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Uffizi Revolution

Eight New Rooms for Caravaggio and 17th Century Painters The Uffizi opened eight new rooms dedicated to Caravaggio and the 17th century last month. The opening was on Feb. 19 and a long queue, quite unusual off the tourist season, could be spotted outside the museum. While attending the inauguration ceremony, Uffizi director Eike Schmidt illustrated his strategy for the enhancement and care of the museum collections based on linking past and future of the gallery halls. “We intend to honor Maria Luisa de’ Medici, who bounded forever the collections of the Medici to the city of Florence on the special occasion of the 275th anniversary of her death,” Schmidt said. The inauguration was open to anyone.

“I was eager to invite the city authorities, as well as all Florentines and visitors who wanted to attend the opening ceremony for the inauguration of the new rooms devoted to Caravaggio and the 17th century painting, so that we could admire together these masterpieces,” Schimdt said. Three New Rooms and an Auditorium for Vasari Besides the new rooms for Caravaggio and the 17th century painters, the museum inaugurated a new auditorium and three new rooms tributing Vasari. Originally hosting the hearings and offices of Florentine magistrates and located on the museum’s west wing, these rooms are the only ones still perfectly preserving Vasari’s original, repetitive modular design comprising a large

room giving onto the portico with two smaller rooms behind. The new auditorium includes audio-visual, projector and retractable screens systems. “Florence is acquiring a new area for the enhancement of culture, education and the dissemination of knowledge: a space designed to host conferences, scientific seminars, public debates and cultural events in the broadest sense of the term,” said Schmidt. “The restoration on the ground floor of the so-called ‘Short Uffizi’ has allowed us, for the very first time, to make a number of major archaeological inspections which further increased our never-ending knowledge of the museum,” said Andrea Pessina, Director of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Florence, Prato and Pistoia. The architectural and technological solutions adopted were devised for the special characteristics of the rooms and to respect the stratified layers and alterations made to Vasari’s fabric over four and a half centuries. These solutions made it possible to put on display the doors once

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NEWS adorning the residences of Florentine magistrates which were moved into the Uffizi in the second half of the 16th century. Masterpieces of Florentine carpentry, the carvings of the doors range from the stern simplicity of the Mercanti di Calimala Door - studded and divided into 24 rectangular panels devoid of coast-of-arms, crests or any other devices - to the complexity of the Porta delle Suppliche, whose six elegant panels were carved to a design made by Bernardo Buontalenti. Amongst the new rooms on display is that of the Sleeping Ariadne, showing how important classical statues were in when the the Medici began collecting art. In the centre of the room, below the monumental 16th century Medici Coat-of-Arms, is the marble statue of the Sleeping Ariadne, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic sculpture dating back to the third century BC. On the wall, visitors can admire the statue’s original head, later replaced by a copy carved by Francesco Carradori after the Ariadne came to Florence in 1787. The Room of the Uffizi Foundation hosts eight late 16th century chairs originally in the Pitti Palace that reproduce medals of the foundation of the gallery with the deeds of Cosimo I in marble bas-relief. A room devoted to the Uffizi Fabric and displays the models made for the exhibition on Vasari held in the museum in 2011. One last room is dedicated to Arata Isozaki, the Japanese architect who won the competition to project a new exit for the museum.

Rare Painting The gallery also acquired a rare 17th century painting by John Paul Schor. The painting, called The Parade of Prince Giovan Battista’s Carnival Float for the Masquerade of the Thursday Before Lent in 1664, relives the splendor of the Baroque era. It was part of the collection of self-portraits of Leopoldo de’ Medici and was awarded as the “finest painting in the show” at the last Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato held in Florence at Palazzo Corsini. Described as “spectacular and rare” by Schmidt, the Parade depicts about one hundred figures in gold costumes parading around a gilded float near which is a carriage hosting Roman nobles. Born in Innsbruck, Austria, Schor symbolized the truly European dimension of the Italian art scene in the Baroque era. He achieved international renown in Rome where he lived from 1640 until his death in 1679. The painting now hangs at the start of the tour of Palazzo Pitti’s Museum of Carriages.

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Pope Coming

Exhibit Tributes Italian Fashion A

n exhibit telling the story of one of the best periods in the history of Italian fashion - the years between 1971 and 2001 - runs until May 5 at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. The exhibition, called Italiana: Italy Seen Through Fashion 19712001, is a retrospective, through the language of fashion, of a period begun with the women’s liberation movement. It was in this years that some of the most renowned Italian stylists became famous all over the world and Milan replaced Florence as the capital of Italian fashion, inaugurating a phase in which fashion

became a global phenomenon. Italy Seen Through Fashion 19712001 showcases dresses, photographies and accessories that have made this history through a thematic rather than chronological order. On display are also works of contemporary artists such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, Maurizio Cattelan and Vanessa Beecroft. The choice of ending the show with the year 2001 was not random. “The year 2001 makes us think of the Twin Towers, but also of change, because fashion is a global phenomenon and brands become the property of large foreign luxu-

ry companies: however, fashion is adapting to these changes,” said curator of the exhibit Stefano Tonchi. “We Italians created the readyto-wear style, and in so doing we produced fashion for everyone bringing together creativity, craftsmanship and industry in a one-of-a-kind system worldwide,” said Carlo Capasa, president of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. Items on showcase were made by designers such as Armani, Gucci, Tom Ford, Gianni Versace, Max Mara, Roberto Cavalli, Krizia, and Ferrè.

fter his visit to Florence and Prato in November 2015, Pope Francis returns to Tuscany for a day-visit this upcoming May. First the Pope will visit Nomadelfia, a village in the southern province of Grosseto, and then Loppiano, a small town near Figline Valdarno, about half-an-hour drive from Florence. Rodolfo Cetoloni, bishop of Grosseto, and Francesco Materazzo, former president of the community, will welcome Francis in Nomadelfia, where the Pope will meet the presbyterian community founded by Don Zeno Saltini; in Loppiano, the bishop of Fiesole Mario Meini will introduce the Pope to the Focolare Movement, an international organization promoting the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood started in Loppiano in 1964. “The

announcement gave us the deepest joy: it is a huge honor for the Focolari Movement to have the Pope visiting one of our villages; but most importantly, this visit will push us to practice the love and unity rooted in the gospel,” said Maria Voci, President of the Focolari Movement. “Now that the news of the visit is spreading amongst members of the movement, our joy and commitment will be shared with the rest of the world.” In his 2015 visit, the Pope hold mass at the Florence stadium. He also returned to Tuscany in June 2017 to visit the community of Don Milan, the Florentine priest who started a school in the Mugello town of Barbiana (the place Francis visited last year) according to his mission of educating the lower classes.

Italy Guest of Honor at 2023 Buchmesse

ollowing an agreement signed last month by the Director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Juergen Boos, and Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, Italy will be the 2023 Frankfurter Book Festival’s Guest of Honor. The agreement, signed in Rome, brought new optimism amongst Italian publishers to help Italy recover from being one of the countries

in Europe where people read less. New bookstores concepts are also part of this ‘catch-new-readers’ strategy. “After a drastic change undertaken in recent years by the Italian book market - including the consolidation of publishing houses, new bookshop concepts and the new ‘Time for Books’ fair in Milan - now you can feel positive energy everywhere,” Boos said.

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Homes for Sale ... for €1 T

o solve the problem of the abandonment of Italian villages, some Italian towns have decided to place on the market houses in shambles for 1 euro. The first council to announce the decision was Salemi, a small town in the Sicilian province of Trapani hit by an earthquake in 1968. In 2008, its mayor Vittorio Sgarbi, an influent Italian personality, attempted the redevelopment of his city by selling the vacant buildings of the historic center to privates in exchange for their restructuring. Although a failure, the idea was used by other mayors around the country. One of them was Nicola Verruzzi, mayor of the small Tuscan town of Montieri. “There is a much deeper theme... So close to everything, but so far: over the years they greeted young people, who have not returned,” Verruzzi said. Reachable from the coast on a single, almost deserted road which from Follonica plunges into the belly of Tuscany, Montieri is still making a call for help to restore the city. Wood continues to be a resource for the land and life of the village. Despite no longer used as fuel for mining, for centuries was the main economic activity of the municipality. In 1994, the last pyrite

mine of Boccheggiano, a village in the nearby, closed down, bringing down the population of the village from almost 6,000 to just over 1200. Abandoned and in shambles, the houses of the old miners are still on sale for $1, as far as the buyer commits himself to restructure his new property. “No one has taken care of the city over the years and she has felt free to become a ruin in the center of the country, in front of the wellkept flower pots and the polished wooden shutters,” said Verruzzi. The majority of owners who have purchased the abandoned homes are not residents of the area but are foreigners, which has allowed them to hand over their rights of ownership. Another village where it is possible to do good business is Ollolai, in the mountain region of Barbagia on the island of Sardinia. “We boast prehistoric origins,” says Efisio Arbau, mayor of the town. “My crusade is to rescue our unique traditions from falling into oblivion.” Ollolai’s population has shrunk from 2,250 to 1,300 within the past half century, leaving its residents fearful of living soon in a ghost town. Despite their conditions, some houses have been sold. The buyers? Even in this case non-Italian.

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Forgotten Culture

Eurostar Launches London-Amsterdam Train E

urostar will offer a direct train from London to Amsterdam beginning April 4. The ride will be twice a day and four hours long. Passengers will have to commute in Brussels. The train runs in the morning on Saturdays, and in the evening on Sundays (on weekdays, departure from London at 8:31 a.m. and 5:31 p.m). The high-speed train runs only on Tuesdays. Tickets went on sale on Feb. 20 and

price starts from £35 one way and varies according to the Channel Tunnel train operator. London to Amsterdam is one of the busiest and more competitive routes in all of Europe. “The launch of the London to Amsterdam service marks a historic milestone in the expansion of international high-speed rail travel, revolutionising the connection between these important destinations,” a Eurostar spokesperson said.

Europe Votes to End VisaFree Travel for Americans T

he European Parliament voted to end visa-free travel for Americans within the EU last December. The vote, which urged the revocation of the scheme within two months, means that Americans will have to apply for extra documents for 12 months after the European Commission implements a “delegated act” to bring the change into effect. This comes after the US failed to agree to visa-free travel for citizens of five EU countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Ro-

mania. It was three years ago that the Commission discovered that the US was not meeting its obligations under the reciprocity agreement but has not yet taken any legal action. The change of policy is expected to extend the time necessary for Americans to plan their travels to Europe and to decrease the frequency of spontaneous and short term business travel. Currently, a long stay visa costs $122 not including the fees of processing and handling that may follow the application process.

SARAH LITCHMAN

ccording to a research committed by the statistical office of the European Union Eurostat last month, Italy earns the spot of 19 out of 28 countries for the percentage of people engaged in the cultural sector: quite a paradox for country that has the greatest cultural heritage in the world. During the period analysed, which covered the years between 2011 and 2016, the number of workers in the cultural sector has declined from 3.5% to 3.4%, demonstrating how the negative trend continues. The data presented were taken from the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) covering the population aged 15 and over. The analysis provides an overview of cultural employment comparing it to total employment over time and other variables used in the EU-LFS such as age, gender and educational attainment. The report considered as ‘cultural works’ professions such as writers, architects, musicians, journalists, actors, dancers, librarians, handicraft workers or graphic designers. Italy recedes to the third position if analyzed by the segment of younger workers (15-29 year-old), and is one of the four EU countries whose share of graduates engaged in the sector does not exceed 50%.

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HISTORY

Exhibiting Models of Leonardo’s Designs

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The Fables of Leonardo da Vinci The Fables of Leonardo da Vinci is a small collection of fables created from notations for fables and half-finished fable ideas found in the back of Leonardo’s famous notebooks. The collection teaches how little stories can drive home insightful human ironies, while displaying a bit of the literary thought-processes of the great genius. The book is also a delightful way to introduce children to Da Vinci and the Renaissance. One-of-a-kind, this book is an attempt to reveal something of da Vinci’s inner moral core, celebrating such virtues as humility, self-sacrifice and egalitarianism; and those deploring pretension, pomposity and dogmatism. The writing and the illustrations have been done in a style fitting the period in which Leonardo lived. Published March, 2011 by Roseheart Publishing, USA.

The Privet Bush and the Blackbird

he exhibit presents working models of Leonardo’s designs that the Niccolai family has been reconstructing since 1995, when Carlo Niccolai dedicated himself to working full-time with the desire to realise Leonardo’s legacy. His passion founded the Niccolai Collection, the largest private collection of Leonardo models in the world, comprised of more than 300 working models created by himself and his sons, together with a team of artisans, engineers, historians and architects. The models have been displayed at more than 100 international exhibitions throughout Europe and as far afield as Australia, New Zea-

land, China, the US, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Finland. The exhibit also displays copies of six codices that reveal the inner workings of this great man’s mind. The Niccolai family has been widely praised for their ongoing devotion in realising the vast inheritance that Leonardo left to science.

Le Macchine di Leonardo da Vinci Via Cavour 21 www.macchinedileonardo.com

The thick privet bush sat in the sun letting its new berries ripen with sweet juices. Suddenly it felt its branches and its tender fruit pricked by the sharp claws and beak of a blackbird. It complained to the blackbird to stop plucking off its fruit. But the blackbird ignored the bush and kept eating its delicious fruit, ripping at it with sharp, powerful claws. The bush spoke up again, this time angry and hurt: “That’s my fruit. I made it. And I never said you could have it.” To this the blackbird replied sourly: “Silence, rude bramble! Don’t you know Nature made you to produce these fruits for my hun-

ger? Not only that,” the blackbird laughed, “but next winter you will serve as fuel for the fire.” The bush listened patiently and tears trickled like dew from its tough lean branches. It watched the blackbird stuff its gullet with berries until it was full, and then fly arrogantly into the warm summer sun. A few days passed and the blackbird returned to the privet bush to feed on the last of the privet’s berries. Not far off, some humans were collecting birds for their zoo. When they saw the blackbird, healthy and fat, and distracted by the feast of berries, they wanted it. So while

the blackbird was lost in satisfying his hunger, the humans flopped a net over it. Within an hour, some boughs were cut from the very same privet the blackbird was feeding on. The boughs were then made into the rods or bars of a cage, and the blackbird was imprisoned. When the blackbird chattered and screeched that it wanted its freedom, the privet spoke up: “Remember me, blackbird, I am not yet consumed by the fire as you said. Instead, I will see you in prison for the rest of your life.” Moral: Taking without gratitude is a crime.

Author: Ed Tasca is an award-winning humor writer and novelist, and a student of da Vinci’s extraordinary life. This little book of fables is a homage to that writing genre, offering readers of every age a taste of the simplicity and clarity of one of man’s oldest and most revered forms of fiction writing. Author’s email: edtasca@gmail.com

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Palazzo Strozzi Presents Dawn of a Nation TAYLER BRADFORD

alazzo Strozzi is hosting the art exhibition Dawn of a Nation from March 16 to July 22. The exhibit illustrates Italy’s growing sense of national identity during the 1950s and ‘60s. Curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, Italian Art from the Postwar Reconstruction to 1968 features over 70 works by artists such as Renato Guttuso, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Emilio Vedova, Piero Manzoni, Mario Schifano, Mario Merz and Michelangelo Pistoletto. Not only were artists in Italy inspired by the wounds of World War II, but also by the successive “Eco-

nomic Miracle,” the controversial social revolution that transformed Italy from a poor nation into a global industrial powerhouse during the late 50s and early 60s. In response to this societal change, Italian artists adopted new artistic trends like Informal Art, otherwise

known as abstract art, which led to the rise of Pop Art. They also experimented with monochromatic painting, Conceptual Art and Arte Povera, better known as contemporary art, making major contributions to today’s identity-related contemporary art scene.

“Dawn of a Nation will enable insight to a period in art that is indissolubly bound up with Italy’s development and that sucked its lifeblood from politics, current events and social change ”

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NEWS “Dawn of a Nation will enable insight to a period in art that is indissolubly bound up with Italy’s development and that sucked its lifeblood from politics, current events and social change,” says Luca Barbero. “The works will be presented in contrasting juxtaposition in an effort to convey to visitors the sense of vitality typical of that moment. The energy in these years allowed the Informal artists to pursue their research, while Pop artists were busy following a diametrically opposite path. The aim is to make visitors feel that they’re encountering these artists first hand, at a point when they were defining new national art movements.” A Renaissance landmark of the 16th century, Palazzo Strozzi was first sold to the Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni in 1937 and then to the state in 1999. Since 2006, the Palazzo Strozzi Founda-

tion has hosted exhibits and cultural activities by some of the most renowned Italian and international artists.

Dawn of a Nation Palazzo Strozzi March 16-July 22 Hours Daily 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Thursdays 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Price: € 13 palazzostrozzi.org

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From Brooklyn to the Bargello

Della Robbia ‘returns’ to Florence CHEYENNE CURLEY

he Bargello Museum is presenting for the first time the Lunette Antinori, a masterpiece of the Renaissance by Giovanni della Robbia, until April 8. The painting has a history crossing the Atlantic. The initiator of a historical Italian wine family, Niccolò di Tommaso Antinori, commissioned Della Robbia at the beginning of the 1500s to make a portrait size depiction of him with his hands to the left of Christ and two family coats of arms at the sides of the base of the relie. Della Robbia practiced a technique characterized by the use of colored enamels applied to a terracotta base; art pieces employing this technique would later be known as Robbianas. Once ended, the work was displayed at Villa Le Rose, one of the family estates, before being donated to the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1898 by American collector Augustus Healy, who had bought it from Antinori himself. Since then, the art piece has never left New York, making this ‘journey’ to the Bargello the first in its history. Due to the support of the Antinori family, the robbiana finds its original splendor restored for the Del-

la Robbia: Sculpting with Color in Renaissance exhibition. Still modern day patrons of art, the Antinori family have recently paid for a new commission: a work by Italian internationally recognized artist Stefano Arienti that will be displayed alongside Della Robbia’s piece. The two paintings will be showcased in two separate but adjoining rooms, creating a dialogue between Renaissance and Contemporary Art. “Supporting and enhancing the arts has always been important to our family,” said Alessia Antinori, vice president of Marchesi Antinori. “Today we are particularly proud of this beautiful lunette, which inside depicts one of our ancestors and the coat of arms of the family, is finally home and completely restored, at the exhibition at the National Museum of the Bargello, which is already a casket of many invaluable masterpieces by Della Robbia.”

Lunette Antinori, Giovanni della Robbia Bargello Museum Open from 8:15 a.m. – 1:50 p.m. Full price ticket: € 8 Until April 8

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Ambrogio Lorenzetti on Display SARAH LITCHMAN

he Ambrogio Lorenzetti exhibition on showcase at Siena’s Duomo has been extended until April 8. The exhibition marks the highest point of a project began in 2015 designed to improve the conservation of Lorenzetti’s work and acquaint the Italian and foreign public with his artistic output. Under the Inside Restoration project important works in need of inspection, conservation, and outright restoration were moved to Siena’s Duomo and placed in an “open” restoration laboratory where visi-

tors could watch restorers at work. Although considered one of Europe’s most important 14th century artists, Lorenzetti remains relatively unknown. “Ambrogio Lorenzetti was one of the most talented painters of the 14th century, an extraordinary innovator in terms of the style and iconography of his day as well as an artist with lofty and sophisticated intellectual qualities. At a time when the rationale of huge blockbuster exhibitions is gradually, and thankfully, being abandoned in order to embrace the rediscovery of, and monographic reflection on, the great artists of the past, an exhibition devoted to Lorenzetti acquires a value that transcends the impact of the event itself,” said Santa Maria della Scala Director Daniele Pittèri. “Ambrogio will be with us until the spring, for the Sienese who haven’t yet visited the show or who want to see it again, for art historians and critics, and for the many tourists who will have an additional reason for choosing Siena, to explore a crucial moment in medieval art worldwide.” said Mayor of Siena Bruno Valentini. Over the past few months the exhibition has proved to be popular and has been seen by over 35,000 visitors and has been celebrated in the Italian and international press, and showcases paintings that were loaned from the Louvre, London’s National Gallery, and the Vatican Museum.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti Exhibition Duomo of Siena Until April 8 Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/ Thursday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday:10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Full price: €9 Concessions: €7 www.santamariadellascala.com

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In Memory of ‘The’ Florentine Woman

Honoring Anna Maria Luisa De’ Medici

he Medici government had lasted more than 300 years when it finished with an act of extraordinary importance: the testament that Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici,

better known as the Electress Palatine, signed in 1743. Anna Maria Luisa De’ Medici is with no doubt the most important woman in the history of Florence.

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NEWS

She had lived in Sassonia since 1691, after marrying the Elector Palatine, Johann Wilhelm II. There, in Dusseldorf, she was admired as a woman of great culture and intelligence, and transformed Düsseldorf into a lively and intellectually stimulating place. In October 1717 she came back to Florence to help her father Cosimo III and brother Gian Gastone in their delicate task of putting an end to the Medici dynasty. Gian Gastone had no descendants, and her other brother, Ferdinando, the ‘Great Prince’ as he was known, had died young and without an heir. She accepted the challenge, clearly understanding that history, a history that was to become her history, had reached a turning point. The Medici dynasty was over, but the mark that it had left on Florence could not be removed with the transition to the Duchy of Lorraine. She understood, perfectly, that a public testament rather than a private one was necessary. And the recipient of this public testament had to be Florence. Thus, she gave away the treasury of her family, on the condition that “all the furniture, items and rarities such as galleries, paintings, statues, libraries and other precious things that could attract foreigners should remain in Florence.” And they are still here, and the city lives on tourism. This why Women’s Day in Florence is, first of all, the day of Anna Maria Luisa. Because to her, more than anybody else, Florentines owe both their past and their future.

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ANNA MARIA LUISA DE'MEDICI

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12 Florence News

NEWS

Santo Ficara and Il Ponte Present Mondino

F No exceptions made for trends, no conceptual temptations, no need to stick to an aesthetic model, but a mental journey that passes through canvas, paint brushes and linoleum. We should not forget the basic element that underlies all of Mondino’s research: paradox. Everything slips into another dimension, seeking to grasp the many aspects of the image following the way paved by Dadaism and Surrealism,” wrote a few years ago art critic Alberto Fiz.

Homage to Aldo Mondino

he contemporary art galleries Santo Ficara and Il Ponte are presenting two exhibitions on sculptor and painter Aldo Mondino. The exhibit coincides with the inauguration of the new location for the Santo Ficara gallery. After putting together over the years has a group of works made by the artist between 1963 and 1964, Il Ponte presents a double solo exhibition in collaboration with the Archivio Aldo Mondino. In its Omaggio, Galleria Santo Ficara presents works chosen from its collection that embrace a period of time spanning from 1965/66 (Ottobre Russo) to 2004 (Applausi). Other pieces on display include Das Meer (1980), Eiffel Safariana (1989), Turcatina (2001), Pittore d’insegne (2001), Tauromachia (2003), Mosaico (2003) and Danza Sufi (2004). Il Ponte presents works made between 1963 and 1965 such as Qua-

drettature, Monocromi, Casorati and Onde, that were exhibited in 1964 at the Turin Gian Enzo Sperone Art Gallery and at the prestigious Gian Tomaso Liverani’s Galleria La Salita. These works, which display an oblique approach to Pop Art, were the Mondino’s first great revelation. “The problem is always painting: whichever move we make, Mondino is able to wrong-foot us, and this is what he has done throughout his forty-year artistic career. His is a complex game continually calling into question the conventions of art. Mondino asks himself about the hidden meaning of the image, he grasps its unconscious dimension but at the same time does not desist from creating a genuinely decorative depiction on the basis of the idea that Henri Matisse had of decoration and that western painting has often denied.

Inauguration of the location of Santo Ficara Art Gallery Opening Saturday Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. Via Arnolfo, 6 L www.santoficara.it Opening hours: from Monday to Saturday 9.30 a.m./12.30 p.m. – 3.30 p.m./7.30 p.m.

Quadrettature, Monocromi, Casorati, Onde. 1963-64 Galleria Il Ponte Opening Saturday Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. Via di Mezzo 42/B www.galleriailponte.com tel +39 055240617 Opening hours 3.30-7 p.m. Saturdays on appointment – closed Sundays and bank holidays

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 13

NEWS

Ring in the New Year, Florentine-Style

Spain and Italy in the Renaissance

Exhibit explores artistic relations between the two countries

he exhibition, on display in the new rooms of the Aula Magliabechiana of the Uffizi Gallery from Feb. 27 to May 27, showcases drawings attributed to some of the most important Italian and Spanish Renaissance masters. Among the artists on display are Alonso Berruguete, Romolo Cincinnato and Pompeo Leoni, Francisco Pacheco, Patricio and Eugenio Cajés, Vicente Carducho, Alonso Berruguete, Pedro Machuca, Bartolome Ordonez and Diego de Siloe, the latter four known as the Eagles of the Spanish Renais-

sance. In the 15th century, Spain united under a monarchy first, then an empire afterward, and in the same period it began a cultural convergence between the new nation and the Italian States. “Political and intellectual trends in the Spanish kingdom and the regions of Italy began to converge around the 16th century,” says Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt. “These trends generated constant and unexpected overlaps, which included the pontificate of Alexander VI, the Borgia pope, the conquest of the Neapolitan dominions, the annexation of the Duchy of Milan and the consolidation of a stable Spanish political influence over the Italian peninsula.” Such new intercultural relations had heir effects mainly on art. “All artists and their works are invariably a product of the unceasing circulation of ideas and styles,” says Marzia Faietti, Director of the Gallerie degli Uffizi Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe. “For this reason, writing about drawing in Spain or Italy means expanding research constantly; yet, this should be done without neglecting the philological reconstruction of an area’s artistic fabric or analyzing the transmission of knowledge from workshop to workshop.” The exhibition has an introduc-

tion and eight sections. To situate each drawing in its original context and prompt a multidisciplinary approach, the exhibit also showcases sculptures, paintings of goldsmith’s, and applied arts.

Spain and Italy in the Renaissance Uffizi Gallery Tuesday-Sunday: 8:15 a.m. – 6:50 p.m. Price: €12.50 at door Feb 27-May 27

t is a tradition somewhat odd that of the Florentine ringing of the new year, yet a quite interesting one. One of the many that the Florentine government has, in recent years, decided to revive. Maybe because Florentines have always remained so attached to their traditions, maybe because they have always felt to be so different from other Italians, maybe because of both these things at the same time. Regardless of the reason why this tradition has been revived, this year too Florence will ring the new year a second time, on March 25. In fact, it was until 1750 that Florentines marked the start of the new year not on Jan. 1 but on March 25, in coincidence with the Feast of the Annunciation. While the Gregorian calendar had been followed in other Italian states since 1582, it wasn’t until 1749, when Grand Duke Francesco II decreed a change to the modern temporal calculations, that Florence started marking the New Year on Jan. 1 as in the rest of the Italian peninsula. Celebrations on March 25 were linked to the worship of the Virgin Mary and included a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata to venerate a thirteenth-century fresco depicting the Annunciation. The work is said to have been completed by miraculous intervention: the commissioned

artist, unable to complete the face of Mary despite several attempts, fell into a deep sleep and when he awoke he discovered the image of Mary’s face had been completed. From this a legend arose that the fresco had been finished by angels. Thus on March 25, devotees would make a pilgrimage to the basilica, and out of this a tradition arose, too, a yearly fair held in the piazza. Via dei Servi, the road that connects this church to the Duomo, is named for the religious order that founded Santissima Annunziata, the Servi di Maria. In recent years, the Florentine government has revived this traditional celebration, organizing free concerts at the basilica as well as historical re-enactments of the procession from Palazzo Vecchio to Santissima Annunziata. Be on the lookout that day for the procession and live concerts in piazzas throughout Florence.

14 Florence News

NEWS

Mimosa Flower and Social Change The historical roots of Women’s Day

luffy yellow mimosa flowers pinned to lapels, carried in bouquets or decorating table-tops announce in more than 100 countries all over the world the international day dedicated to women. But what are the historical roots of this celebration day and what is its real significance? The mimosa flower has become the symbolic gift to offer to Italian women on this day known to Italians as the Festa della Donna. A

holiday that today would appear to be about light-hearted socializing with female friends it is actually a day of commemoration with a politically charged history tied to the international Socialist movement for fair labor practices. In the early 1900s, oppressive, unsafe work conditions and inequality in the workforce were at their height, while Socialist Party movements for change, such as campaigns for equality, suffrage

and better working conditions, were thriving. In these early years of the twentieth century, against a backdrop of the fight for equal rights, International Women’s Day was commemorated on various spring days, but never on March 8. It wasn’t until 1910, during an international Socialist meeting in Copenhagen, that an International Women’s Day was officially established. The proposal was met with unanimous approval by represen-

MARCH www.florencenews.it tatives of more than 100 women from 17 countries, on the grounds that it would be a day to celebrate the progress made by women over the years. The movement for fair and safe labor practices gained momentum after the event known as the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire on March 25, 1911, in which 146 employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist company died, the majority of them women and including many young immigrants from Europe. Some workers died in the fire and others from jumping out of windows to escape. Later testimony revealed the insufficient escape routes for workers and rumors spread that doors to the factory had been in-

It wasn’t until 1910, during an international Socialist meeting in Copenhagen, that an International Women’s Day was officially established. tentionally locked. After the fire, groups such as the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which had in the two years prior to the fire been organizing with New York City garment workers, grew in number and influence. In discussions of the Festa della Donna, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire represents

the culmination of the women’s rights movements around the world, and is one of the specific events remembered on this day. In Italy, the tradition of giving a mimosa flower on March 8 began during the WWII years. On March 8, 1945, Women’s Day was celebrated to honor freedom in liberated Italy, and the following year throughout Italy the mimosa appeared as a symbol of this day, most likely because the mimosa blooms in early March. Three Italian women who were participants in anti-Fascist politics (and two of whom were active partisans) are credited with the idea. They are Teresa Noce, Rita Montagnana, and Teresa Mattei. Lingering leftist associations with Women’s Day provoked reaction in the Cold War climate of 1950s, spurring some to indict the mimosa-gifting tradition as a “public disturbance.” Attempts were made in Italian Parliament to make the Festa della Donna a national holiday, but failed. In the 1970s, the feminist movement in Italy brought about a rebirth of the mimosa as symbol of women’s solidarity. In addition to celebrating with female friends, Italians might observe March 8 by serving a torta mimosa, a yellow cake very similar in appearance to the flower. Restaurants, bars, and nightclubs will offer Women’s Day specials, and many museums and galleries offer free entrance to women. Political rallies and protests have left space to a much more feminine approach.

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MARCH www.florencenews.it

this pie makes it a welcome staple at the Easter table.

Easter as an Italian Culinary Tradition

DEJOU BENCOMO-JASSO

aster is a time of joy, observance, revelry, and celebrating through food traditions. An Italian Easter is no exception. Classic dishes vary from region to region, yet much Easter fare remains common throughout the country. Le Uova. Eggs are an essential component of an Italian Easter, as both symbol and ingredient. Brightly colored hard-boiled eggs and chocolate eggs are the delight of children and adults alike, while a number of traditional Easter time dishes include egg as a key ingredient.

Uovo di Pasqua. An oversized egg made of chocolate and stuffed with a surprise treat, the Italian chocolate egg is a whimsical confection traditionally presented to family and friends as an Easter present. Adding to the festive nature of the chocolate egg gift is its often colorful, painstakingly decorated wrapping.

Florence News 17

FOOD&WINE Colomba Pasquale. This dessert bread is named after the Italian word for dove, colomba. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s baked in the shape of this symbolic bird, meant to represent a sign of peace, and is made according to the same method used for the Christmas cake panettone, omitting the candied fruits.

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;agnello. Lamb is both a religious symbol and an essential dish in the Easter meal. In northern regions lamb is used in hearty stews with beans and potatoes, and in braised variations with herb-infused broths and root vegetables. Lamb meatballs and pasta dishes filled with a mixture of lamb and ingredients such as cheese, garlic, onion or herbs are also commonly prepared. In other regions roasted lamb is served with artichokes, peas or other spring vegetables.

Pastiera. Rooted in pagan celebrations of the arrival of spring, pastiera is a mainstay of Easter celebrations, particularly in Naples. This unique dessert is a cross between a cake and a pie, with a filling of ricotta, eggs, egg yolks, sugar, milk, boiled wheat, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest and candied citrus fruits.

Dejou Bencomo-Jasso For more about Dejou Bencomo-Jasso, visit www.countrybred.com/ bredblog. She can be reached at dejou@countrybred.com.

Pizza piena. These stuffed pies are tall, quiche-like rounds of pastry filled with eggs, cheese, cured meat and/or sausage. While variations on the pizza piena exist across the country, the velvety richness of

Traditionally homemade gelato since 1939

Via Dei Tavolini 19/R 055 239 8969

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MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 19

FOOD&WINE

Simplicity and Luxury

Expert sheds light on Renaissance food MIGLE VAISNORAITE “If you tell Italians cooks, ‘I would like to put this type of cheese with this type of bread’, they will go ‘no, no, no, that does not go’…There is a lot of pride that goes behind the food.” These words are by Monika Duque, an art history professor working in Florence who helps us to understand Florentine food culture and its history. Throughout the middle-ages, Florence was one of the wealthiest cities in Europe, boasting a variety of spices including ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon that had a deep

impact and transformed the city’s food culture. Monika explains that Renaissance food was sweet and sour and people use to mix fruits with honey and other spices. Although seemingly paradoxical, in Tuscany, home to merchants who imported spices that later became popular all over Europe, bread was saltless as spices were very expensive and salt heavily taxed. Since only the wealthy could afford to dust their foods with the exotic flavors, imported spices soon became a sign of prosperity, leaving most of the population riddled with poverty and saltless bread.

The type of food people ate was correlated with their social status. The upper class enjoyed meat and wine, fish and spices, and after taking the good cuts, wealthy Florentines passed what was left

The upper class enjoyed meat and wine, fish and spices, and after taking the good cuts, wealthy Florentines passed what was left to the lower classes. to the lower classes. In the case of meat, the poors were only able to afford the inner organs such as tripe or giblets. Today, purchasing a pack of cinnamon costs around one euro. Does this mean that modern-day Florentines eat like the nobles ate in the past? Monika says that present Florentine cuisine is relatively basic if compared to that of the Renaissance, whose elaborate dishes would be hardly acceptable today. What was once considered “fine dining” might be appalling to the

wealthier population of today’s world. Fresh and local products, once viewed as peasant foods, are now amongst the most expensive to buy at supermarkets. In the Renaissance, people cooked beans and vegetables they could grow, make cheese from sheep’s milk, and preserved food with salt or sugar and made soups to preserve bread. Monika explains that back in those days people used to cook every-

thing and did not throw anything to waste. “That art piece with the Bacco holding a glass of wine in his hand with the still light in front of him, with beautiful fruits, and he has this head piece of grape leaves, is representative of Italy when it comes to food … It is simplicity that makes it so great. The simplicity of the ingredients of the Italian food is what makes its food so great; the simplicity of Caravaggio’s Bacco is what makes his piece so great.”

Twelve geniuses of the Renaissance, Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci included, were competing with each other by preparing artistic meals.

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 21

FOOD&WINE

Gelateria della Passera and Dondoli Awarded

Sergio Dondoli

he Florentine Gelateria della Passera and the San Gimignano-based Gelateria di Piazza ran by Sergio Dondoli have been awarded again with the prestigious prize of the three cones, the highest attainable in the Gambero Rosso guide, for the year 2018. An Italian food and wine magazine and publishing group founded in 1986, Gambero Rosso has published Vini d’Italia since 1987 and has become one of the most renowned wine guides in Italy. A few years ago, Gambero Rosso began awarding gelaterias throughout the nation. Amongst the Tuscan gelaterias awarded is the Gelateria della Pas-

Taste, Again

Pitti Taste Returns March 10-12

Cinzia Otri sera, located on Piazza della Passera in the Oltrarno area of Florence. The small artisanal Gelateria, one of the two Florentine awarded, offers less than 20 flavors among which the top rated were the ones made out of coffee, almond, cream, mojito, tea, and fruit tastes. Quite famous amongst tourists and located on San Gimignano’s main square, the Gelateria di Piazza is run by Sergio Dondoli, a former member of the Italian team that won the Gelato World Championship in 2006/2007 as well as 2008/2009. Here it is possible to find one of the most fresh and inviting flavors: the

Champelmo, a mix of Champagne and grapefruit. Dondoli also offers other ‘creations’ such as the Santa Fina cream, a flavor created in the honor of San Gimignano’s patron saint, the San Gimignano Zafferano, made out the local most typical products: saffron, eggnog and Tuscan Vin Santo. Flavors are divided between chocolate – there is even one made out the Amedei chocolate, a famous chocolate ‘artisan’ from the Tuscan city of Pontedera – creams and fruits. The Gambero Rosso guide also revers Dondoli’s blackberry and black blueberry as well as his salty flavors.

itti Taste, the fair dedicated to the excellence of Italian taste and food lifestyles, is returning March 10-12 at the Stazione Leopolda. Presented by Pitti Immagine, Taste showcases products from more than 340 leading Italian companies in the international food world. The fair is a journey around the planet of food and displays objects and ideas mixing tradition and innovation as well as different trends and schools of thought, professional techniques and equipment, food and kitchen design. “Taste invents new challenges at ev-

ery edition,” says Agostino Poletto, deputy general manager of Pitti Immagine. “Now in its 13th edition, it is once again registering an increase in the number of companies- selected from amongst the best niche producers in Italy. This year, we are presenting another challenge, a focus on one of the strong trends of the moment: the world of coffee, its culture and lifestyles, told in their most contemporary key, younger and hipster. The flavor of Taste is all Italian, but also always international and open to whatever is new.” The fair has four parts - Tour, Tools, Shop, and Ring and Events - and a dedicated time frame just for members of the trade: the morning of Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Pitti Taste is open to the public from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. also on these days and from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 12.

Pitti Taste Stazione Leopolda March 10-12 www.pittimmagine.com

I' GIRONE DE' GHIOTTI THE VINAIO NEAR PIAZZA SIGNORIA

TUSCAN PANINI, ARTISANAL BEERS AND WINE TASTING Via dei Cimatori 23/r 055 53 26 053

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Wine, and Painting Tasting

Expert explains the importance of the role of consumers

Glass of Art combines a painting session with tuscan wine tasting. Art and food lovers will be served in a characteristic 12th century well, turned into an ideal painting studio for the occasion. Lukas, an artist and art instructor at Studio d’Arte Toscanella, will guide you through the process of creating your own artwork from life.

Pino, master sommelier and founder of Pozzo Divino and Salumeria Verdi, will hold a wine tasting accompanied with typical tuscan food. Join them on a four-hour journey of fun and learning. Delight your senses with harmonious combinations of colors and flavours, create and taste, bring back your artwork, and a memory of the experience.

A glass of art Location: Pozzo Divino Via Ghibellina 144/R, Firenze Contact for information: info@pozzodivino.com Price: €80 per person, all materials included. Reservations: Must have a minimum reservation of 4 people, or a maximum of 8 Email: studiotoscanella@gmail.com to make a reservation

FOOD&WINE

Tourism and Food Wastage

MIGLE VAISNORAITE

Florence News 23

he Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FOA), estimates that every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food end up in overloaded dumpsters instead of being used to cure world hunger. Part of food wastage comes from the tourist industry. Daniela Campora is part of the project Avanzi Popolo, an organization that fights tourism-related food waste. She says that in Italy is almost impossible to calculate the amount of tourism-related food waste and that statistics are lacking because companies operating the hospitality are mostly medium and small, if not family-run. Daniela explains that hotels, restaurant and supermarket chains are more successful than small businesses in managing the disposal of food excess because they closely control stock and inventory and have adequate tools to dispose food. In 2016, the Italian government passed a law regulating the management of food waste of restaurant and hotel chains. “The problem with small businesses, when it comes to food waste, is that many of them do not have any system of inventory and fear any form of technological control on the disposal process. If a restaurant prepares a dish using many

ingredients and clients keep on leaving left overs on their plates, there should be a communication between the staff of the restaurant and the chefs to change the way they prepare dishes,” Daniela says. She suggests that the government should provide better financial and strategic support to solve this problem. “It is difficult for a small hotel to change the way they work, change is always difficult. The government should do more to solve the problem, since this is not just a private matter as tourism is growing fast and smaller hotels in Italy have high taxes which make profits not

in developing countries the same percentage is lost in the phases of post-harvest and processing of food, which makes consumers’ responsible behavior more important in industrial countries. Tourists should insist to be informed on how hotels and restaurants manage the waste of food in hope “to spread the virus of a better behavior,” says Daniela. “We are in the era of social media. Usually you find restaurant reviews saying how good or bad food was. A tourist or a reviewer should say ‘ok, food was good, but I noticed that they did not give me a doggy bag, they serve water

“A tourist or a reviewer should say ‘ok, food was good, but I noticed that they did not give me a doggy bag, they serve water in plastic bottles, and so on’. This would be a better review, a green review.” so easy to make. They should not just buy new softwares, but also change the way they do their work. In the end, it is a problem of mentality and work vision,” Daniela says. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the Unites Nations found out that in industrialized countries, 40 % of the wasted food in retail and consumption, while

in plastic bottles, and so on’. This would be a better review, a green review.” Today in Italy, the general situation is improving as a result of government initiatives as well as fairs and other events dedicated to the problem of food waste management. However, tourists should play their part through responsible consumption.

A Guide to Tuscan Cold Cuts and Cheeses chiona since the fat and fennel seeds will coat the taste buds. The acidity in the wine will “scrub” them clean and keep your palate fresh. Salami Tartufati: salami with black truffle made from pig. Delicious alone or with crusty bread. Salami di Cinghiale: salami made from Tuscan wild boar. Delicious alone or with crusty bread. Salami Toscano: salami with black pepper made from pig. Delicious with cheese, bread, or hard fruits (apple, pear).

C.D. MELO

ow that the autumn nip is in the air, people are exchanging summer salads for heartier fare. Tuscany is a mecca for excellent cold cuts and delicious cheeses. The variety offered is also just as impressive. A plate of freshly sliced meats and fine cheeses, along with some crusty bread and good wine, can easily be considered a meal in itself. The following is a list of meats and cheeses that I highly recommend you try when you are visiting Tuscany.

MEATS: (keep in mind that they each have a distinct flavor due to unique spices) Prosciutto Crudo: cured / smoked ham that comes from the pig. Delicious with either figs, cheeses, or in a panino. Prosciutto Cotto: baked ham that comes from the pig. Delicious with mushrooms on pizza or in a panino with artichoke spread. Finocchiona: salami with fennel seed made from pig. Perfect with cheeses or crusty breads. I usually recommend a white wine with good acidity when eating finoc-

Soppressata: salami made from the snout, ears, and head of the pig. Delicious in a panino. Guancia: salami made from the cheeks of the pig. Perfect with

Sara of Il Girone De’ Ghiotti

cheeses or with crusty bread. Sbricciolona: artisan salami that crumbles (contains fennel seed). Delicious on crusty bread. CHEESES: (the same cheese can taste very different depending on the age) Pecorino Fresco: sheep’s milk cheese that is not very aged (4-6 months). Delicious with fresh fruits or fruit mostarda (fruit sauces infused with mustard, horseradish, or peperoncino). Pecorino Staggionato: sheep’s milk cheese that has been aged for 12 months or more). Delicious with grapes (red globe), mostarda, or drizzled with truffle honey. Stracchino: soft, mild, spreadable

cheese. Delicious in a panino with prosciutto crudo or sun-dried tomatoes. Caprino: fresh goat cheese. Delicious with grilled chicken, in salads, or with roasted vegetables (like sweet bell peppers and zucchini). Why not fill a basket with these Tuscan treats and watch the breathtaking sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo while having an evening picnic? Do not forget to wash it down with some good wine!

C. De Melo Author of SABINA and other unique fiction novels www.cdemelo.com

24 Florence News

FOOD&WINE

March Madness

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Dine with Dante

Mad as a March Hare!

C. DE MELO

“I

n like a lion, out like a lamb” aptly describes the month of March. As the goddess Flora descends upon the Renaissance city, the days gradually grow longer and warmer. The chill of winter is quickly forgotten, and the countryside beckons us with vibrant buds and fragrant breezes. To sports enthusiasts, this time of year means March Madnessthe tournament season for men’s and women’s college basketball.

According to the Illinois High School Association’s webpage, the term first appeared in print over 75 years ago. Henry V. Porter, who edited the IHSA’s journal, coined ‘March Madness’ in an essay for the Illinois High School Athlete dated March 1939. “March Madness” originally referred to the mating season of the European hare. Come spring, these gentle creatures, usually shy and predominantly nocturnal, run around in frenzied circles during broad daylight. Sometimes, they can be seen “boxing” with one

another; males competing with males or females fighting off males. It is this behavior that inspired the phrase “Mad as a March hare!” In honor of March Madness, here is a tasty recipe for Tuscan Hare Stew (Lepre in Umido).

C. De Melo Author of SABINA and several other books www.cdemelo.com www.cealiberti.it

Tuscan Hare Stew (Lepre in Umido) 2. Clean and cut hare into pieces. Place in marinade and allow to soak for at least 24 hours (48 would be better), turning the meat over about 2-3 times a day.

1. Prepare a marinade: 2 cups Tuscan red wine, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1t salt, 1t pepper, parsley, bay leaf, 2 chopped onions, 2 chopped carrots, I chopped celery stalk, 2-3 chopped cloves pf garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil.

3. HOW TO COOK: Remove the meat pieces and pat dry. Reserve the marinade and set aside. In a deep skillet heat up a generous amount of olive oil and brown the meat. Remove the meat and set aside. 4. Sift a tablespoon of flour into

THE RESTAURANT OF THE FLORENTINES Located on Via Ghibellina near Santa Croce, Da Que’ Ganzi offers a fresh seafood and meat menu for both lunch and dinner. Tuscan specialties include ribollita and authentic Florentine steak, and all of the cakes and sweets are homemade. A special weekday lunch menu for less than €10 makes the restaurant affordable for anyone. Special dishes: BAKED SEA BASS & TUSCAN STEAK Mon. to Sun.: 12–2:30 p.m. & 7–11:30 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays. Via Ghibellina, 70/r •055 22 60 010 www.daqueiganzi.it • info@daqueiganzi.it

the drippings and make a roux, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the marinade and then add the meat. Cover and simmer over a low flame for 2-3 hours, stirring often. Add water or red wine if needed so the stew doesn’t burn. Be sure to taste sauce to see if it requires extra salt or pepper. When tender, serve over polenta (as shown in photo) or with roasted potatoes and a good red wine. Buon appetito!

amed after Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, a homely, rustic taverna fittingly lies on Via dei Cimatori, only a few meters away from Dante’s house. The restaurant offers traditional dishes based on medieval recipes. Some are adapted and revisited for the modern age in a way that one maintains the omnipresent feeling of Florentine history and tradition – so much so that Dante himself could walk in and dine next to you. Others are as they were centuries ago. Traditional medieval-style dishes include homemade ribbon pasta with wild boar and mushroom sauce, roast shin of pork with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables, risotto inspired by medieval Tus-

can flavors, and tasting plates of assorted cheeses accompanied with fresh fruit and jams, including the taverna’s specialty hot red pepper jam. Also serving as a wine bar and pizzeria, the restaurant offers an eclectic selection of wines from its cellar, an outdoor summer terrace, and is fittingly decorated in a medieval style with armour and banners.

Taverna Divina Commedia Via dei Cimatori, 7r 055 21 53 69

WINE ON TAP IN SANTO SPIRITO Bring your bottles and fill them directly from the barrels of Il Santo Vino, starting at less than €1.50. Patrons can choose from a gamut of Italian wines alongside selected local specialty and organic products

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.; 5–9 p.m. Borgo Tegolaio, 46/r Tel. 055 53 87 122 , 345 90 93 425 www.ilsantovino.it Facebook: Il Santo Vino

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Chocolate Calling

Florence News 25

FOOD&WINE

Father’s (Food) Day

GRACE KUCERA

CAROLINE ROCHA

hocolate lovers are all invited in Piazza SS. Annunziata for the ten days artisan chocolate fair Firenze e Cioccolato taking place from Friday March 2 to Sunday March 11. The event, which has been one of the most important of its kind throughout Tuscany in the last 14 years, will have a new approach this year as it will be not just a stop for gourmet lovers, but also a showcase of professional producers and chefs. A selection of more than 20 maitre chocolatier from all over Italy will offer pralines, chocolate bars, ganaches, and much more (as far as chocolate is concerned, of course).

The schedule includes cooking shows with chefs awarded by the prestigious Italian food guide Michelin, games and workshops for children, and tastings guided by gourmet professionals. An area will be dedicated to meetings focusing on chocolate as a ‘market product’ and its nutritional and health aspects through discussions on the most debated chocolate-related current themes such as its relationship with sport.

Firenze e Cioccolato March 2-11 Piazza SS. Annunziata From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. www.fieradelcioccolato.it

n March 19, Italians celebrate Festa del Babbo, or Father’s Day, in honor of St. Joseph, Jesus’ mortal father, symbol of compassion and kindness in Catholic tradition. It was during the Middle Ages that this tradition began when Sicilians prayed to St. Joseph to bring rains to save their fields from starvation and drought. Some years the rains came, saving the fava bean crop and with them the people of the Island. This explains why today fava beans are still part of St. Joseph celebrations and why on this day people eat Maccu, a fava bean soup, and carry a fava bean that has been blessed by a priest in their pocket for good luck. Italians celebrate this festivity with seasonal dishes such as arti-

chokes stuffed with breadcrumbs that symbolize sawdust to honor St. Joseph’s life as a carpenter, or pasta with breadcrumbs sprinkled on top rather than cheese or

seasoned with cod sarde. This traditional meal is made with bucatini noodles, raisins, pignoli nuts, onions, and sardines. Other traditional desserts eaten on Father’s Day are the sfinci, Italian-style donuts. Some are made like cream puffs and stuffed, or topped, with either custard or a sweet ricotta filling and topped with a sour cherry. The other common dessert make fathers sweeter is zeppole, an Italian pastry made of deep-fried dough that is filled with sweet custard. Italian-Americans began the custom of wearing red clothes on St. Joseph’s Day: a habit that was started to counterbalance the closeness of St. Patrick’s Day and the tradition of wearing green.

26 Florence News

CITY BEAT

Half Marathon Returns April 15 stakeholders, such as sponsors, contractors, charities, competitors and audience, to take up sustainability initiatives. Registration costs span from €22 to €30 for the half marathon and €5 for the non-competitive run and walking course. It can all be done at the website www.halfmarathonfirenze.it. Registration for the Tommasino Run race is free and opens from 7-9 a.m. on the day of the race.

Half Marathon

GRACE KUCERA The 35 international Half Marathon Vivicitta will take place on Sunday, April 15. With participants ranging from running enthusiasts to families with children and runners from all over the world, the Half Marathon has become one of the most important sporting events in Florence. Runners can choose between a half marathon, suggested for professional and amateur athletes, or a 10-kilometer, non-competitive run, which is open to all. Both start at Santa Croce and course through

the Oltrarno, leading back to Piazza della Signoria and the Duomo. Other options are the 5-kilometer walking course or the 1.5-kilometer Tommasino Run, a charity race for children. All of the Half Marathon Firenze Vivicitta’s courses are paved and flat. The marathon has a ‘village’, a site of various sporting events and fun activities, in Piazza Santa Croce. Participants will receive a t-shirt and gadgets. Vivicitta also hosts a charity event every year, and the organization makes efforts to be eco-friendly. It strives to minimize its environmental impact and encourage its

BEER HOUSE CLUB

Sunday, April 15 Half Marathon Village, Piazza Santa Croce www.halfmarathonfirenze.it

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Rome Marathon 24th Anniversary Sunday, April 8, 8:40 a.m. Start and finish in Via dei Fori Imperiali

Rome Marathon Registration

Separate registration for Italian and non-Italian residents (non-Italian residents must be 20-years or older on day of race) Registration must be completed online by January 6 (fact check date) Fees vary by residency, date of purchase, and membership card status Race shirt and backpack by New Balance included in entry fee

Rome Marathon Fun-run

A non-competitive 4K run open to all and any participants 9 a.m. immediately after the competitive race Starts at Via dei Fori Imperiali and ends at Circo Massimo Open to all animals Registration is €10 and closes the day before the race

Marathon Village

Roma Convention Center- La Nuvola April 5-7, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Includes food, vendors, health expos, and so much more For more information visit the marathon’s official website: www.maratonadiroma.it

Florence Urban Trail March 2, 9 p.m. Start and finish at Piazza Santa Croce, totalling in 13km A unique night race that allows runners to experience Florence’s architectural and artistic beauty at night Registration: online registration closes March 2 and is €27. Entry to the event is limited to the first 1000 participants For more information, visit the official website: www.firenzeurbantrail. com

CORSO DEI TINTORI, 34/R

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 27

CITY BEAT

Easter Fires

itself. The cart embarks on a procession through the streets pulled by big white oxen, accompanied by hoards of crowds dressed in 15th century attire, musicians and flag throwers. Thanks to modern technology, the simple cart fire has now been enhanced by an elaborate firework display that the Archbishop of Florence ignites directly from the nave of the Duomo, where the cart ends its journey through the city.

The history behind the ‘Scoppio del Carro’

py Easter. It is said that if the fireworks are enjoyed without any glitches, the city and its people can expect a good harvest for the year. Hence, it is an extremely popular event. In order to secure a good position amongst the thronging crowds that can reach up to 10,000, it is vital to get there early in the day. This year Easter Sunday falls on April 16, and the fireworks will begin at 11 a.m, accompanied by a

On Easter Sunday a cart packed full of fireworks will be ignited resulting in a 20-minute pyrotechnical display. The practice originated during the first crusade when Europeans laid seige to the city of Jeruesalem in an attempt to claim Palestine for Christianity.

Photo credits: flickr user Monica Kelly

n Easter Sunday a cart packed full of fireworks will be ignited resulting in a 20-minute pyrotechnical display. The practice originated during the first crusade when Europeans laid seige to the city of Jeruesalem in an attempt to claim Palestine for Christianity. It was exactly in 1097 that Pazzino

de’ Pazzi returned from the crusades in Jerusalem and presented his city with three flint stones from the Holy Sepulchre and told the people of Florence to use these stones to light a ‘holy fire’ on a cart, or as it is often nicknamed, ‘Brindellone,’ (tall and wobbly), to celebrate Christianity at Easter time.

This ritual has continued ever since, but has naturally developed over the years, and now is one of the most exciting and impressive spectacles in Florence. Pazzino’s original flint stones are rubbed together and used to light the Easter candle; the candle is then used to light the cart

A dove shaped rocket is lit by the Archbishop which darts along a steel wire from the high altar to the cart outside, setting off the awaiting celebratory fireworks between the main door of the Duomo and the Baptistery. This jubilant explosion ends the solemn tone of the cart’s Easter morning procession through Florence. Symbolically the modern fireworks that can be seen throughout the whole city spread the ‘holy fire’ to all, wishing everyone who can see them a Hap-

beautiful rendition of ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo’ from the Duomo; however, the atmosphere surrounding such a long standing tradition will surely be worth soaking up even before the fireworks begin. While the day reminds Florentines of their country’s profound Catholic roots, it also celebrates its past military success in the first crusade to the holy land, making the ‘Explosion of the Cart’ an especially festive and celebratory occasion, completely unique to Florence.

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28 Florence News

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MARCH www.florencenews.it

Korea Film Fest Returns

Odeon Presents Best 2017 Films T

he Odeon Cinema is screening frontrunners of this year’s Academy Awards. Here is this month’s listing of English films:

at the Academy Awards airs on March 4.

MIGLE VAISNORAITE

he Korea Film Fest is returning to Florence March 22-30 at the cinema La Compagnia di Firenze. The festival presents over 40 movies. It will open with the projection of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s, The Fortress, a historical drama focusing on the Second Manchu invasion of Korea in 1636, and will close with Room No.7, a comedy thriller directed by Lee Yong-seung based on the story of the owner of a DVD store who tries to hide the secret of a corpse found in his shop by a part-time employee. Six movies will be dedicated to the long-lasting conflict between South and North Korea.

Special guest this year is Ha Jungwoo. The actor will present Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds. Directed by Kim Yong-hwa, the film, projected for the first time in Europe on March 24 on occasion of the festival, is an action and fantasy drama about the journey to the afterlife. Jung-woo will be tributed with the projection of seven of his earlier movies including Time 2006), directed by Kim Ki-duk, and the most recent The Handmaiden (2016), an erotic thriller directed by Park Chan-wook. The retrospective will also include Na Hong-ji’s thriller The Chaser (2008), based on the real life story of a Korean serial killer that marked the breakthrough in Jung-

Korean Specialties Located on Borgo Tegolaio, right behind the Piazza Santo Spirito, Pint of View is a restaurant offering Korean specialties such as Seould fried chicken, colesshaw, marinated daikon, Man-Du dumplings filled with pork, tofu, soy beanprouts, leaks and Bossam wraps. The bar offers cocktails and beers including salty dutch beers, sour fruit ale Piedtmontes beers, and local one such as those from local brewery Archea. B.go Tegolaio 17r pintofview.it

woo’s career as he was awarded best actor in Director’s Cut Award and nominated for an Asian Film, Grand Bell and Baeksang Arts Awards. The virtual bus to Korea departs March 22 from the cinema La Compagnia di Firenze located on Via C. Cavour, 50/r.

16th Festival of Korean Cinema in Italy La Compagnia di Firenze Via C. Cavour, 50/r. March 22-30

Phantom Thread (March 1-5) Director Paul Thomas Anderson and legendary actor Daniel Day Lewis have formed a devastatingly brilliant duo in their reunion for Phantom Thread, which is Lewis’s last role before retirement. The film is a period piece set in 1950’s London about a dressmaker who falls in love with a waitress, played by German actress Vicky Krieps. Phantom Thread is nominated for six awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Lewis, Best Actress for Krieps and Best Supporting Actress for veteran actress Lesley Manville. Special Oscar Week (March 6-12) The winners of major categories

Lady Bird (March 16-18) Widely known for roles in films of the “mumblecore” genre, Greta Gerwig has made a revelatory directorial debut with the comingof-age film Lady Bird. The film is about the titular protagonist Lady Bird, played by Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, and the relationships she has with her mother, played by Laurie Metcalf. It features appearances from Lucas Hedges and Timothee Chalamet. Both actors make appearances in fellow Oscar contenders Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Call Me By Your Name respectively.

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Demystifying the Tarot VALENCIA WOLF

hen someone mentions the Tarot, how do you react? Do you cringe and pull back, slightly fearful? Do flashes of gypsies and fortune tellers come to mind with mysterious and frightening messages from the unknown? What’s it really all about? As far as most historians agree, the Tarot took its roots in Italy in the 1400’s. The first documented decks were commissioned by the Dukesof Milan. Artistic renderings were hand-painted with images and numbers representing angels, religious figures and Gods, Lords or Monarchs, warring characters, astrology symbols, and some were based on ancient Egyptian esoteric wisdom. They captured experiences, action, battles, fortunes, accumulations, desires and loss. They were used as a simple card game for entertainment but were also consulted by royalty to determine answers to impending conflicts, battles or future premonitions. These images secretly made their way to Rome and into the hands of the popes, spreading into France and England a few hundred years later. Some think they were banned by the Catholic church because they taught that truth and salvation can be found within each of us, an independent idea that didn’t sit

well with an institution that ruled through guilt and fear and was the sole dispenser of Truth and Salvation. The first Tarot interpretations documented were in the late 1700’s and belonged to Antoine Court de Gébelin of Paris. A well-known occultist and son of a minister, he believed the Tarot deck images held the secrets of the Egyptians. Without any direct knowledge of the Egyptian language, or historical evidence, he believed the Egyptian priests translated the Book of Thoth (Egyptian God of Knowledge) into images and he used these to reconstruct Tarot history. Around the same time, another French occultist, Jean-Babtiste Alliette, known as Etteilla, aware of de Gébelin’s work, published his ideas about the connections of the images to astrology, the four classical elements (fire, water, air, earth), religions, spirituality, and numerology and created a new deck incorporating all these elements. He was the first to popularize the use of these cards through cartomancy(divination readings or fortune

telling) and the first professional to make a living reading the cards. Ettellia created a technique for reading the Tarot and these interpretations are the most commonly used today. Throughout the centuries, the traditional Tarot evolved into 78 cards, altered images and many interpretations. They were used for a variety of card games in different countries and the majority of the cards actually became the standard 52 card playing deck and the precursor to the game we know today as bridge. By the 1900’s the Tarot gained recognition in the US with the most common and famous Rider-Waite deck used for divination purposes. In sequential order by number, the Tarot tells the story of the “Fool” or “humankind” through a life journey. The Fool’s journey and each lesson and experience along the way are depicted in the images of each card. The first 22 cards, the Major Arcana, represent our major life events and greater lessons: jobs, marriages, children, homes, cars, our physical experiences and accumulations as well as spiritual lessons: our subconscious, inner

Wands, element of Fire, spiritual level of consciousness Cups, element of Water, emotional level of consciousness Swords, element of Air, mental level of consciousness Pentacles, element of Earth, physical or external level of consciousness

Florence News 29

CITY BEAT

self experiences, desires and perspectives. The last 56 cards, the Minor Arcana, are divided into four suits that include the four Court or Trump cards in each suit, Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages and the PIP cards, aces through tens. The four suits and general interpretation (referencing the Rider-Waite deck) are: Wands, element of Fire, spiritual level of consciousness Cups, element of Water, emotional level of consciousness Swords, element of Air, mental level of consciousness Pentacles, element of Earth, physical or external level of consciousness The Minor Arcana cards represent the actions, situations, messages,

energy, emotions and other people that weave in and out of our major life events. The cards are full of symbolisms, religions, spirituality, numerology, astrology, Universal elements and mysticism. They are chosen either by the reader or recipient are guided by the recipients’ energy and tell a story. Numerous are the interpretations to each card and their significance depends on where they land in a spread and their relationship to the other cards. So....still mysterious and frightening?? It all depends on your perspective and willingness to let a story be told! For questions, comments, or to schedule a reading, you can contact Valencia at: valenciamwolf@gmail.com.

30 Florence News

CITY BEAT

All Food Fiorentina Basket Discover the Florence Basketball Team

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Basketball is also popular among other places in Tuscany. The Coppa Carnevale (Carnival Cup), 29 edition (Feb. 27-March 3), is hosted by the fascinating coastal city of Piombino (Livorno). This event is the most important International half-season tournament involving the best eight European and Italian Under 18 (years) teams. The Coppa Carnevale More info: www.coppacarnevalepiombino.prolocopiombino.com. or www.turismopiombino.

MARCO BRACCI

oached by former Italian National team player Andrea Niccolai, All Food Fiorentina Basket, is an explosive mix of experienced players, rookies, and participates in the Italian third national league. The team’s goal is to access playoff games and compete with the toughest Italian teams in order to make Florentine basketball excel and be promoted to Serie A2 – the Italian Second National league. To experience the Florence basketball atmosphere go to the San Marcellino Arena located on via Chiantigiana, 28.

Upcoming All Food Fiorentina Basket regular season home games: Sunday, March 25, 6 p.m.: All Food Fiorentina Basket VS Witt-Acqua San Bernardo Alba Sunday, April 15, 6 p.m.: All Food Fiorentina Basket VS LTC San Giorgio su Legnano Info for bus travel: www.ataf.net Complete list of games: www.fiorentinabasket.it

Via dei Pandolfini, 26r • 347 381 8294

This is above all the NCAA March Madness month. The best 68 NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams will fight to access the San Antonio (TX) 2018 Final Four (March 31-April 2). One the most watched sporting events on U.S. Television last year is surprisingly popular and followed in Italy. To fully experience the March Madness, print the official bracket at and pick your winner. Who will be the 2018 Champions? Will any underdog threaten big teams? Updates and the printable bracket can be found at www.ncaa.com. To watch the NCAA March Madness on TV, search for the best pubs in the city center. NCAA March Madness https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2018-02-20/ march-madness-bracket-2018printable-ncaa-bracket-mens

A Shuttle to the Barberino Designer Outlet

Located in the green heart of Tuscany, just 30 minutes from Florence, Barberino Designer Outlet is the shopping destination where you can browse items from 200 of the most luxurious designer fashion brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Furla, Trussardi, Pinko, Bluemarine and many more at 30-70% off all year round. The outlet is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can reach Barberino Designer Outlet with a comfortable shuttle bus service from Florence train station, 4 times a day. Tickets can be purchased online. Price is €13 per person, roundtrip. Take this page to the Outlet Information Office to get the FASHION PASSPORT, the discount card which will grant you an additional 10% reduction on the Outlet price. Shuttle bus to Barberino Designer Outlet departs from Florence Santa Maria Novella train station at 9.30 a.m. –11.30 a.m. –2. p.m. – 4 p.m. Meeting point 15 minutes before bus departure at Sightseeing Experience Visitor Centre on Platform 16. Return to Florence at: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. For more information and possible variations in the bus hours visit www.mcarthurglen.it/barberino. TAX FREE ON YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 31

CITY BEAT

A Florentine St. Patrick’s Day

n Irish festivity that Florence is preparing to celebrate. It is St. Patrick’s Day, a very special occasion to connect locals with the increasing foreign community, prevalently English speaking, living in or just visiting the city. But do Florentines, and generally Italians, really celebrate this festivity in the proper way? Well, the best answer to the question is that only few Italians do celebrate it while the number of Florentines taking the opportunity for a night of party out is constantly increasing, maybe due to the particular kind of city they live in where English often seems to be the first spoken language and Italian the second. Yet, and of course, Florentines do not celebrate St. Patrick’s the same way as the Irish or the Irish-Americans do. Yet, St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world’s most popular saints. He was born in Roman Britain and when he was a teenager he was captured by Irish pirates during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. At the time, Ireland was a land of Druids and pagans, but Patrick turned to God and in his memoir, The Confession, he wrote: “The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred

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prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.” Patrick’s captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found ricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish.’ As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea-and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.’” The vision prompted his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, and was later ordained a bishop and sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. Patrick arrived in Slane, Ireland on March 25, 433. There are several legends about what happened next, with the most prominent claiming he met the chieftan of one of the druid tribes, who tried to kill him. After an intervention from God, Patrick was able to convert the chieftain and preach the Gospel throughout Ireland. There, he converted many people -eventual-

1. To begin your journey, download the Mobike app from the app store. 2. Create an account. 3. Using the app, locate Mobikes in your area. This is incredibly easy because there is almost always a Mobike close by. 4. Pick a Mobike and unlock it by scanning the barcode with the app. 5. The bike will unlock and you will hear a beep. 6. After you bike to your desired destination, park your Mobike without worrying about finding a bike rack. 7. Park your bike wherever (but be responsible and use your common sense!). 8. Manually close the lock. You will hear a beep.

ly thousands - and he began building churches across the country. Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After

years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. The Dublin Pub in Via Faenza is organizing a special party to celebrate a Florentine St. Patrick’s Day.

LIVE MUSIC AND SPORT Via Faenza 27/r • 055 274 1571

9. You will be charged 30 cents for 30 minutes (the price will soon go up!). 10. Celebrate. Hurray, your Mobike journey is complete!

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MARCH www.florencenews.it

Made in New York. The True Origin of Street Art Exhibit showcases Haring and Buggiani

Florence News 33

CITY BEAT Hambleton, Ken Hiratsuka, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Les Levine and David Salle. An American artist whose pop art and graffiti-like work grew out of the New York City street culture of the 1980s, Haring grew to iconic popularity from his exuberant spontaneous drawings in New York City subways. His drawings were chalk outlines on blank black advertising-space backgrounds depicting radiant babies, flying saucers, and deified dogs. Later in his career, he created larger scale works such as colorful murals, many of which were commissioned, and addressed political and societal themes such as homosexuality and AIDS. Beginning in 1950s, Buggiani worked at the Rome’s Schneider gallery before

His drawings were chalk outlines on blank black advertising-space backgrounds depicting radiant babies, flying saucers, and deified dogs.

MATTHEW GAYDOS

he exhibition Made in New York: Keith Haring, Paolo Buggiani. The True Origin of Street Art, on display at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, has been extended until

April 3. The first part, called The True Origin of Street Art, showcases works made in the last 40 years by Tuscan artist Paolo Buggiani; the second, called Made in New York (Subway Drawings), is about the work of Keith Haring. The show presents more than 20

works made by Haring’s for the subway walls and some of the most famous installations and photographs that Buggiani made in New York and while traveling all over the world. It also showcases works by other street artists from the same group such as Richard

moving to Paris first and then New York where, as a leading member of the Street Artists group which he joined together with Haring, he created a new version of abstract art to convey political messages. Buggiani and Haring became friends and worked together during the 80s revolution fueled by rebellion, sexual freedom and political unrest. Before the artistic encounter with Haring, Buggiani rescued his chalk drawings - now on display at Palazzo Medici Ric-

cardi - from being tossed and in the early ‘80s he replaced them with advertisements.

The True Origin of Street Art Palazzo Medici RIccardi Open daily (closed Wed.) 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. Price: Free admission Running until April 3

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 35

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A Hidden Treasure of Liberty Architecture The entrance hall of Palazzo Wilson Gattai in Piazza d’Azeglio

MERCEDES CARRARA

here is another side to Florence, besides the Renaissance and the Medici family, that should be acknowledged. The city became the second capital of the Kingdom of Italy from 1865 to 1871, before Rome and the Papal States were annexed to the kingdom. In those six years, there was a radical urban transformation in the city. The third and last circle of walls was torn down by Giuseppe Poggi and replaced by boulevards, forming a ring around the center of town, culminating in the Piazzale Michelangelo. Similar changes were taking place in Paris and Vienna. The city gates (porte) were left standing as decorative features of the newly built squares, still known to native Florentines as Porta a San Gallo (Piazza della Libertà), Porta alla Croce (Piazza Beccaria), Porta a Prato, Porta a San Niccolò with the ramps leading to Piazzale Michelangelo (Piazza Poggi), etc. The walls had been planned by Arnolfo di Cambio in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, leaving ample space for the city to expand. For four centuries, Florence was comfortably contained inside its

circle of walls with an inner ring of greenery formed by orchards, vegetable and flower gardens. The capital of the newly established Kingdom of Italy was transferred from Turin to Florence in 1865. New residences had to be built for the court nobility, senators, deputies and business tycoons that were coming from Piedmont or Tuscan entrepreneurs that were moving to Florence. The green spaces between the houses and the city walls by Porta alla Croce and Porta a Pinti were expropriated. They were transformed into a residential area, with palaces facing a central garden surrounded by an iron fence with entrance gates, where only the residence owners had the keys. Piazza Massimo d’Azeglio was thus created. The concept of a residential square had started in London in the late 18th century with Bedford Square, an architectural unit around a central square with houses facing it on all sides. Giuseppe Poggi had been to London many times and Florence had a large British community. Piazza d’Azeglio is a prime example of the urban transformation projected by Giuseppe Poggi with the English residential square in mind. The Palazzo Wilson Gattai is perhaps one of the few palaces in the square that is still owned and lived in by the descendants of Gaetano Gattai, who bought the palace in 1892. The original owner was the Englishman Frederick Wilson, who had settled in Florence when Leopold II was still Grand Duke of Tuscany, just like Robert Browning, his wife Elizabeth Barrett, and many other foreigners had done. Wilson’s palace on the Corso dei Tintori had been expropriated to build the Lungarno della Torricella, when Florence was temporary capital of the Kingdom. The plans for the new palace were done by Wilson’s friend, engineer Orazio Callai, in 1870. The engineer was often in his Rome office since the

capital would be definitely moved to Rome in 1871. It was Frederick Wilson himself who took care of the project, considering himself a “half artist” (mezzo artista) because he had participated in the 1860 Exhibition of the Circle of Artists in Florence. The palace was initially two stories high and was crowned by a terrace. It was strongly criticized by the local newspaper La Nazione in 1872. The architecture is typical of the Romantic revival of Gothic and Renaissance motifs. The ground story rustication recalls Michelozzo’s Early Renaissance Medici Palace. The second story was faced with Carrara marble blocks and the stone neo-Gothic window frames were cut over the marble blocks. Very similar window frames can be seen in the Early Renaissance Palazzo Corsi Horne, bought and restored by Herbert Percy Horne in 1912, 20 years after Gattai’s renovation. Wilson sold the palace to Giovanni Puccini in 1887, who had his architect, Guglielmo Galanti, remove the ground floor stables and turn them into apartments. An arched opening was built to the left of the entrance hall, as prelude to a grand marble stairway that was never done because of financial difficulties. In fact, Puccini had to sell the palace in 1892. Gaetano Gattai, great

grandfather of the present owners, bought it and appointed his son Eugenio as architect in charge of the structural works. Eugenio Gattai had received his diploma of Professor of Architectural Design from the Florence Academy of Fine Arts in 1884. The building was then given a third story, in the tradition of Renaissance palaces, by surmounting it with a loggia resting on Tuscan columns. A tangible connection to the square was further emphasized by adding a stone balcony to the second story, thus linking the three portals of the central hall. Gattai’s work inside the palace is an example of the period when wrought iron, sinuous curves, and floral patterns, combined with an abundant use of glass, dominated architecture all over Europe and the United States. In France and Belgium the style became known as Art Nouveau in 1895 because of a shop with that name, opened in Paris by Arthur Bing. In Germany and Austria it was described as the Jugendstil whereas it was the Modernista in Barcelona. In the United States it was labeled Tiffany for the New York store, famous for its iron and tinted glass works. Art Nouveau was called the Liberty or “floral style” in Italy, after the textile patterns of the London store that helped its launching. Upon entering the palace, one is

A ‘Port’ for All Musicians

s with any port, Porto di Mare-Eskimo is synonymous with exchange, correspondence, and coming and going. This year the club has an important novelty: courses of typical Italian dance Tarantella, which will be taking place on Friday night. Porto di Mare's focus on live music and cultural exchange is one that the man who started the club, Francesco Cofone, holds close to his heart.

band born under the initiative of Francesco, it includes some of the biggest and respected names on the jazz scene amongst its members. Among these are trumpeter and band conductor Fabio Morgera, who played under legendary American jazz cornetist; composer and conductor Butch Morris for 30 years in New York; Dario Cecchini, sax and leader of Italian marching band Funk Off; trumpeter Luca Marianini; trombone player Ste-

amazed at the beauty of the Liberty glass doors, with their intricate designs, created by Eugenio Gattai. To the left, framed by an archway, is the hidden treasure of the palace: the curvilinear stairway that spirals up to the second story and is covered by a glass and iron dome. It recalls Victor Horta’s stairway in the Hôtel Tassel in Brussels, both built in 1892. They are early examples of Art Nouveau, or Liberty domestic architecture, where all spaces are connected by the sinuous, internal staircase symbolizing the forces of life.

The Week at Porto di Mare THE PORT OPEN TO ALL MUSICIANS TUES: PALCO D’AUTORE: Music lab for emerging artists and songwriters WED: CITY LAB PROJECT: Musicians forming an orchestra will accompany the Palco D’Autore artists THURS: CAM’ ON: Students from the school of music CAM exhibit their talents. Then open mic jam sessions open to all musicians FRI - SAT: Rock music or singer-songwriters

“We never play anything recorded here” he says with a smile. The method of bridging cultures at Porto di Mare is just getting out an instrument and beginning to play. “I’d be keen to talk to anyone who is interested in playing and sharing their music with us,” Francesco says. The club has also created its own big band, the Eskimo Jazz Orchestra. An all-star Tuscan jazz

fano Scalzi and guitarist Riccardo Onori, who both played alongside renowned Italian singer-songwriter and rapper Jovanotti; percussionists Walter Paoli, ex-member of 1970s Italian jazz, progressive rock and electronic group Area, and Piero Borri; clarinet player Nico Gori; and guitarists Paolo Conte, Ivano Fossati and Riccardo Galardini – to name just (a little more than) a few.

SUN: TARANTA NIGHT: Popular southern Italian music and dance. Starts at 6 p.m. CONTACT FRANCESCO COFONE Via Pisana, 128 055 71 20 34 Porto di Mare

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 37

LITERATURE

Florence in Ecstasy

A review of Jessie Chaffee’s novel LEE FOUST

he founding principle of every moral system I can think of is the sacredness of life. To love others as we love ourselves and to hold all life on Earth inviolable is the bedrock of both our secular ethics and religious moralities. Unfortunately, the biological conditions of existence on this planet include the daily consumption of other living things. All earthly creatures must eat some form of living matter, either animal or vegetable, in order to survive. So, how do we reconcile our need to kill in order to subsist with our moral imperative regarding the sacredness of life? This is one of the most profound contradictions of human existence and one with which Christian mystics

have long struggled. Since religions—Christianity among them—often split the body from the soul in order to focus, literally, on the spiritual, the body is frequently framed as a battleground the mystic’s struggle to achieve perfection. Italy reminds us of the Christian tradition of worship through feasting or fasting perhaps more vividly than any of its European cousins—a meal is still the Italian Catholic’s primary form of religious celebration, and the word we Anglo-Saxons use, a holiday or “holy day,” Italians still call a festa, or a “feast day.” The contradiction of worshipping God, the creator of life, through fasting—denying oneself the very principle of life—lies at the heart of much of the female Christian mystical experience. At the heart of novelist Jessie Chaffee’s startlingly

Florence in Ecstasy rather beats with a living heart founded in the contemporary experience of soul-searching that’s too often labeled as sickness, as if it came from outside of us: depression, addiction, eating disorders.

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fine debut, Florence in Ecstasy, we find our protagonist in the grips of a similar—although secular— battle between self-construction and self-destruction via her relationship to her own body and its alimentation. The novel gives us, in her own voice, Hannah—a thirty-something Bostonian temporarily escaped to Florence—in the grips of a life-or-death struggle with her own identity, involved in a conflict between her mind and body, who finds a mirror for her existential crisis in the writings of the female mystics of Italy’s past. Although marketable within the “female awakening in Italy” genre, I found Florence in Ecstasy to be so much more than those non-fiction tales of Americans conquering the mysteries of the old world—the novel is profound, philosophical, familiar to me and my male experience of the world as I entered into my thirties, as well as exquisitely written. The Florentine backdrop is drawn in fine detail—the rowing club rather than view over the Arno to which we’ve become accustomed since Forster—and the characters are believable—thankfully the novel avoids the tired clichés of the naïvely romantic American and the zesty, life-loving European lover who teaches her a thing or two about Mediterranean sensuality. Florence in Ecstasy rather beats

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with a living heart founded in the contemporary experience of soul-searching that’s too often labeled as sickness, as if it came from outside of us: depression, addiction, eating disorders, etc. Hannah’s story is a wholly modern tale that, nevertheless, taps into a long tradition of Christian mysticism and female fasting, of rebellion against the tyranny of hunger and our earthly, physical nature, of people struggling to break out of the bonds of social mores and traditions in order to become radically individual. To be someone is often to be like no one else, to change, to transform oneself—and these are frequently dangerous propositions that get labeled as illness by a

world full of conformity to cultural norms often no less self-destructive—fossil fuels, processed food, and hopelessly inefficient political economies. Hannah is a narrator whose voice I will carry with me for a long time. For I, too, have struggled with my own interior search for individuality through otherness, with self-destructive urges born of a desire to transcend and to become more myself, and I felt as close to her and her experience as I read as she did when reading the testimonials of the Italian mystics. This is not a novel exclusive to female experience; it’s a beautifully expressed universal story of our human desire to escape, to perfect ourselves, and to transcend.

38 Florence News

CITY GUIDE

MARCH www.florencenews.it

MUSEUMS & MONUMENTS Cappelle Medicee The Old Sacristy, the New Sacristy, with architecture and sculpture by Michelangelo, and the Chapel of the Princes, decorated with inlaid marble and hard stones. P.zza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6 Tel: +39.055.294883 Hours: 8.15-17.00 Closed: 2nd, 4th Sunday; 1st, 2nd, 5th Monday of month

Galleria degli Uffizi Open since 1591, the Uffizi hosts one of the most important collections of art of all time, classical sculpture and 13th to 18th century paintings Loggiato degli Uffizi Tel: +39.005.294883 Hours: 8.15-18.50 Closed: Mondays

Palazzo Vecchio Quartieri Monumentali Residence of the Priors, the Signoria and the Medici. Paintings, sculpture, furniture and hangings. Piazza della Signoria Tel: +39.005.2768224 Hours: Sept: 9-24 - Thursdays 9-14 Oct: 9-19 - Thursdays 9-14.

Galleria dell’Accademia Michelangelo’s masterpieces: the David and the Slaves. Sculpture, paintings and casts by various artists. Via Ricasoli, 60 Tel: +39.005.294883 Hours: 8.15-18.50 Closed: Mondays

Museo del Bargello Residence of the Captain of the People, of Justice and ancient prison. Masterpieces of painting and sculpture, plus minor arts. Frescoes by the school of Giotto in the Chapel. Via del Proconsolo, 4 Tel: +39.005.294883 Hours: 8.15-17.00. Closed: 2nd, 4th Sunday; 1st, 3rd, 5th Monday of month.

Battistero di San Giovanni Romanesque temple dedicated to St. John the Baptist, patron saint of the city. Outside, the doors by Ghiberti. Piazza San Giovanni Tel: +39.055.2302885 Hours: 11.15-18.30 - Sundays, 1st Saturday of month 8.30-13.30.

Campanile di Giotto Famous bell tower, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture by Giotto, built between 1334 and 1359. Piazza del Duomo Tel: +39.055.2302885 Hours: 8.30-18.50. Closed: Easter.

Galleria d’Arte Moderna Paintings and sculptures related to the art in Tuscany from the late 18th century to the period between the two world wars. Temporary shows of contemporary art. Piazza Pitti Tel: +39.055 294883 Hours: 8.15-18.50. Closed: Mondays.Fri, Sat, Sun 9.00 18.00. Thur 9.00 - 14.00.

Cupola di Brunelleschi The masterpiece of Brunelleschi. Frescoes of the Last Judgement by Federico Zuccari. Suggestive itinerary to the top of the dome with breathtaking views over the city. Piazza del Duomo Tel: +39.005.2302885 Hours: 8.30-18.20 - Saturdays 8.3017.00pm. Closed: Sundays and Easter day.

Galleria Palatina e Appartamenti Reali The Palatine Gallery occupies the whole left wing of the first floor of the Pitti Palace, which was the residence of the Medici grand-dukes. In 1828, when Tuscany came under the rule of the Lorraine, the most important paintings in the Palace, most of which had been collected by the Medici. Piazza Pitti Tel: +39.055.294883 Hours: 8.15-18.50 Closed: Mondays

Giardino Bardini These beautiful gardens, recently restored, contain many rare plants and specialised areas, such as Italian and English gardens, as well as a fine Baroque staircase, statues, fountains, a small amphitheater and panoramic views. Entrances: Via dei Bardi, 1 r and Boboli Gardens. Info and reservations: Tel: +39.055.294883 Hours: 8.15-18.30 Closed: 1st and last Monday of month.

Museo delle Porcellane Collections of porcelain from reigning royal families. Palazziana del Cavaliere, Boboli Gardens, Piazza Pitti, 1 Tel: +39.055.294883 Hours:8.15-18.30 Closed: 1st and last Monday of month

Museo degli Argenti Summer apartments of the Grand Dukes. It contains vases in hard stone that belonged to Lorenzo the Magnificent, and the jewellery that belonged to the Electress Palatine. Piazza Pitti Tel: +39.055.294883 Hours: 8.15-18.30 Closed: 1st and last Monday of month.

Museo Novecento Italian art of the 20th century, in a journey backwards from the Nineties to the first decades of the century. Piazza Santa Maria Novella Tel: +39.055 286132 Hours: Oct to March- Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 9.00 - 18.00. Thur 9.00 14.00.

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Fashion Passport

he Barberino McArthurGlen Designer Outlets offers the most sought-after names in luxury and designer fashion, including Furla, Trussardi, D&G, Pinko, Bluemarine, at prices reduced by up to 70% less all year round. The outlet is the perfect addition to your business and leisure programs, with cafés and restaurants, children’s playgrounds, ample parking, multilingual staff and a year-round calendar of events. All ISIC/ITIC/IYTC cardholders can take advantage of the “Fashion Passport” that offers an additional 10% Off on the outlet price (not products on sales). You can withdraw the Fashion Passport at the Information Office of the Outlet. *Fashion Passport is valid only in specific shops. The discount cannot be cumulated with other offers and with products on sales. The fashion passport is valid for the whole day and only to the cardholder.

Florence News 39

CITY GUIDE

Your Private Concierge Firenze Card The Firenzecard is a way for tourists and locals alike to visit the countless museums the city has to offer. For 72€, the card includes the cost of entrance, the ticket for the exhibition, and the reservation for all the museums of the Firenzecard Circuit.The card lasts 72 hours after it is activated. Activation occurs when the card is used for the first time at a museum. Cardholders do not need to make any reservation with Firenzecard because it includes, in its price, the reservation for all the museums. With Firenzecard, cardholders can visit the museums when they choose and can access to the museums through the reserved entrance. Firenzecard can be used at 67 museums, but it can only be used once per museum. The card cannot be shared or transferred. For more information on the card or to purchase one, visit www.firenzecard.it

TOURIST INFORMATION SOS

EMERGENCIES

Emergency Phone Number: 113 Ambulance Service: 118 Carabinieri (National Military Police): 112 Environmental Emergency: 1515 Fire Department: 115

+ HEALTH SERVICES Piazza Duomo: 055 212221 Open Pharmacies: 800 420707 Veterinary Services: 055 7223683 Poison Center: 055 7947819

LAW ENFORCEMENT Railway Police: 055 211012 Florence Municipal Police: 055 3283333 Local National Police Force: 055 49771 Fire and Rescue Service: 055 24901

BUSES Ataf: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. : 800424500 Li-nea: Bus info, 055 7355742 FBUSITALIA: SITA NORD: www.fsbusitalia. it, 800 373760

Cartoleria Lory Srl P.za Frescobaldi 8r 50125 055-213246 Shop.lory.net www.digital-fineart.it www.lorycad.net

TOURIST INFO POINTS

Via Cavour, 1r - 055 290833 Vespucci Airport - 055 315874 Piazza del Duomo - 055 215440 Piazza Stazione, 4 - 055 212245

ON THE ROAD Roadside Assistance for Foreigners: 800 116800 Obstruction, theft, and towed vehicles: 055 4224142

AIRPORTS A Vespucci, Firenze Peretola: www.aeroporto.firenze.it/en 055 3061300 Lost and found: 055 3061302 G. Galilei, Pisa: www.pisa-airport.com 050 849300 Lost and found: 050 849400

TAXI

TAXIS

055 4242 Night Taxi only for Women Service from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.: 334-66 22 550 (WhatsApp or SMS)