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Literary Sojourn with a View The special literature issue

A Rich Literary City

LORI HETHERINGTON

sk a Florentine what role their city has played in English literature and they’re likely to mention Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning or E.M. Forster and his A Room With a View. Indeed, in past centuries many English language writers passed through or lived for a time in the city on the Arno, where they found inspiration and a community of literary types who shared their love of the written word. Basilica di San Lorenzo

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Digital Graffiti T

o try to put an end to the scrawls which cover the walls of the cathedral city authorities have invited tourists to leave their messages digitally through tablets installed at the Dome. In the signs next to each table is written “If you - virtually leave us a message, we will preserve it: just like a masterpiece.” Visitors can create their ‘digital graffiti’ at one of two points - one on the way up to the top of the cathedral, and another on the way back down, with the option to customize their message choosing different backgrounds and different tools. The messages are then stored online and will be printed out annually to go in the cathedral’s archives. There they will be stored alongside historic documents such as the deed appointing Renaissance designer

Brunelleschi to build the Duomo’s dome, and the birth certificate of Lisa Gherardini, widely considered to have been the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. “To leave a mark on monuments is an antisocial and childish behaviour, while the will of leaving a mark, a keepsake is just part of the human nature,” said a statement from the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, a not-for-profit organization tasked with preserving many of Florence’s monuments. The digital graffiti campaign has already proven successful at the bell tower, where the tablets have been in place for a year already. Over 18,000 digital messages have been left, while there has been a noticeable decline in graffiti left on the thirteenth-century tower’s walls.

Renzi Professor Former Italian Prime Minister and Florence mayor Matteo Renzi will teach at the Florence campus of Stanford University on Via de’ Bardi, the Italian media reported last month. Renzi has always admitted his interest in teaching and his admiration for US university campuses, which he considers an ideal model of organization. After losing a constitutional referendum last Dec. 4, Renzi resigned as the head of the government

while remaining involved in politics as secretary of Democratic Party. At the beginning of the year he was reported to be in the US where, among other things, he visited Stanford University in the Santa Clara county, Silicon Valley, about 50 miles from San Francisco, California. Here he would have been assigned a cycle of lectures at the Florence campus of the prestigious American University, which is located near the Ponte Vecchio.

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Starbucks Invasion S

tarbucks announced last month the opening of 200-300 stores in Italy. The announcement came from former footballer Antonio Percassi, who is now working with Starbucks bosses to bring the brand to Italy. The first stores will be opened in Milan and Rome, though the opening date of the Italian flagship store has been pushed back, as it was scheduled to launch in Milan this year. Percassi, who is now 64 and was a professional soccer player for Atalanta in the 70’s, said the country’s first Starbucks should come after June in the summer of

2018 and that, should “the market respond well,” hundreds of stores will open in Italy. However, when rumors of Starbucks opening in Italy spread two years ago, local coffee experts and cafeowners opposed the prospect. The locals’ opposition to a multinational company, which they perceive as a potential enemy to their food culture, may be stronger than expected for Starbucks. This was demonstrated last month of three of the palms planted in Milan’s Piazza Duomo caught fire, a consequence of a contract won by the multinational to restyle the green

spaces surrounding the square’s equestrian monument to the first king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II. The palm trees set off an outcry from the city government’s centreright factions, but Mayor Giuseppe Sala declined to offer a judgement. “Let’s see when the work is done,” Sala said, adding that there is a historic precedent for the palm trees going back to the 1800s and as such the city’s superintendency approved the plan, which also includes banana plants. After Sala’s remark, the fire came. Yet, American coffee seems ready to be served.

Ai Weiwei Donates H

is “Libero” exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi last year saw a record number of visitors: 150,000 in four months. Following this success and to thank the city for the space offered, Weiwei recently donated two works to Florence. The first is a variation of the Portrait of Filippo Strozzi, a portrait made of the Renaissance man in Lego bricks, which was donated to the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. The other is a self-portrait, a Lego piece of the artist’s face that has been signed over to the Self-Portraits Collection of the Uffizi. The provocative and controversial

Beijing-born artist is a popular figure in the contemporary art world, well known for speaking out against the Chinese government and his artistic criticism of the lack of democracy and human rights around the world. Weiwei scathingly condemns the negative accepts of globalization and corrupt government, his voice speaking to all those who feel constrained by contemporary societies. In 2011 the Chinese artist was arrested for false allegations of tax evasion and then released after 81 days by the Chinese government. Getting back his passport, he subsequently traveled the world.

Weiwei’s recent exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi showcased some of his most important works, including his famous middle finger portraits and the dropping of a 2,000-year-old Han dynasty vase. On occasion of the exhibit, Weiwei’s red dinghies (small life boats) covering the window frames of the Palazzo Strozzi, an allusion to the tragic situations of migrants and refugees who struggle across the Mediterranean Sea hoping for salvation, sparked wide controversy, dividing those who appreciated them from those who considered it inappropriate for Florence.

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Lorenzo Picchi EDITOR: William French GR APHIC & L AYOUT DESIGN: Narine Nalbandyan, Ekaterina Chebotareva CONTRIBUTORS: William French, Christine De Melo, Noelle Lamparelli, Thomas Ricciotti, Lee Foust, Grace Keers, Hannah Nagle, Lori Hetherington, Alex Park. REGISTERED AT THE TRIBUNAL OF FLORENCE N. 6008, ON 9/12/2015. PUBLISHER: IAF PRINT: Rotostampa SRL, Florence

The Gallerie degli Uffizi museum complex released the program of its 2017 temporary exhibits last month. The program ranges from the Renaissance to a commemoration of the October Revolution, as well as solo exhibitions by contemporary artists. A number of restored works and new acquisitions will also be presented. A major exhibition at Palazzo Pitti that completes the program will be announced in the coming weeks, coinciding with the fashion fair Pitti Uomo which takes place in June. “The rich and intense program of exhibitions for 2017 of the Gallerie degli Uffizi offers, emphasises on contemporary art because our cooperation with the city of Florence in this sphere is going to be stepped up further thanks to the fact that our galleries will be hosting a number of works associated with two exhibitions organized by the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Comune respectively: a retrospective of Bill Viola’s work at Palazzo Strozzi, and a major retrospective of Italian art entitled Ytalia at

• The Restoration of the Triptych with Nicolas Froment’s Raising of Lazarus Uffizi, Sala del Camino 7 March – April 30

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Uffizi Presents Program of Exhibits

• Plautilla Nelli. Art and Devotion in the Convent in Savonarola’s Footsteps The exhibition presents French painter Nicolas Froment’s triptych depicting the Raising of Lazarus following its restoration. Froment, of whom only a few works have survived, hailed from Picardy and worked in Provence for most of his

the Forte Belvedere,” said Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt. While maintaining a broad offer of culture throughout the year, and still amplifying it during those periods when the city tends to attract fewer visitors, the program promises to address a varied array of themes and issues. “Starting this year, we will be inaugurating two exhibitions every March devoted to two women artists, one from the past and one from the present. The art and architecture of the 15th and 16th centuries and various aspects of the Medici family’s collecting occupy the central part of our program; the year will end with a series of exhibits on three true revolutionaries – Martin Luther, Leopoldo de’ Medici, and Eisentstein – and with Europe’s first major exhibition on Japanese nature and landscape painting from the Muromachi era to the start of the Edo era (15th to 17th centuries),” said Schmidt. Following is the program of the exhibits for 2017.

career. Made in 1461, this painting is one of the most imposing pictures in the Gallerie degli Uffizi’s collection of work by foreign artists of the 15th century, testifying the interest that Italian art patrons had in northern European painting. The triptych came to the Uffizi from the Franciscan convent of Bosco ai Frati in the Mugello region in the wake of the Napoleonic suppressions.

Uffizi, Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture March 9– June 4 The rediscovery in Florence, Siena, Perugia and Assisi of a cycle of five paintings by painter and nun Plautilla Nelli (1522–88), all of

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• Maria Lassnig: Woman Power Palazzo Pitti, Andito degli Angiolini March 25 – June 25

them half-figure profile portraits of female Dominican saints, adds a new and important piece to the reconstruction of the artistic career of Nelli. The exhibit investigates the production of devotional images through various techniques, including the pouncing that nuns commonly used in their embroidery, perhaps the art form most typically and traditionally associated with convent life.

MARCH www.florencenews.it Together with Louise Bourgeois and Joan Mitchell, Maria Lassnig (1919–2014) was one of the most important artists of the second half of the 20th century. Her painting is unique in terms of both style and content, her favourite theme being self-portraits with the external world serving as the vessel for a perception of the interior world. Lassnig played a crucial role as a forerunner of the feminist movement in the figurative arts and won the Golden Lion award for her career at the Venice Biennale in 2013. • We Must Make Haste! March 2016 – 2017: Treasures Rescued and Treasures Still to Rescue Uffizi, Aula Magliabechiana March 28 – July 30 The exhibition presents masterpieces from villages, cities and towns of the Marche region struck by the recent earthquake, such as Ascoli Piceno, Fermo, and Macerata. The choice of works on display is designed to provide the visitor with an overview of the development of art in the Marche region from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. • Leonardo da Vinci’s Magic Cosmos: The Adoration of the Magi Restored Uffizi, Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture March 28– Sept. 24 Leonardo da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi is returning to the Uffizi

• Giuliano da Sangallo. Drawings from the Uffizi Uffizi, Sala Edoardo Detti and Sala del Camino May 16 – Aug. 20

The Uffizi’s first monographic exhibition devoted to the work of Giuliano da Sangallo (Florence, c. 1445–1516) hosts a selection of drawings from the gallery’s collection and a limited number of other artistic artefacts that illustrate the artist’s multifaceted talents, the implications of his architectural interests, and the activities of his workshop highlighting chronology, sites, and patronage of his career; his compositional research and experimentation with types in religious, civic, and military architecture; the role played by antiquarian studies and books of drawings; his ties with his brother Antonio the Elder, his nephew Antonio the Younger and his son Francesco in codices and presentation drawings; the practice of copying and circulating architectural and antiquarian knowledge; and the function of wooden models as operational tools for design in relation to drawing. • A Gift for the Grand Duke: silver plates for the Feast of St. John Palazzo Pitti, Tesoro dei Granduchi June 24 – Nov. 5

after 6-year restoration. Commissioned from Leonardo by the Austin Friars in 1481 for their church of San Donato a Scopeto, the painting, the largest of Leonardo’s surviving panel paintings (246 x 243 cm), was left unfinished after a lengthy preliminary study as Leonardo left for Milan in 1482. It was then stored in the palace of the Benci family in Florence before entering the Medici family’s collections. Its restoration did not just resolve a number of conservation issues, but also restored its unexpected colors and full readability. Along with this, the exhibit hostsFilippino Lippi’s version of the Adoration made in 1496 after the friars had commissioned him to complete the unfinished work by Leonardo, creating a fascinating interplay that highlights the differences between the two masters, a consequence of the political and cultural changes that had taken place in Florence in just over a decade.

Each year, from 1680 and for the following 58 years, Cosimo III and his successor, his son Gian Gastone, received a precious silver plate decorated with stories illustrating the dynastic glory of their house. The memory of the St. John plates would have been lost with the Medici family’s extinction if the Ginori manufactory had not made plaster casts of the silver originals between 1746 and 1748, so as to reproduce them in porcelain. The exhibit also showcases numerous preparatory drawings by Roman artists such as Carlo Maratta and Ciro Ferri, currently held in a variety of Italian and foreign museums and collections, along with recent porcelain and silver reproductions. • Helidon Xhixha: at Random Giardino di Boboli June 27 – Oct. 29

This solo show hosted in the Boboli Garden will showcase Helidon Xhixha and his study of the concepts of chaos and order based on the technique of iconic sculpture, and producing his own vision of them, drawing his inspiration from the natural world. Renowned for his floating sculptures at the most recent edition of the Venice Biennale, he was also the winner of the Somerset House Prize in London last year due to his installation, Bliss. • The Uffizi and its Territory: Designs by Luca Giordano and Taddeo Mazzi for two Large Monastic Complexes Sept. 5 – Oct. 15 The display of two sketches by Luca Giordano (Naples 1634–1705) and Taddeo Mazzi (Palagnedra, Canton Ticino, second half of the 17th century – Florence, first half of the 18th century), recently acquired by the Gallerie degli Uffizi, becomes a reflexion on an aspect of 17th and 18th century collecting that was an expression of the taste for the rapid, dabbed painting that allowed the artist to express himself. Giordano’s preparatory drawing for the decoration of the dome in the Corsini Chapel in the church of the Carmine in Florence and Mazzi’s preparatory drawing for a canvas for the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Santuario di Montesenario provide new elements to enrich the tight fabric of relations linking the Uffizi to its surrounding territory. • The King of Spain’s Grandchildren: Anton Raphael Mengs’ Portrait of Federico and Maria Anna of Lorraine in the Pitti Palace Palazzo Pitti, Sala delle Nicchie Sept. 19 – Jan. 7, 2018

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NEWS • The Japanese Renaissance: Nature in Screen Painting from the 15th to the 17th Centuries

To mark the 150th anniversary of Friendship between Italy and Japan

Uffizi, Aula Magliabechiana Sept. 26 – Jan. 7, 2018

This first major exhibition in Europe of painted screens from museums, temples and the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency inaugurates the program of activities devised to mark the 150th anniversary of friendship between Italy and Japan, and is organised in conjunction with the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency and with the Embassy of Japan in Italy.Through a selection of about 40 large paintings of landscapes and natural scenes in the traditional sliding screen format to illustrate the golden age of Japanese art from the Muromachi to the Edo era (15th to 17th centuries), and tracks the emergence of the two great trends that marked Japanese painting, reaffirming the aesthetic ideals that we still associate with Japan today: on the one hand, evocative monochrome painting made up of voids and of bare, rapid lines, close to the Chinese tradition and linked with the Zen philosophy which the warrior class embraced as early as the Kamakura period and which adorned the temples and residences of the Samurai; on the other hand, the indigenous style of painting with gold backgrounds and flat fields of colour, more explicit and easier to grasp, that was perfectly suited to adorn the large residential spaces of the bourgeois class and the palaces of the aristocracy. • Lucas Cranach and the Portraits of Luther from the Medici Collection

To mark the 500th anniversay of the Lutheran reform

Uffizi, Sala del Camino Oct. 31 – Jan. 7, 2018

The exhibition presents the Gallerie degli Uffizi’s recent acquisition of a painting by Anton Raphael Mengs (Aussig, 1728 – Rome, 1779) portraying Federico and Maria Anna, the young children of Pietro Leopoldo, dressed in contemporary costume and depicted inside Palazzo Pitti. Begun in the early 1770s while the artist was in Florence, the painting was never finished as Mengs kept it with him, eventually leaving it to his daughter, and later to be rediscovered by a descendant of the artist. The painting is displayed alongside a version of the portrait of Pietro Leopoldo’s young children that Mengs painted on the same occasion for their maternal grandfather King Charles III of Spain, depicting the young princes in Spanish court costume (Madrid, Prado), and a portrait of their brother Francesco, the future Emperor of Austria.

On display is the portrait of Luther by Lucas Cranach (1572–53), a court painter of the Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise, to mark the 500th anniversary of the day Martin Luther pinned his ninety-five theses against indulgences on the door of Wittenberg’s Schloßkirche. Running a flourishing workshop in the capital of Saxony, Cranach forged such close ties with the Austin friar that he ended up leading players in the new Protestant iconography of art.

• Eisenstein: The Image Revolution

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Great Socialist Revolution in Russia

Uffizi, Sala Edoardo Detti Nov. 7 – Jan. 7, 2018 The exhibition, organised in conjunction with the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and the Cineteca Comunale di Bologna, offers an overview of Sergey Eisenstein’s style, taking its cue from his drawings which reveal his particular interest in Italian Renaissance art. It focuses on the impact that Eisenstein’s narrative revolution in film editing has had on expressive media from the 20th century to the present day, a revolution unmatched by virtually any other innovation. • Leopoldo de’ Medici, Prince of Collectors

To mark the 400th anniversary of Leopoldo de’ Medici’s birth

Palazzo Pitti, Tesoro dei Granduchi Nov. 7 – Jan. 28, 2018

Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici stands out in the panorama of European collecting for the vast scope of his interests and the variety of his collections. Availing himself of highly skilled agents, merchants and secretaries both in Italy and abroad, Leopoldo put together a collection of utterly sophisticated items from ancient and modern sculpture to coins, medals and cameos, paintings, drawings and engravings, ivories, semi-precious stones and precious objets d’art, portraits large and small, books, scientific instruments and natural rarities. On his death in 1675, most of his works entered the grand ducal collections and many of them were expressly earmarked by his nephew, Grand Duke Cosimo III, for the Galleria degli Uffizi. The systematic entry of Leopoldo’s works of art into the collections of the Tuscan ducal family’s principle museum sparked one of the most radical renovations in its history.

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WILLIAM FRENCH

he Accademia Gallery is hosting the first monographic event ever dedicated to the painter Giovanni dal Ponte (1385–1437/8). Curated by Angelo Tartuferi and Lorenzo Sbaraglio, the exhibit, which runs until March 12, showcases around 50 artworks. Dal Ponte’s style betrayed an acute awareness of the work being done by the most important artists active in Florence in the first three decades of the 15th century – artists such as Gherardo Starnina, Lorenzo Monaco and Lorenzo Ghiberti, or Masaccio, Masolino da Panicale and Fra Angelico. The most important work to have

survived from his earliest period is a triptych originally painted for the church of Sant’Andrea in Brozzi, currently in the Museo di San Donnino in Campi Bisenzio. For a long time the painting was attributed to a hypothetical “Master of the Brozzi Annunciation.” However, it is now considered to be an example of Giovanni dal Ponte’s early work, dated circa 1410, containing clear references to the work of Gherardo Starnina. The Accademia Gallery’s large triptych entitled The Coronation of the Virgin with Four Saints has been restored for this exhibition – as have other paintings on display – pointing to the quality of Dal Ponte’s draughtsmanship and the intensity of his palette.

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Galleria Il Ponte Presents Giulio Turcato

Giovanni Dal Ponte on Display Exhibit runs until March 12 at the Accademia Gallery

MARCH

Exhibit runs until April 14

WILLIAM FRENCH

alleria Il Ponte presents Inventare spazi (Inventing Spaces), an exhibition dedicated to Giulio Turcato (1912-1995), a painter considered one of the greatest representatives of Italian abstract and informal art. Among the promoters of the Art Club (1945) and Forma I (1947), the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti, Gruppo degli Otto (1950) and Continuità (1960), Turcato boasted a vast number of shows at the most prominent institutions and galleries in Italy and abroad during his long and fruitful career. This solo exhibition showcases two series of works: the Tranquillanti (Tranquilizers), from 1961 and the Superfici lunari (Moon Surfaces) from 1964, which were exhibited in 1966 at the Venice Biennale. Introduced by the two Superfici malate (Diseased Surfaces) from 1957 and 1961, with their taches on a monochrome surface, the lounge room features La porta (The Door), a sculpture from 1973, five works on paper from 1961, and Ricordo di New York (Memory of New York) from 1963. When they made their first appearance at Galleria Il Canale in Venice in 1961, the Tranquillanti

compositions – paintings and collages of tranquilizer pills on canvas – caused a sensation. These pills punctuate the space, resembling a galaxy. This dreamlike place, however, regains its true identity through the inclusion of everyday objects: a “symptom of [Turcato’s] extraordinary capacity to live his time through those everyday situations of meeting people, being

rubber, a daring choice justified by the artist as follows: “I use rubber because its uneven crust is full of new happenings and wonder. Besides, on other occasions I used tar and other materials, as well as tranquilizers. My stylistic research is headed towards a new colour, starting from the principle that brown and amaranth are two colours outside the spectrum.”

an artist in the midst of others, which […] is also reflected in the very realization of the painting itself,” reads in the exhibition catalogue. The Superfici lunari, presented at the 1966 Biennale, assert the definitive originality of the artist, fascinated by the conquest of space and its myths. Oil painting and mixed techniques are set out on a surface of foam

Turcato works for pure colour, made to shine in the light due to its humble, fascinating reality. The surface becomes a place of constellations and imaginary astronomical maps, reminding us that beauty resides in everyday objects and in the simple material itself, even if it finds uneven footing in individual torments. The gallery Il Ponte is located in Via di Mezzo 42.

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Exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi March 10-July 23. ALEX PARK

urated by Palazzo Strozzi’s director Arturo Galansino and Bill Viola Studio’s executive director Kira Perov, Electronic Renaissance reviews Viola’s career, marked by a combination of technological research and aesthetic reflection, from his 1970’s early video experiments to his large installations of the 2010s famous for their impact on the senses. Born in New York in 1951, Viola is an unchallenged master of video art whose fame is rooted in his productions of video installation, sound environments, and performances, which offers a profound

immersion in space, image, and sound. His art explores the spirituality, experience and perception of

mankind by understanding bodies that interact with forces of nature such as water and fire, light and

“I am very happy to be returning to my Italian roots and to have this amazing opportunity to repay my debt to the great city of Florence with an offering of my work. Living and working in Florence in the 1970s, I never thought I would have the honor to show in such a distinguished institution as the Palazzo Strozzi.”

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NEWS dark, and the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. The Renaissance context of Palazzo Strozzi fuels a ‘dialogue’ between the classic and the contemporary through the juxtaposition of Viola’s work with masterpieces of the past that have inspired Viola and marked the development of his style. The exhibits is also an opportunity for the artist to return to his roots. In fact, it was in Florence that Viola developed his career as a video artist at the Art/Tapes/22, a center for video production and documentation, active in Florence from 1974 to 1976 under the direction of Maria Gloria Conti Bicocchi. Palazzo Strozzi will also extend the experience of the exhibition to other locations in Florence and Tuscany thanks to partnerships with other museums and venues such as the Uffizi Gallery, the Santa Maria Novella Church Museum in Florence, the St. Andrea Church Museum in Empoli, and the Great Museum of Florence Dome Museo, where visitors can purchase a combined ticket to visit the Palazzo Strozzi exhibit together with the Baptistry of San Giovanni and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. The latter will be hosting Bill Viola’s Observance (2002) and Acceptance (2008), on display to create a ‘dialogue’ with two of the museum’s iconic masterpieces: Donatello’s Penitent Magdalen and Michelangelo’s Bandini Pietà. Internationally recognized as one of the leading artists of our time, Viola has created a wide range of media works that are displayed in

major museums throughout the world. His ideas focus on universal human experiences–birth, death, the unfolding of consciousness– and have roots in both Eastern and Western art as well as spiritual traditions, including Zen Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and Christian mysticism. Viola represented the US at the Venice Biennale in 1995. Other key solo exhibitions include; Bill Viola: A 25-Year Survey organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art (1997); The Passions at the J.Paul Getty Museum (2003); Hatsu- Yume (First Dream) at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo in 2006; Bill Viola, visioni interiori at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, 2008; and Bill Viola, Grand Palais, Paris 2014. Two major installations, Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) (2014), and Mary (2016) are permanently on view at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, on loan from Tate.

Bill Viola. Electronic Renaissance Palazzo Strozzi March 10 to July 23 Exhibition opening hours Daily including holidays 10.00-20.00 Thursdays: 10.00-23.00 Reservations From Monday to Friday 9.0013.00/14.00-18.00 Tel +39 055 2469600 prenotazioni@palazzostrozzi.org

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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

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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.

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.

Florence News

CULTURE

A NEW APARTMENT, DEDICATED TO

ANNA MARIA LUISA DE'MEDICI

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10 Florence News

CULTURE

MARCH www.florencenews.it

A Florentine St. Patrick’s Day A

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 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 -eventually 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.

Ring in the New Year, Florentine-Style I

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

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

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.

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MARCH

Florence News 13

CULTURE

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Mimosa Flower and Social Change

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-

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-

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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14 Florence News

CULTURE

Celebrate Europe with Music T

he European University Institute is joining an initiative of Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome with a series of cultural, academic and sporting events through 2017. Signed on March 25, 1957, the Treaties of Rome established the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). The first Treaty, signed by high representatives from Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, brought

into existence the European Economic Community, also known as the Common Market. While its immediate objectives were to integrate trade and strengthen the economies of the area, one of its underlying political desires was to ‘lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the people of Europe’. The EURATOM treaty instead was meant to contribute to the formation and development of Europe’s nuclear industries so that all the Member States could benefit from the development of atomic ener-

gy and that the security of supply would be ensured. In 1972, representatives of these same six countries would sign the Convention establishing the European University Institute. As stated in Article 2 of the convention, ‘The aim of the Institute shall be to contribute, by its activities in the fields of higher education and research, to the development of the cultural and scientific heritage of Europe […] It shall take into account Europe’s cultural and linguistic pluralism and relations with cultures outside Europe.’

Here is the program of the Florentine concerts: Wednesday, March 1 Auditorium Cosimo Ridolfi (Via Carlo Magno 7), 9-10:30 p.m.

Orchestra dei Ragazzi della Scuola di Musica di Fiesole directed by Edoardo Rosadini

Friday, March 17 Deutsches Institut Florenz (Borgo Ognissanti, 9), 8-9:30 p.m. Violin: Emanuele Brilli Piano: Irene Novi

Thursday, March 30 Institut français Firenze (Piazza Ognissanti, 2), 8-9:30 p.m. Cello: Alain Meunier Piano: Anne Le Bozec

Friday, April 7 Harold Acton Library, British Institute of Florence (Lungarno Guicciardini, 9), 6-7:30 p.m. Tenor: Stuart Patterson Piano: Nina Uhari

Saturday, May 6 Villa Salviati (Via Bolognese, 156). Orchestra Cupiditas directed by Pietro Mazzetti

Friday, May 26 Centro de Lengua Española (Borgo Ognissanti, 9), 8-9:30 p.m. Guitar: Gabriele Putzulu

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Teaching English to Children

eaded by Deborah Chellini, StoryTime is a workshop at the Museum of San Casciano Val di Pesa, in the Chianti region of Tuscany, that intends to teach children ages 4-14 how to speak, read and write English through an interactive experience. Focusing on the power of storytelling, the learning experience is developed through hands-on techniques and walk/talk play. StoryTime also offers workshops for fluent english speakers who enjoy working children. The workshop includes storytelling and reading for and by the children, summer camps, study abroad opportunities, walk/talk activities and projects. All these opportunities may be modified and developed for individuals, associations and cultural institutions.

Director: Pietro Mazzetti Piano: Antonino Siringo

Thursday, May 18 Le Murate Caffè Letterario (Piazza delle Murate), 8-9:30 p.m. Datura Brass

www.storytime.it.

Museums Open to Kids From February to April Florence State museums offer special days for children from ages 7 to 14 and their families to discover the art and history of the city. Below is the program for the visits.

February

Sat. 4, 10:30 a.m., National Archeological Museum Sun. 12, 10:30 a.m., Modern Art Gallery Sun. 19, 10:30 a.m. Uffizi, Statue and paintings Gallery Sun. 19, 10:30 a.m., National Museum of the Bargello

March

Sat. 4, 10:30 a.m., Orsanmichele Sun. 12, 10:30 a.m., Pitti Palace Sun. 12, 3 p.m., Modern Art Gallery Sun. 19, 10:30 a.m., National Museum of the Bargello

April

Sat. 1, 10:30 a.m., National Archeological Museum Sat. 8, 10:30 a.m., Uffizi, Statue and paintings gallery Sat. 19, 10:30 a.m., Orsanmichele Sun. 30, 10:30 a.m., Modern Art Gallery For more information write to: uffizigiovani@beniculturali.it

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 15

NEWS

16 Florence News

ART & LITERATURE A Rich Literary City CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Zoom forward to 2017 and, with regard to the Anglo-American literary community, not much has changed. Florence is home to a satisfaction, and in all genres. Exactly how many is unclear but according to Mundy Walsh, the cultural director at St. Mark’s English Church in Via Maggio, co-editor of the online literary magazine The Sigh Press, and founder of Florence Writers, “Writers are usually quite solitary and many are just passing through Florence, so it’s difficult to gauge the number here at any one time. This transitory nature of the city can be both stimulating and frustrating but on a personal level I’ve noticed a great sense of community develop in the last number of years.” The first recommended stop for information for a writer or someone interested in literary events is the Florence Writers Facebook page. Florence Writers is an outgrowth of St. Mark’s Cultural Association and Ms. Walsh seems to always have some new event on the calendar. Two workshops on craft have recently been posted: How to Make Your Short Story Shine with Irish author Nuala O’Connor (March 9) and Snip! Snip! Editing Skills for Writers with editor Lisa Robbins (March 21). For writers ready to take the initial steps toward publication or are already published, the second annual Florence Writers Publishing Day will be held on May 13. This event brings together writers and top-level publishing profes-

sionals for a day-long seminar that includes roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings, and workshops reminiscent of writers conferences normally only found in the UK or US. Both workshops and the seminar require preregistration. In addition, the Florence Writers calendar includes frequent readings by published authors; the British Institute of Florence and New York University also host readings and lectures. For those interested in a several-day writer’s retreat, there are a wealth of alternatives. Several upcoming options in Tuscany include an Eventbrite Writer’s Retreat in Florence (April 3-9) organized around morning expeditions to gather inspiration from the city and afternoon writing sessions led by Irish author Conor Montague and American editor Lisa Robbins, six-day The Art of Writing retreats (June 4-10, September 10-16) in the mountains of Tuscany organized by Australian author Lisa Clifford and tutored by a team of international experts, and a Tuscan Writing Retreat (May 21-29) run by American writer Cary Tennis in medieval Castiglion Fiorentino. Ms. Robbins also offers ongoing workshops for writers. Anyone who has ever participated in a writer’s group knows the great value of having other writers read and comment on your work in progress. There are a number of writers groups that meet with varying frequency in Florence, many of which are spin-offs from Florence Writers. If you’re having trouble connecting with a group, ask around or check with the Paperback Exchange book-

MARCH www.florencenews.it

shop as they are an integral part of the English language literary community. If you’re looking to share what you’ve written with microphone in hand or want to be inspired by the work of others, the monthly Open Mic at Tasso Hostel, held on the first Wednesday of each month, is a must. The event was launched in June 2015 and aims to offer an opportunity for all kinds of original word-based expression in any language—prose, poetry, stand-up comedy, lyrics. The crowd is international and the event provides an evening of entertainment and a chance to connect with people involved in the local literary scene. Another popular open mic event centers around poetry and is organized in the spring and autumn by the St. Mark’s Cultural Association (next event 29 March). Poems range from self-authored pieces to most-beloved classics with laughter, Negronis, and tears in roughly equal proportions in the candle-lit hall. Florence is rife with opportunities for English literature enthusiasts and writers, who need not sit alone with pen and notebook or computer. According to Ms. Walsh, “Writers living here actively support and encourage each other’s work, which is very important when staring at a blank page or when hit by any number of other writerly roadblocks!” Lori Hetherington is an Italian>English translator and longtime resident of Florence who is actively involved in the local literary scene.

Homage to Fellini

art of the Lucca Film Festival and the Europa Cinema 2017, the exhibit Il Viaggio di Mastorna. Il sogno di un film messo in scena dedicated to Federico Fellini isl taking place at the Lorenzo Viani contemporary art gallery in Viareggio from March 18 to April 30, every day except Mondays, in the afternoon. Fellini began working on The Journey of Mastorna in the early 60’s, putting down ideas, designing scenes and costumes, preparing the screenplay and even casting actors. Though never realized, the movie was based on ideas later developed by the masterful director, thus mak-

ing the exhibit interesting for all Fellini and cinema lovers. Il Viaggio di Mastorna. Il sogno di un film messo in scena Viareggio, GAMC - Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Lorenzo Viani Tel.: 0584 581118 March 18 - April 30 From Tuesday to Sunday, 3:30-7:30 p.m. Entrance: 8 Euro, reduced ticket 4 Euro.

Exoteric Studies and Spiritual Coaches

Something rather different than the usual is what you can find at the Applied Metaphysics Academy, an Holistic center and a school for exoteric studies in Florence. The school has a team of professional spiritual coaches and organizes groups of a minimum of 15 people, such as the Exoteric Tour of Florence. Private sessions of past life regressions, channeling with a personal spiritual guide, astrological chart, tarots, aura cleaning, chakra rebalancing, ayurvedic, multidimensional and craniumsacral massage are also available.

Sunday Brunch

GLUTEN FREE Reservation is strongly recommended

RISTORANTE QUINOA Vicolo di S. Maria Maggiore, 1 055 29 08 76 www.ristorantequinoa.it

The Applied Metaphysics Academy is located on Borgo Pinti, 20.

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

18 Florence News

ART & LITERATURE

A Room with A View A masterpiece revisited

WILLIAM FRENCH

ollywood’s eye, either with the sparkle or infectious discharge of nostalgia, has fixed itself here on the capital of the Renaissance. Last year, Inferno, the third instalment of Ron Howard’s blockbusters based on Dan Brown’s books, came to theaters around the world; earlier this winter, Netflix started streaming the series, Medici: Masters of Florence, a 15th century murder mystery starring Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden; and recently Mel Gibson, the controversial Academy Award-winning director renowned for historical epics, teased the subject of his next movie, the Medici family, focusing on Lorenzo the Magnificent. Florence is no stranger to foreign and domestic films. Ranging from Ridley Scott’s psychological thriller Hannibal to Marco Tullio Giordana’s cinematic achievement The Best of Youth, with a runtime of six hours, the oeuvre of this city features stories about a cannibalistic serial killer, four local friends, a Hitchcockian businessman, British aristocrats and many more. Poets, painters, sculptors and architects are no longer the only artists who have contributed to the beauty of Florence; by now directors, too, have attempted to secure its ineffable

mystery with their cameras. But of all these attempts, the essential film for the wayward traveller, the lovesick tourist far away from home, is still A Room with a View. Based on the brilliant novel by E.M. Forster, A Room with a View tells the story of Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), a young woman torn between her romantic impulses and the restrictive culture of the Edwardian era; between her stuffy fiancé Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) and the ernest George Emerson (Julian Sands), the romantic figure of the film, a reader of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Byron. Directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant and with a script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, it marked the start of the trio’s golden age, which led to the critically acclaimed Howard’s End and Remains of the Day, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning four of them. A novelist has at their service the artifice of language to form the tone of a work; a director of literary adaptations thus has the difficult task of manifesting this tone visually. One might think of the sinister stone towers in Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, or the suspicious darkness of Thornfield Hall in Cary Fukunaga’s recent take on Jane Eyre. Similarly, in A Room with a View, the pastoral scenery

and Florence cityscape, pristinely photographed, seem to enchant its characters like a supernatural force, freeing them from the superficial customs of daily life. Eleanor Lavish, played by Judi Dench, remarks: “I have a theory that there is something in the Italian landscape which inclines even the most stolid nature to romance.” This aspect of the film conjures up two of its most beautiful sequences. On a sunbaked Tuscan hillside, to the sound of a Puccini aria, Lucy stumbles down a field of poppies to where George, standing, fans himself with his hat. Then, facing her, the once-brooding boy strides through the field, drops the hat and abruptly kisses her. Her body quakes; the aria crescendos. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most passionate kisses in the history of cinema, as well as one of the most beautifully shot. Back in England, George, Freddy (Rupert Graves) and Mr. Beebe (Simon Callow), a kind-hearted yet slightly Boccaccio-esque rector, bathe and play in a pond. Barenaked, they jump joyfully into the water, splashing and hollering, racing around its edges. They are unheeded, happy; and although the scene concludes with a comedic clash, the characters and audience find an unspeakable bliss among the lush landscape. The film, like most masterpieces, critiques the society of the time, notably the killjoy prejudices of the middle and upper-middle classes. Personified by Cecil Vyse, an aristocratic dandy with a penchant for portentous posturings and smug scoffs, and Charlotte Bartlett, the uptight and socially-inept chaperone

MARCH www.florencenews.it played by Maggie Smith, this theme places a necessary juxtaposition at the foot of the film’s unhinged romanticism. Both of them deny the kindnesses of others for the sake of their beliefs: Charlotte, adhering to the scripture of propriety and etiquette, rudely refuses the rooms offered to her and her cousin by the Emersons; Cecil, due to his aesthetic snobbishness, “spoils the fun” of Lucy’s free-thinking family

a room, never in the real country like this.” She quickly replies: “Do you know I think you’re right. When I do think of you it is always in a room.” Disappointed by Lucy’s answer and by himself, Cecil silently casts his eyes down to the ground. Close to the end of the film, Day-Lewis portrays another stab of painful self-realization, a stray vein bulging on his forehead -- yet another magnificent performance

Masters of Florence, a 15th century murder mystery starring Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden; and recently Mel Gibson, the controversial Academy Award-winning director renowned for historical epics, teased the subject of his next movie, the Medici family, focusing on Lorenzo the Magnificent. and cannot apprehend Lucy’s true self to his own detriment. But these characters, although humorously mocked, are not solely confined to the mundane two-dimensional caricatures typical of social satire; they are also highly sympathetic and have heart-wrenching moments in which they face their flaws. They, too, are given a view. Before an awkward, monocle-fumbling faceplant of a kiss, Cecil sits down amongst the serene English verdure, his features and stark formal suit glowing against the greenery. He says to Lucy: “I somehow think that you feel more at home with me in

that solidifies his position as one of the foremost actors of our day. To the wayward traveller: Let this film inform you about the beauty of this city and the splendor of its countryside. Let this film bring you comfort at a time in which we seem to be cowardly hiding away in the safety of pre-romantic love, at a time in which a strict ideological scripture forces us to condemn characters rather than feel forgiveness for them. Let this film allow you to look hopefully into the future, to imagine the films yet to find their way into the oeuvre of Florence.

Florence in the Blogosphere LEE FOUST

hile Milan has recently been named “City of the Book and of Reading,” Florence’s artists and literati seem to have have recently carved a niche for themselves on the internet. Expatriate visual artists and writers have exploded into the blogosphere with a smorgasbord of websites and facebook pages. Integrating artistic workshops, studio visits, literature and literary events, self-promotion, humor, interviews, and information to help newcomers to the city navigate everything from where to eat cheaply to how to deal with marriage: Italian style, the artistic Florentine expat blogosphere is well established. Seems like it all started with a facebook group page called Creative People in Florence (www.facebook. com/groups/318589264834446) and, as I write this, the group has just exceeded 15,000 members! Creative People has also grown into a lovely blog (creativepeopleinflorence.wordpress.com) with a monthly calendar, announcements of workshops for those who want to learn the arts from professional practitioners, studio visits and openings, a directory of artists and writers of all types, and spotlights—pages given to locals to present themselves and what they do. (I blush to report that I was honored to pen the very first spot-

light about my own work and why I self publish.) Brainchild of artist and jewelry designer Sara Amrhein and photographer Birgitte Brønsted (later joined by visual artist Anna Rose), the Creative People group also sponsors a get-together aperativo three or four times a year—a wonderful moment to enjoy a drink and a schmooze with fellow artistic expats and native Florentines.

While Milan was recently been named “City of the Book and of Reading,” Florence’s artists and literati seem to have have recently carved a niche for themselves on the internet. Expatriate visual artists and writers have exploded into the blogosphere with a smorgasbord of websites and facebook pages.

Straight outta the Creative People collective, Nardia Plumridge’s slick and informative blog Lost in Florence (www.lostinflorence.it) acts as a gorgeous introduction to Florence for hungry and thirsty expats. It features dining tips, watering hole suggestions, secret places to visit, and profiles of local artists and artisans. Similarly, Georgette Jupe’s Girl in Florence (girlinflorence.com) gives you the lay of the land cuisine-wise and a series of interviews with “Locals I Love” from another committed, Florence-loving expat from the Lone Star State. Since this is supposed to be a literary column, allow me to introduce you to Florence Writers, its facebook page (www.facebook. com/Florencewritersitaly) and the group’s excellent blogists. Florence Writers is the brainchild of Mundy Walsh and sponsored by St. Mark’s church as part of their community outreach program (which also includes concerts and lectures) and, besides its informative facebook page, hosts a series of readings/encounters with writers in the fall and spring, and has a workshop group that meets once a week to critique one another’s latest works and to keep up morale in the lonely business of putting pen to paper. (Write to Mundy directly for more details: administrator@stmarksitaly.com) Mundy, along with poet and bookarts professional Lyall Harris, also edits The Sigh Press (thesighpress.

com) a themed, quarterly literary journal featuring English-language poems and fiction from Tuscany. Check out the submissions page for this quarter’s theme and the next submission deadline. Besides Mundy’s journal and my own humble presence in the group

Seems like it all started with a facebook group page called Creative People in Florence (www.leefoust.com/index.html), The Florence Writers have three literary blogists of note. M. Elizabeth Evan’s Surviving in Italy (survivinginitaly.com) is my personal favorite Florentine expat site—not because she is a former creative writing student of mine or because she is a dear friend, but rather because she is such a great writer. Surviving in Italy is mostly whimsical and self-revelatory, therefore often raunchy and hilarious. Misty’s candor, combined with a sharp intellect and her keen observations regarding the interactions of us expats with the Italian/Florentine worldview creates an informative and thoughtful look at the expatriate experience—one very close to my own. The death threats in the comments section are a testament

to how Misty’s tellin’ it like it is! Lest I be accused of singling out expats from the English-speaking world only, allow me to give a shout-out to Romanian-born Ela Vasilescu’s blog and facebook page Writer in Florence (writerinflorence.com). Ela is a short story writer of extraordinary power who also teaches storytelling strategies to English-speaking children and whose blog is more personal and reflective than travelogue-ish. She, too, posts her interviews of local artists and expats, but is currently in the middle of a project inspired by those photographers who snap a single subject every day for a calendar year: “365 Days of my Life.” I’ve grown so accustomed to Ela’s daily ruminations that I’m sure to feel empty and sad when the year is up. The latest addition to our Florence Writers group is Marisa Garreffa, a perky Perth-born Aussie who comes from the theatre milieu of, as she puts it, “the world’s most remote city.” Marisa’s personal site, A Curious Illness, (acuriousillness. com) features occasional texts both thoughtful and personal, as well as excerpts from the memoir upon which she is currently working— fasten your seatbelts before reading, she hits hardest on the toughest subjects. You can also get a look at her theatrical accomplishments at Mondo di Corpo (mondodicorpo.com.au).

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 19

LITERATURE

Meet Nuala O’Connor A

s a precursor to her short story workshop and reading from Mother America on the March 9, Nuala O’Connor agreed to answer questions about writing, female characterization and authorship, and the relationship between her work and her life.

When did you know you wanted to pursue writing as a career? I’ve been writing since I was a kid – I came second in a national poetry competition when I was nine, with a poem in Irish (Gaelic) about Travelers – but it wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I got serious

about it. I didn’t think it was something ordinary people could do, I thought it was for hallowed, knowledgeable people with some inside track. I moved to Galway to work in a theatre and there were two writers on the staff. They were gently encouraging so I took some workshops, began sending out stories and poems to literary magazines and competitions and, eventually, a manuscript of poetry to a local feminist press, Arlen House, who took me on.

As people we all have our influences: our families, our countries, our hometowns, our language, our peers, our environment, our passions, our prejudices. When writing, we would do well to challenge some of those things and slip on different lives to see what it might be like to be The Other. That’s why writers have to be hungry, greedy readers. We need to know a lot, observe a lot, think deeply and be compassionate to produce good work.

How has being a mother affected the way you write female characters in your work?

When writing about characters who are partially based on your own experiences, how do you keep your characters’ lives separate from your own?

I’ve been a mother since I was twenty-three so I’ve never not been a mother while serious about writing. My female characters are often mothers, often pretty unhinged or nasty ones but, like all baddies, they have their merits. I like to explore the female psyche in my work – as a feminist it interests me how women are in the world, how we can take obstacles and thrash them, and what repercussions that thrashing has on the wider life. Being a mother makes you fierce and protective so, even when my characters are going through hell, I like to nourish them a bit, give them hope. How can writers avoid falling into stereotypical representations of their female characters?

So many of my characters are versions of me: they are composites of me and others, or fusions of me and other people at various ages. They often live out things I have lived: fertility traumas, broken marriage, passionate relationships, loss etc. But I also invent huge parts of them: physicality, motivations, eventual landing places, thought processes. So, while I draw from my own life, I do it at a remove – these characters are not me but they often very much are me too. Writing is such a weird admixture of things: connection, distance, passion, investigation, impartiality. I use my own life, but I also can remain detached, because I am

constructing a story and that’s the most important thing. Who are some female authors you would recommend for readers interested in complex female characters? Amy Bloom, Emma Donoghue, Michele Roberts, Alison MacLeod, Anne Enright, Sarah Perry, Mia Gallagher, Lorrie Moore, the Brontes. All of these writers will make you giggle, weep and ruminate. What more could you ask for?

Nuala O’Connor was born in Dublin, Ireland, and lives in East Galway. Already well-known under the name Nuala Ní Chonchúir, she has published four short story collections; her fifth short story collection Joyride to Jupiter will appear from New Island in 2017. Penguin USA, Penguin Canada and Sandstone (UK) published Nuala’s third novel, Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid, which was shortlisted for the Bord Gáis Energy Eason Book Club Novel of the Year 2015 and is currently long-listed for the 2017 International DUBLIN Literary Award. Nuala’s fourth novel, Becoming Belle, is forthcoming. Interview with thanks to Shelley T Martin.

20 Florence News

LITERATURE

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Passions Rather than Ideas A review of Susan Sontag’s Volcano Lover

LEE FOUST

ritic Lettie Ransley of The Guardian calls Susan Sontag’s self-proclaimed romance The Volcano Lover “A novel of ideas.” According to the blurbs on the back of the Picador paperback, the New York Times critic does the same. Seems like the literary establishment wanted to praise Sontag’s historical fiction of Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to the Bourbon Kingdom of Naples, his remarkable wife Emma, and

Emma’s scandalous affair with English war hero admiral Nelson, but they were puzzled enough by the book’s form to feel obliged to give it that deadly post-modern stamp, to categorize it as a tad European, a bit intellectual, perhaps subtly off-putting to readers of Gresham, King, and Brown, to brand it “a novel of ideas.” The Volcano Lover, published in 1992, is, in retrospect, not a novel of ideas so much as a romance of passions. It begins with Hamilton’s passion for collecting—first for art, then objects, and finally his late acquisition of the inimitable Emma—and flows seamlessly into Emma and Nelson’s unexpected and ill-timed love affair—backdropped by the political passion of the short-lived Republic of Naples. Lady Hamilton’s assumed passing of the royal outrage of the deposed queen to Lord Nelson, and the admiral’s ruthless putting down of the high-minded Jacobins when he restores the monarchy (historically the biggest blot on the hero’s military career), finishes the etymological exploration of the word passion (from Latin “patire” to suffer), when the romance recounts the sad martyrdom of the short-lived democratic governors of the city. It makes a good read in these days in which democracy seems again teetering on the brink, as the USA, for

the second time in the last 5 elections, has saddled the nation with a president not elected by the people but by the electoral college. I had to read Sontag’s conversation with Edward Hirsh in the Paris Review (“The Art of Fiction #143”—available online) in order to understand the book’s form, its division into four unequal parts

For The Volcano Lover alternates freely between these two styles of discourse. It never quite throws historical detail or its opinionated commenting authorial voice out the window for that pretend fictional narrator. with a prologue. In the interview Sontag explains her inspiration for the structure: “I took it from a piece of music, Hindemith’s The Four Temperaments... (It) starts with a triple prologue, three very short

pieces. Then come four movements—melancholic, sanguinic, phlegmatic, choleric. In that order. I knew I was going to have a triple prologue and then four sections or parts corresponding to the four temperaments—though I saw no reason to belabor the idea by actually labeling Parts I to IV ‘melancholic,’ ‘sanguinic,’ etcetera.” Oh, Ms. Sontag, please belabor! Once I had understood this structure, The Volcano Lover became a considerably more enjoyable read. For it is a text libel to be off-putting for those accustomed to the easy, pretend-omniscient narrative of standard historical fiction—as well as those avid readers of history. For The Volcano Lover alternates freely between these two styles of discourse. It never quite throws historical detail or its opinionated commenting authorial voice out the window for that pretend fictional narrator. Nor does it fail to digress on its themes or to recount events out of order for dramatic effect, or to descend wholly into the voices and opinions of its characters, letting them have their say—particularly in the stunning “choleric” conclusion, in which 4 angry women clear the air from beyond the grave. Focused as I was on the traditions of the historical novel, I read on ignorant of what this post-modern romance was actual-

Via San Gallo, 16R 055 21 78 82

The Volcano Lover, published in 1992, is, in retrospect, not a novel of ideas so much as a romance of passions. ly achieving. All things considered, I understand why critics wanted to praise The Volcano Lover—it does all of the enjoyable things that a traditional historical novel does: it informs, instructs, and entertains. But it does these things in a new and unfamiliar form—one so thoughtful and systematic it could only be labeled postmodern, a narrative experiment, alas, a novel of ideas. Ah, but the idea is volcanic.

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Unexpected Florentine Literary Sojourn Florence in Samuel Beckett’s pages

LEE FOUST

n his first written—but posthumously published—novel, The Dream of Fair to Middling Women, Samuel Beckett has his protagonist, Belacqua Shua, as he stalks a Dublin backstreet, wax poetic remembering Another, far-away city: “For there Florence would slip into the cantilena, the Piazza della Signoria and the No 1 tram and the festival of St. John there with the torches of resin ensconced in the niches of every tower flickering all night long and children with the rockets at the fall of night over the

Cascine still flagrant in their memory opened the little cages to the glutted cicadae that had survived the long confinement and sat on with their irresponsible parents long after their usual bedtime. Then he walked slowly in his mind down the sinister Uffizi to the parapets of the Arno etc. This pleasure was bestowed by the knowledge of the Fire Station across the way that had apparently been copied here and there from the Palazzo Vecchio. In homage to Savonarola? Hee! Hee! Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, it was a tolerable ramble in the gloaming...” As every tolerably well-informed

student of European literature knows, Samuel Beckett, by birth an Irishman, encountered fellow countryman James Joyce, moved to Paris in the 1930s, settled in France, and transitioned into writing primarily in French in the wake of World War II. However, as finding the above-quoted passage lead me to discover, before the literary encounters with Proust and Diderot, Beckett was obsessed with Dante, before his success writing for the Pariasian stage with Waiting for Godot, he wrote two practically unpublishable books—a novel and a collection of stories culled from the novel—and, like his friend and Mentor Joyce, for Beckett, before Paris there was Italy—and Beckett’s Italy, I discovered, lies right here in Florence—“Along the Mugnone,” as he says in Dream... According to James Knowlson’s Damned to Fame: the Life of Samuel Beckett, the Irishman came to Florence his senior year of university to prepare for his final exams in Italian and French, hoping to perfect his Italian, absorb as much of Florence’s artistic patrimony as possible, and especially because

Beckett was obsessed with Dante, before his success writing for the Pariasian stage with Waiting for Godot

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Florence News 21

LITERATURE his private Italian tutor in Dublin’s sister, Vera Esposito, was living near Fiesole. The future absurdist found lodging in Via Campanella, 14, near the Piazza Oberdan, “paying 30 lire for a small room and

name from the slothful Florentine lute maker met by the Pilgrim on the shores of Mt. Purgatory in the Commedia’s second canticle. This first creation of the young Irish author does not betray the later cat-

This pleasure was bestowed by the knowledge of the Fire Station across the way that had apparently been copied here and there from the Palazzo Vecchio. In homage to Savonarola? Hee! Hee! Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, it was a tolerable ramble in the gloaming... three meals a day.” Apparently the trip was a success, seeing as how Beckett came in first in his class in the exams. Also, judging from the reminiscence of Belacqua’s in Dream…, the city and the celebration of its patron Saint John left an indelible mark on the young scholar’s memory. Not only the sensory and visual memory of the city, but certainly the great epic poem of Florence’s most famous son, Dante Alighieri, features quite heavily in Beckett’s oeuvres, particularly the early writings. Besides many allusions and references to the Commedia, The protagonist of both the unpublished first novel (Dream of Fair to Middling Women) and the collection of tales of his life and death (some excerpted from the novel itself), More Pricks than Kicks, is one Belacqua Shua. Belacqua takes his

alogue of Beckett’s absurdist proto-human figures, from Murphy (of the eponymous novel, the first Beckett managed to publish), who releases tension by tying himself to an overturned rocking chair and dangling from it, to the disembodied figures plodding through the dark of the Nohow On Trilogy, the ineffectual, ambitiousless, Purgatorial nature of life on earth has never been better depicted. I doubt Dante, the Christian optimist, would approve. Still, Beckett’s wonderful comic representation of creatures and situations most of us would deem tragic, opened up the tragi-comic or absurdist strain of literature, perhaps the twentieth century’s most startling literary invention. It’s nice to know that, classicist as it is, the city of Florence is not altogether absent from the genesis of such shenanigans.

22 Florence News

LITERATURE

MARCH www.florencenews.it

From London to Florence Baret Magarian to Launch first novel

LEE FOUST

aret Magarian is a first generation Armenian immigrant born and raised in London, England. When the bustle and hassles of the British metropolis wore this aspiring novelist and literary journalist down, he escaped to Florence. “In

Florence I found sunshine, some good friends, and the tranquility I needed to concentrate on writing,” says Magarian on the eve of the publication of his first novel, the epic The Fabrications, coming later this spring from the prestigious New York-based Pleasure Boat Studio. “Florence is a complex city. It teases, taunts, remaining aloof— one can’t help but love its beauty. As Mary McCarthy said, Florence is like the Platonic form of a thing, undiluted and unfiltered, it captures essences where stark reality is blurry. That’s inspiring for an artist.”

The Fabrications, although re-considered, honed, and launched from Florence is very much the product of Magarian’s previous London life—which he spent writing literary journalism for The Guardian (among others) and working for avant-garde publishing maverick John Calder. The novel focuses on Oscar Babel, projectionist of a dilapidated Camden Cinema, who’s

As Mary McCarthy said, Florence is like the Platonic form of a thing, undiluted and unfiltered, it captures essences where stark reality is blurry. That’s inspiring for an artist.” catapulted to overnight stardom in the London art world and ends up a media-produced guru, and finally a kind of new Messiah by novel’s end. As in a medieval painting of a dying man, two figures sit squarely on Oscar’s shoulders, writer Daniel Bloch and publicist Ryan Rees.

Angel and demon, Bloch and Rees wrestle not necessarily for Oscar’s soul, but over his image and fate certainly. When the novelist Bloch writes a fiction about his friend the events of the narrative begin happening in real life, much to Oscar’s bemusement. Then, in a more Mephistophelian manner, publicist Rees picks the projectionist up in mid-transformation and re-constructs him anew into a media darling and a kind of prophet of sensuality for an alienated digital age. But, if the New Testament and Tommy teach us anything, it’s that being the new messiah is a tough gig. These two colliding visions of metamorphosis, the one rather ancient, which uses art as a metaphor for creation in time, and the other our somewhat facile modern day public image ltd., give The Fabrications its brilliant and complex dual meditation upon soul and image, spirituality and spin, philosophy and satire. Never more prescient than in our post-fact world—in which reality TV show figures who never read books but watch endless hours of television hold the highest political offices in the land, The Fabrications’ satire is spot on (as the Brits say). The Ryan Rees character could easily stand-in for a Karl Rove—if Rove, rather than producing silky presidents out of

sow’s ears rather conjured up new messiahs. However, as a long-time reader of serious literature, and as a writer myself, I most enjoyed Oscar’s tentative, mysterious, and ultimately profound relationship with his friend Bloch. The concept of writing in things and events goes back to medieval readings of the Old Testament that posit that God, the ultimate creator, wrote morality through people and events—what we today call history. Bloch’s conjuring up a fictional version of his friend Oscar and building an important destiny for this ordinary

The novel focuses on Oscar Babel, projectionist of a dilapidated Camden Cinema, who’s catapulted to overnight stardom in the London art world and ends up a media-produced guru, and finally a kind of new Messiah by novel’s end. man who projects movies onto a screen (like Plato’s forms onto the cave walls) is a tour-de-force of the literary imagination. I couldn’t recommend The Fabrications more strongly; it’s a wondrous novel both cleverly satirical of our spectacle-based society and philosophically profound, a rare accomplishment.

PINART SNACK BAR ANNA THE BAGEL POINT Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and the jumbo cappuccinos while having a chat with Anna and Stefano, who will welcome you in a warm and friendly way. Grab one of the many homemade bagels, the bar’s perfected specialty since 1990. These bagels and sandwiches have made this snack spot one of the most popular among local Americans. While taking a break in the back seating area you will be pleased to experience the no-charge table service, which places Snack Bar Anna far from the ‘tourist traps’ in the city. Opening hours: Mon. to Sat.: 8:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. Via de’ Ginori, 26/r 055 23 81 143 miranna.lomartire@gmail.com

WINE ON TAP IN SANTO SPIRITO Bring your bottle to be filled starting from less than €1.50 straight from the barrels of Il Santo Vino. Here patrons can choose from a wide range 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

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Open: Mon–Sat: 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Via Guicciardini, 2/r 055 23 98 450 www.pinart.it

THE MOST FAMOUS DISCO IN FLORENCE CLUB RESTAURANT & SHOW YAB FLORENCE The most famous famousdisco discoofofFlorence Florence- which - which a point The most is aispoint of of reference for generations generationsboth bothininItaly Italyand and abroad (boastreference for abroad (boasting than 36 36years yearsofofsuccessful successful nights after first ing more more than nights after its its first one in novel look, abreast one in 1979) 1979) ––shows showsaacompletely completely novel look, abreast with the syles raging in the world, fruit of studies and of with the styles raging in the world and collaborations collaborationspeople of experienced people whorequirements have met theof experienced who have met the requirements the owners. of the owners. Artists such as Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Sean ArtistsMadonna, such as Robert DeBowie, Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn, David Yves Saint Laurent and Penn, Madonna, David Bowie, Yves Saint Laurent and others are our stricly friends. others are our stricly friends.

YAB THE APP GRAND OPENING - February 9th at 10:00 PM - EVERY THURSDAY! TAKE IT EASY: JUST HAVE FUN with "COYOTE YAB"! DOORS OPEN: 10:00 PM with COYOTE BISTRO' available for Dinner and tasty snacks until late at night! COYOTE KARAOKE from 10:30 PM to Midnight! LIVE COVER BAND until 01:00 AM with one the most entertaining Florentine bands amongst the local Florentine and International University scene! DJ set to follow until late! And of course don’t miss our special COYOTE GIRLS!!! FREE ENTRANCE FOR EVERYONE UNTIL MIDNIGHT!

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24 Florence News

CITY BEAT

Half Marathon Returns April 9 stakeholders, such as sponsors, contractors, charities, competitors and audience, to take up sustainability initiatives. Registration costs span from € 24 to € 27 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 open from 7-9 a.m. on the day.

Half Marathon – The classic Half Marathon (21,097 km) – Non competitive race (10 km)

he 33rd international Half Marathon Vivicittà will take place on Sunday, April 9. 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, and 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 Vivicittà’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. Vivicittà 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

Walking (5 km) Kids race “Tommasino Run” (1,5 km) Sunday, April 9 Half Marathon Village, Piazza Santa Croce www.halfmarathonfirenze.it

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Rome Marathon 23rd Anniversary Sunday, April 2, 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-year or older on day of race) -Registration must be completed online by March 15 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 start at Via dei Fori Imperiali and ends at Circo Massimo Open to animals Registration is €10 and closes the day before the race

Marathon Village Palazzo dei congressi March 30- April 1, 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 4, 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 3 and is €25. Entry to the event is limited to the first 1000 participants. For more information visit the official website: https://www.firenzeurbantrail.com/en/the-races/13-km-by-night/ presentation.html

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Blue Knight: Timeless Elegance

hen Warren Knight and Olivier de Molina met in China, it was clear that the two shared a passion for the finer things in life. Their bond over classic, elegant, and rich products paved the way to the opening of Warren’s dream of an interior design and accessory store in Florence; BLU Knight is offering a wide array of fine high quality products inspired design from 18th century England, Han, Ming & Qing Dynasties of China and Italian baroque period. Since the opening in summer 2015, Warren and Olivier have gradually shifted the focus from an interior design studio/boutique to a lifestyle brand. They felt that the store should evolve with other ideas and designs, the result was the

creations of a new home/clothing department BLU Uomo, including linen towels, pyjamas, signature scented candles, and a men’s clothing and accessories section. The Gentlemen’s boutique opened last month, with Knight and de Molina having already collaborated with their manufacturers to customize their product’s fabric, lining, color, and materials etc. BLU Uomo is synonymous with class, elegance, and sophistication. The aesthetic is that of the contemporary gentleman, with Knight contributing his modern American vision and de Molina his more traditional European vision. The two intertwine to create a wardrobe for the sophisticated contemporary gentleman, complemented by fine

Florence News 25

CITY BEAT

furniture, antiques, and lighting, all chosen with the upmost attention to detail. The store sells works of artesian craftsmen of eastern and western descent including pieces from 6th generation Chinese painters and traditional Tuscan frame makers. With globalization, Olivier says, it is vital to try and preserve traditional methods of production. It is important for Warren as well as him that products are about “villagization,” (a term he uses to refer to opposite of globalization.) Thus, the store sells handmade goods that not only keep tradition going, but support local communities that were the foundation to luxuries and comfort. Many of the chandeliers and lighting come from local Tuscan artisans (Badari Lighting), while Warren and Olivier provide specific instructions and feedback as to how their products turn out. This is their attempt at holding onto a piece of history for the pleasure of future generations in a time where massive corporations are seizing control of every industry. The multi-brand store has attracted both foreigners and locals alike. The two designers hope to eventually expand BLU Knight to other countries, as of now they offer their personalized, luxury services and goods across the world from their home base Florence. Their work is not restricted to the products they put out, but the camaraderie with their associates and manufacturers, customer satisfaction, positive relations, and preservation of artisanal methods and techniques. www.bluknight.it

Benheart Launches Expanded Boutique B

enheart, one of the emerging stylists in Florence, is opening a renewed shop on Via Della Vigna XX, the street that in the 60’s made Florence the capital of Italian fashion, on March 18. Benheart, whose fashion targets young people, had opened last year another shop on Via Cimatori, near Piazza della Signoria, in the very heart of the city. The story of this young stylist by the name of Ishan begia directly, and literally, from his heart heart. It was in fact after a heart transplant that Ishan woke up with a new perspective on life, realizing that he now had the best chance to express his emotions through his hands. That’s why Benheart is tantamount to ‘son of the heart,’ a heart that is the distinctive look imprinted on all his leather goods: shoes, bags, jackets, and belts. Six years ago, he opened his first store in Florence. Currently, there are six stores, five of which are in Italy and one of which is in Tokyo. Soon there will be seven boutiques, as a new one is about to open in San Francisco, CA at the beginning of the next year. Along with his heart, Ishan takes inspiration from the American way of living, which he describes as vivacious, happy, full of hopes and fueled by dreams. Happiness and dreams are the main ingredients of this new fashion based primarily

on quality, on the quality of emotions that come from the heart. “We look at the quality first: quality is our brand identity. Then, of course, all our products have to fit and be beautiful when you wear them,” Ben told us. The clothing and accessories are entirely crafted by hand, the treatment of which is derived from the traditions of Ben’s native town. Customized pieces are also available if you visit one of their locations in Florence.

Benheart Via della Vigna Nuova, 97/r Via CImatori, 25/r www.benheart.it

LUX TUESDAY

BEST HIP HOP NIGHT PARTY IN FLORENCE FRIDAY

THE HOUSE OF HIP HOP Via dei Pandolfini, 26r 340 791 3985

For the full program check our facebook page

26 Florence News

CITY BEAT

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Roberto Ugolini: Master Loafer

Twenty-five Years of Style

Meet Sauro, founder of Contrasto Aveda Salon

t all began in 1991 on Via della Mosca, a tiny street behind Via De’ Neri. It was here that Sauro opened his first saloon. At that time it was a small shop, and Sauro could not imagine that years later the saloon would multiply by three, and no longer be small. He took the next shop, connected to his, and this is how the first big salon was born. Then, in the course of the years, came the other two. The second, the Aveda Concept, opened in 2005 on the corner between Via della Mosca and Via de’ Neri; the third on Via de Benci, as an

Aveda Salon, in 2010. The name Contrasto was chosen “because it means ‘opposite’, which to me has the significance of the different styles that our team can offer,” tells us Sauro. To ‘Contrasto’ then ‘Aveda’ was added, as Sauro’s, 20 years ago, was the first salon in Florence to offer the Aveda brand. Back then, in Italy, the brand was not as famous as today. Even in this respect Sauro was a pioneer. But there is one element in particular that makes it possible to tell a history, to make the ‘Contrasto’ brand unique.

Via de' Neri 18r

“The most important thing, the one that gave us the possibility to have a story to tell, is training: single and collective, professional and human, at times with imperfections, but always with the intent to transform any situation or episode into a new occasion or opportunity to improve,” says Sauro. Training, human and professional, is what allows to give value to diversity. “I have always believed that to hide our defects is an error, as it is through diversity that we can exalt our unicity. Real beauty means to be authentic, it is treasure to discover day by day, with perseverance and thrift. It is from this belief that the essence of the three Contrasto salons was born, which to me today represent a balanced ‘ecosystem’ whose foundation is, first of all, human growth. It is essential to be able to always communicate the humility and the passion that we have for our job. For this reason I have decided to invest a lot of energy on training my staff, not only a stylistic and technical training, but also human; I believe that a person with passion can obtain much more than a thousand people,” says Sauro. The salons are also involved in some charitable activities, “to help those who have physical difficulties.” Twenty five years have passed, the passion for the job has remained and is destined to remain for a long time.

uality and elegance. This is what you can find in a small shop next to Piazza Santo Spirito that carries on the antique tradition of designing and producing handcrafted shoes, primarily for male clients who want to wear the top quality. The shop is that of Roberto Ugolini, a Florentine artisan famous in America and Japan for designing and manufacturing shoes based on the wishes of his customers and on the shape of their foot. The shop offers a wide range of solutions regarding shape, colors and materials. Entering it you can ‘breath’ the air of an old tradition that today has become a rare luxury.

The formula of Roberto is that of combining the best Florentine artisan traditions with the highest quality of materials. Always with the same scope: quality and elegance.

Roberto Ugolini Via Michelozzi 27/r (next to Piazza Santo Spirito) www.roberto-ugolini.com

Il Supermercato... da Gustare e deGustare

Sapori & Dintorni is the new way to do the shopping: in the heart of Florence there is a place where Food, Culture and Territory meet. Get in and discover the Big Supermarket to test and taste! Inside you will find many typical products of the Italian food tradition. Buy your favorite product and taste it within the tasting area.

FIND YOUR LOCAL BIG SUPERMARKET IN THE CITY CENTER

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THE BIG SUPERMARKETS ARE OPEN: • Monday - Saturday: from 08.30 am to 9.00 pm • Sunday: from 09.30 am to 9.00 pm

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Rex Hosts Martera’s House’n’Roll

Florence News 29

CITY BEAT

A Passion Space Club Founder Dies for Vinyl Pagani, Formula Tre, Banco, Rokes, New Trolls and, in most recent years, Chingy, DJ UNK, Chris Willis, and Pitbull. Caldini brings with him a piece of the city history that will be hard to die.

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reaking barriers between different styles of music is DJ’s Leo Martera formula for his Saturday night at Rex bar. The idea came when Martera noticed that one-musical-theme nights were beginning to bore people after a while. Thus came the intuition to mix not just songs, but also styles of music. And it worked, making Saturday nights at Rex one of the most appreciated nights in Florence. With the advantage of dancing in a bar and not in a club, the atmosphere is far more easy-going and the night more dynamic. This formula proved successful also because on Saturdays Rex does not mix just different styles of music, but also different kinds of people. For more than ten years Martera has been djing and playing drums

in the most popular Italian and European clubs and parties, such as those organized by Luisa Via Roma with AZEALIA BANKS and CRIS CAB. His live dj-set is a mix between djing and drumming, which interact to create a show of great impact, with sonorities ranging from deep house to the more typical electronic grooves of clubbing. Martera is supported in his productions by some of the most acclaimed deejays in Europe. For more information on Leo Martera check the website leomartera.net.

House’n’Roll

Rex Firenze Saturday night Via Fiesolana 25/r www.rexfirenze.com

tepping into Data Records 93 on Via de’ Neri feels a little like being transported to another age, with its pink-and-purple psychedelic interior and thousands of CDs and vinyl records lining the walls. Today the shop remains a haven for music lovers and collectors of rare records alike. Its collection of valuable and eclectic records means that Data Records 93 ships all over the world, and receives visits from DJs from Milan, Paris and London, all looking for uncommon records and enticed by this small shop’s impressive reputation and vast collection.

Data Records Via dei Neri, 15/r www.superecords.com Get a 20% discount showing this article

arlo Caldini, the architect who founded the historic Florentine Space Club, died last month. He was 76-year-old. Space has a history that spans over 40 years, beginning in February 1969, in the midst of the electrifying hippy ‘underground’ music, when Caldini, together with Mario Bolognesi and Fabrizio Fiumi, had the idea to create a place in the heart of Florence for the purpose of hosting concerts by emerging Italian and foreign bands. The idea of the name came from the famous Electric Circus club of New York. Carlo could still often be spotted at Space, the club that was almost a ‘son’ to him and that he never stopped loving since the days when he traveled to London or New York to choose the unknown bands to invite to Space, many of which later became stars in the international scene. Among the famous names to have boarded the club’s spaceship are actors Dario Fo and Franca Rame, guitarist Rory Gallagher, Van Der Graaf Generator, Atomic Rooster, Amon Duul, If, Renaissance, Audience Living Theatre, Herbert

Here is the release by the Club after Caldini’s death. Fun is our mission, communicating our profession. Yet, there are moments when even those working in our field do not know what to say; some events can be so sudden to paralyze the pen, to break the voice, to empty the mind, to delete any word. Thunders in a sky as clear as Carlo’s voice: The voice of a free, generous, creative, honest and competent man. Many – too many to be listed as their number increase day by day – are today better than we are. All that comes to our mind is banal words that may sound empty as they are constantly repeated any time someone dies if he does not deserves them. This is not the case with Carlo, who really deserves these words, as well as many others that now are not coming out and that perhaps will never come out, since Carlo was, and will always be, one of our ‘family’, a professional and a partner before an employer. There are just two words that will never end repeating: Thank you. (Space Electronic)

30 Florence News

CITY BEAT

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Ditta Artigianale’s Barman Becomes Italian Champion

he chief barman of the coffee shop Ditta Artigianale, Francesco Masciullo, won last January the title of Italian coffee champion at the fair Salone Internazionale Gelateria Pasticceria, Panificazione Artigianale Caffè that took place in Rimini. Masciullo will thus represent Italy at the World Championship for Barmen that will be held in Seoul, South Korea next November. Born in the southern Italian area of Salento, in the region of Puglia, Masciullo beat six in a 15-minute final where he prepared four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four coffee-cocktails prepared with coffee beans from Kenya, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

“It was a great opportunity, a fantastic emotion, I still cannot believe it. However, I hate to say that often abroad the culture of specialties is better than here in Italy, even though, fortunately, in recent years things are changing and new realities are forming; specialists of great value are coming out.” We asked Francesco something about his signature drink. “My drink was based on the sl28 bean from Kenya, which has the characteristics of the sweet and acid Kenyan coffee, with its blueberry and red blueberry taste. So my idea was to combine all these elements, in particular I joined a reduction of blueberry and acacia honey with a reduction of straw-

Home of the Dragoon T

berry with a lemon peel, the latter to recreate a bit of acidity. To recreate the phosphoric acidity, I used cream siphon adding to it a capsule of carbon dioxide to give a sparkling sensation, that’s it,” says Francesco. Francesco may represent the epitome of Italian coffee culture to a country that is now opening its doors to Starbucks.

hroughout its 35 years of history, the Kikuya English Pub has been a meeting place for friends, students, and tourists of all nationalities. The current owner Annalisa, a native Brazilian, has kept a diverse atmosphere alive within this iconic pub. When Annalisa first started working at Kikuya with her sister, she could not imagine calling the pub her home away from home 24 years later. Her passion for English beers and customers who later became her friends has created a welcoming and memorable pub with a knack for English ales and good times. Located on Via De’ Benci, Kikuya is the only home to the Charles Wells Dragoon beer. A strong, yet sweet pale ale is the highlight of the pubs

Ditta Artigianale Via dello Sprone 3/5 r Via dei Neri 32 r Via Cavour 50 r

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PAINTING Short and & Longterm DRAWING Workshops on Painting and INTENSIVE Drawing 10 DAYS WORKSHOP DAY CLASSES STUDIO RENTAL AVAILABLE www.facebook.com/studiotoscanella/ Via Toscanella 33R , 50123 Firenze 3407371239 340 737 1239 www.studiotoscanella.com www.studiotoscanella.com

draft beers. Annalisa has put her own fun twist on the beer by serving it with a sweet lollipop. The eclectic addition is indicative of Annalisa’s own vibrant personality and ability to keep Kikuya’s atmosphere young and fun. Everyday from 7 p.m. - 10p.m. the pub offers any burger or panini with fries and a drink for €10.

WINTER EDITION TOURIST INFORMATION

Florence News

NEWS

SOS

EMERGENCIES

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

+ HEALTH SERVICES

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, Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike, Patrizia Pepe and many more at 30-70% less all year round. 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 or directly on the bus. Price is €13 per person, round trip. Traveling with the shuttle bus, you will also be entitled to get the exclusive FASHION PASSPORT, the discount card which will grant you an additional 10% reduction on the Outlet price.

Firenzecard is the official museum pass of City of Florence. It costs 72€, it is valid for 72 hours starting from the first entrance and it allows you to enter only once into all the museums of the Circuit and to visit permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. With the card you can enjoy the priority access to museums with no need to make reservation. It is promoted by the Municipality of Florence, the Ministry for the Arts and Cultural Activities, the Metropolitan Municipality of Florence and the Chamber of Commerce of Florence.

www.firenzecard.it

Shuttle bus to Barberino Designer Outlet departs from Florence Santa Maria Novella train station at: 9.30 a.m. –11.30 a.m. –2.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. Return to Florence at: 1.00 p.m. – 3.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. – 8.00p.m. For more information visit www.mcarthurglen.it/barberino TAX FREE ON YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS

Dine with Dante A

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 Tuscan 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

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: Via Santa Caterina da Siena 15 www.fsbusitalia. it, 800 373760 ETRURIA MOBILITA SCARL (Arezzo): www.etruriamobilita.it 0575 39881

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 Highways, route planning and traffic jams: www.autostrade.it/en

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

TRAINS Trenitalia: 89 2021 Interactive Voice Response System: 063000 Italo: Call center, 6 a.m.-11 p.m. 060708

A ‘Port’ for Jazz and Traditional Italian Music

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.

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

“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 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 Stefano 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.

Porto di Mare CHECK THE PROGRAM ON FACEBOOK CONTACT FRANCESCO COFONE Via Pisana, 128 055 71 20 34 Porto di Mare

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Burger, Pizza, Mexican, Sushi, Chinese, Thai, Typical Tuscan

Pitti food lifestyle fair returns March 11-13 Pitti Immagine. “Now in its twelfth edition it is once again registering an increase in the number of companies – selected from amongst the best niche producers in Italy. At this edition, we are presenting yet 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 is divided in four parts, Taste Tour, Taste Tools, Taste Shop and Taste Ring and Taste Events.

he 12th edition of Pitti Taste, the fair dedicated to the excellence of Italian taste and food lifestyles, is returning from March 11–13 at the Stazione Leopolda with a focus on coffee. Presented by Pitti Immagine, Taste showcases products from more than 340 leading Italian companies in the international food world. The fair is a journey of the planet of food: wine, objects and ideas, mixing tradition and innovation, different trends and schools of thought, professional techniques and equipment, food and kitchen design. “Taste invents new challenges at every edition,” says Agostino Poletto, deputy general manager of

FOOD & WINE

Get Your Food Home Delivered

Taste, Again

Florence News 35

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Pitti Taste March 11-13 To facilitate working the fair, Taste has set aside a dedicated time frame just for members of the trade: the morning of Sat. 12 and Sunday 13 March, from 9.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. The fair is also open to the public from 2:30 to 7:.30 p.m. on these days and from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, 14 March. Entrance : € 20

et your food comfortably seating on your couch is possible donwloading the Deliveroo app. Deliveroo is an award-winning delivery service founded in 2013 by William Shu and Greg Orlowski. Deliveroo works with over 16,000 best-loved restaurants, as well as over 20,000 riders to provide the best food delivery experience in the world. Deliveroo is headquartered in London, with more than 800 employees in offices around

the globe. Deliveroo operates in over 100 cities across 12 countries, including Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. In Italy Deliveroo is active in Milan, Rome, Florence, Turin and Piacenza. Try Deliveroo for yourself by visiting the website or downloading the app, which is available on iPhone and Android. Among the restau-

rants that can deliver in the center of Florence are Il pizzaiuolo, Dim Sum, Gherardo, Kome Sushi, Icchetthai, Hard Rock Cafe, El Chico, The Diner, Off the Hook, Dioniso. DELIVEROO.IT (DOWNLOAD THE APP) FOOD HOME DELIVERY SERVICE

The New Vinaio on Via de’ Cimatori

Tuscan Panini, Handmade pasta, chopping boards, Organic Products, Traditional Marmalades and Honey, Cantucci & Vin Santo, More than 100 Wines, Artisanal Beers. Via dei cimatori 23/r (near Piazza Signoria)

MARCH www.florencenews.it

Florence News 37

FOOD & WINE

The History and the Secrets of Pizza Explained THOMAS RICCIOTTI

ICAN

An expert pizzaiolo knows how to roll out without using much dough, which is more difficult to roll, but results in the desired crunchy lightness of a perfect pizza crust. A good taste means that the pizza is not gummy inside, that is easy and light to digest, which is something that may take some 12 hours to achieve. zeria in Naples simply homaged the queen with the dish bearing her name and the colors of the Italian flag.

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Antonio from pizzeria Accà

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he major Italian association representing agriculture, Coldiretti, has recently celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Pizza Margherita, in the belief that it was invented in honor of the Italian queen in 1889, when the pizza maker of the Neapolitan pizzeria Brandi was called to the Campodimonte royal palace in Naples where allegedly, using the ovens of the palace, he invented the pizza destined to make history with the colors of the Italian flag. However, historical research suggests that the Pizza Margherita is far older, as the Neapolitan queen Maria Carolina, the wife of king Ferdinand IV, was reported to be in love with the type of pizza, which she wanted to be prepared with buffalo mozzarella from Carditello. She liked this pizza so much that when the aforementioned royal palace of Campodimonte was built, she wanted to include two special ovens in order to prepare it. The European Commission itself, when recognizing the STG (which stands for Guarantee Traditional Specialty) status of the Neapolitan pizza, reported that the Marinara and the Margherita pizzas were born in Naples, respectively in 1734 and between 1796 and 1810. Thus, Margherita is much older than what Coldiretti believes, and the piazza maker of the Brandi piz-

There are still two commonplace assumptions about pizza that should be unmasked: the first one being the origins and the name of

the most popular pizza; the second its ingredients, as in the original version there was buffalo mozzarella. We asked the Neapolitan Antonio, the owner of Accà, one of the pizzerias loved by locals striving to avoid the plethora of commercial pizzas around the city: What’s the secret to making a good pizza, a pizza loved by queens? Antonio uses only the freshest DOP ingredients, which in Italian stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta and translates to Protected Designation of Origin products. This label ensures that the ingredients being used are locally sourced and packaged, and do not come from Tuscany or other parts of Italy. He also shared a few secrets with us on how to recognize a good pizza. Good pizzas must have a golden, crunchy-looking edge, which means there are no remains of humid paste/dough inside. To prepare a proper pizza and to avoid making it ‘humid,’ the dough needs to be left leaven for some 30 hours and the pizza must be prepared in an oven that has a temperature between 400 and 450 degrees Celsius. Before tasting the pizza, touch its edge and make sure that it is not chewy and crumbly and a little empty inside. In other words, make sure that the crust is not all flour, but has room left for air inside. The second part of the ‘touch’ test is to raise your pizza from its dish and make sure that there are no black

spots underneath — the less black spots there are, the better the taste will be. An expert pizzaiolo knows how to roll out without using much dough, which is more difficult to roll, but results in the desired crunchy lightness of a perfect pizza crust. A good taste means that the pizza is not gummy inside, that is easy and light to digest, which is something that may take some 12

The European Commission reported that the Marinara and the Margherita pizzas were born in Naples, respectively in 1734 and between 1796 and 1810. hours to achieve. This digestion test is essential. If the pizza “remains in your stomach for too long,” as Antonio tells us, that means it’s not so good. You should not feel the acidity of the yeast; the sauce should neither be tasteless nor acidic; and the mozzarella “should not bleed too much” but remain consistent, which is why proper pizza should not be made with buffalo mozzarella, even though it’s tastier. Finally, you should have the taste of fresh basil on your palate. That’s what it takes to make a queen happy.

38 Florence News

FOOD & WINE

March Madness “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

www.florencenews.it

A Springtime Sandwich

Mad as a March Hare!

C. DE MELO

MARCH

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

sandwich as fresh as the spring. The ingredients are prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes

and pesto. The inventor is Pino of Salumeria Verdi. Salumeria Verdi began as a sandwich shop with 10 menu options and has transformed through 25 years. Pino’s favorite customers are Americans students: they are the ones he loves to serve food the most and the ones who love his food the most. Another student favorite is The Best, a sandwich made of roast beef, smoked cheese, spinach, eggplant, hot sauce and peppers. But now it’s Springtime, and Pino celebrates the spring in his own way.

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 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! ISF Erasmus students celebrating at Pino's with Davide D'Alia

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