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A Room for Leonardo

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WINTER EDITION

he ‘revolution’ of the Uffizi Gallery continued at the beginning of this summer as three of Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest masterpieces, previously housed in separate rooms, are now on display together in a room dedicated exclusively to Leonardo. The three paintings – the recently restored Adoration of the Magi, The Annunciation, and The Baptism of Christ (which Leonardo painted together with Verrocchio) – are now housed in one same room to bring out “the fullness of the forms that are so typical of Leonardo’s style,” said the great promoter of this revolution, Uffizi director Eike Schmidt, at the inauguration of the new arrangement. The room dedicated to Leonardo completes a triptych highlight-

ing the museum most important works, together with two other arrangements, one with Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo and the masterworks of Raphael, and the eightroom section dedicated to the works of Caravaggio. Schmidt also said the next development will be this coming fall with the opening of new rooms dedicated to 16th-century Venetian artists including Giorgione, Tintoretto, Tiziano, Bernardo Licinio, and others. In October, Leonardo will once again be featured in celebrations for the 500th anniversary of his death, for which the Uffizi will open an exhibition showing the Codex Leicester, a collection of scientific writings by Da Vinci, on loan from Bill Gates.

ayor Dario Nardella announced last November that, besides the Leicester Codex exhibition currently running at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence will host three other major exhibitions to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death next year: one on the Codex Atlanticus, one dedicated to Leonardo’s master Andrea del Verrocchio, and one on Leonardo’s botanical studies. Nardella made his announcement on occasion of the second day of the conference of the European Capitals of Culture at Palazzo Vecchio. The exhibit dedicated to Andrea del Verrocchio will be at Palazzo Strozzi. Leonardo was taken to Florence by his father to begin his apprenticeship in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio in the 1470s, when Verrocchio was working on the bronze ball for the Cathedral.

Verrocchio’s workshop was the most important in Florence and, besides Leonardo, ‘generated’ artists such as Botticelli and Perugino. The workshop produced marble and bronze statues, painted panels, goldsmith objects, and marquetry. It was here that Leonardo, besides learning techniques that formed him as an artist, became an enthusiastic experimenter. The exhibition of the Codex Atlanticus, which will be courtesy borrowed from the Milan Ambrosiana Library, will showcase table grapes on works that Leonardo made in Florence. The exhibit will start next spring. The Codex Atlanticus, named after the large paper used to preserve original Leonardo’s notebook pages, is a twelve-volume bound set of drawings and paintings and comprises 1,119 leaves dating from 1478 to 1519. Its contents cover a great variety of subjects, from flight to weaponry, musical instruments, mathematics and botany. The third exhibition will be held during the second part of 2019 and will be dedicated to Leonardo’s studies on botany.

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Leaning a Little Less

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Uffizi Wins Social Media

he Leaning Tower of Pisa is in good shape, is stable, and most importantly, is progressively reducing its inclination, experts said last October. The tests recently conducted showed that the tower has straighten 4 centimeters in the last 17 years. Such results were better than any prediction that the international committee, supervised by Michele Jamiolkowski and in charge of projecting and coordinating the works on the tower between 1993 and 2001, could have expected. The good news was announced by a spokesperson of the special team for the surveillance of the tower. “Since the beginning of the works to straighten it, the tower has reduced its inclination by 2000 seconds of arch, which is about 4 centimeters. Its fluctuations are

currently ½ millimeter per year, but what is most important is that the stability of the tower is better than any prevision,” said a Pisa University Professor and member of the surveillance team.

Uffizi Winter Fares

he museums of the Uffizi Complex have introduced reduced fares from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. The reduced ticket for the winter season to see the Uffizi costs €12 instead of €20; entrance to the Pitti Palace is €10 instead of €16; and Wednesday visits to the Pitti Palace will cost 50% less after 3 p.m. Novelties have also been introduced regarding annual visits to all the exhibition spaces of the Uffizi

Museum Complex, which include the Uffizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace, and the Boboli Garden. Besides the annual card, which costs €70 and allows unlimited and priority access to all the exhibition spaces of the complex, it is now possible to buy a family PassePartout, which allows access to two adults with an unlimited number of children for €100 instead of €140 (the price of two annual cards).

he Uffizi Museum Instagram profile ‘UffiziGalleries’ hit a record of over 204,148 followers last fall and is now the first Italian museum on social media, ranking even higher the Venice Peggy Guggenheim and the Vatican Museum. Worldwide it is number 27, doing better than the Los Angeles Petty Museum that has 235,000 followers. The Uffizi ‘social star artwork’ is Botticelli’s Venere, with over 14,000 engagements, followed by Caravaggio’s Medusa, Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying

Holofernes, and Perugino’s Mary Magdalene. As far as engagement is concerned, the Uffizi is number 13, higher than Paris’ Louvre, Madrid’s Prado, and New York’s Metropolitan. As of last summer, the museum was second on Twitter, only behind the Milan Brera Gallery, although it was the first in Italy in terms of engagement, the frequency with which followers react to posts. In addition, the launch of the new official website made the museum the first in all research engines and

browsers, a quite important result as the infinite websites of online scalpers are not following the museum’s official website and social media pages or accounts. As such results were announced last August, the Director of the Uffizi Museum Complex, Eike Schmidt, said he was greatly satisfied and appraised. “Our two social media and our website are fundamental tools to favor dialogues and debates on the art of the Uffizi as well as on the the life of the museum. Just over two years ago, the Uffizi did not even have a website, and now we are amongst the best among Italian museums,” said Schmidt. “It is of particular value that both on Instagram and Twitter we are able to interact with a loyal public that access our profiles even several times a day to see, and respond to, the new contents that our social platforms generate; in addition, in the case of Instagram, our public is really worldwide/global, whereas our followers on Twitter are mostly from Florence and Tuscany. Therefore, thanks to new technologies, we are contributing to make the dream of Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo come true, of making of the Uffizi the “museum of the world and, at the same time, of the Florentines,” said Schmidt. In 2016, the Uffizi was the most visited art gallery in Italy, having hosted over two million visitors. In high season, particularly in July, waiting times to enter the museum can be up to five hours. However, tickets can be bought online in advance to reduce the waiting time.

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The Art Exhibits in Italy

MILAN - Caravaggio. Beyond the Canvas: an Immersive Show, Museo della Permanente, Until Jan. 27. This multimedia experience uses innovative technology to explore Caravaggio’s art. The exhibit is divided into 4 parts and is about Caravaggio as a man rather than just as an artist. Picasso Metamorfosi, Until Palazzo Reale, Oct. 18 – Feb. 17. This exhibit, which looks at the relationship between Picasso, myths and antiquity, showcases about 200 works both by Picasso or that inspired him. FERRARA - Courbet and Nature, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Until Jan. 6. The exhibit showcases about 50 works by French painter Gustave Courbet. BOLOGNA - Hokusai Hiroshige. Oltre l’Onda. Capolavori dal Boston

Museum of Fine Arts, Museo Civico Archeologico, Oct. 12 – March 3. Showcases about 270 works by Japanese masters Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858), both known for their use of waves and flowing worlds. ASTI - Chagall. Colore e Magia, Palazzo Mazzetti, Until Feb. 3. NOVARA - Ottocento in Collezione. Dai Macchiaioli a Segantini, Novara Castle, Until Feb. 24. PADUA - Gauguin e gli Impressionisti. Capolavori dalla Collezione Ordrupgaard, Palazzo Zabrella, Until Jan. 27. The exhibit showcases impressionist masterpieces from the Danish museum. TREVISO - Da Tiziano a Van Dyck. Il Volto del ‘500, Casa dei Carraresi, Until Feb. 3.

Exhibit Explores Mastroianni’s Irony

Movie icon “created a new type of Italian who refused to prevaricate”

n exhibit paying tribute to film icon Marcello Mastroianni is running at Rome’s Ara Pacis Museum until Feb. 17. Through a selection of over 600 photos and videos, the exhibit is an introspective on Mastroianni’s self-deprecating irony, his lightness and melancholic nature, his intelligence and lack of vanity, and his self-deprecating style, which emerge also from his refusal to be called a sex symbol and a great actor in spite of strong opposing evidence. Mastroianni always remained a humble person – famous is his

claim that he always lived his life “between parenthesis” – refusing to consider himself as a movie star and becoming an international star against his own will. The exhibition also focuses on the many people Mastroianni met throughout his career who had a strong influence in his life and work, such as Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Vittorio De Sica, Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Federico Fellini, Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Alessandro Blasetti, who first cast Mastroianni with Sophia Loren, and Luigi Comencini.

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Rome Honors French Impressionists

major multimedia exhibition fusing lights, colors, music, and scents is tributing French Impressionist painters until Jan. 5. On display at the Palazzo degli Esami in the Trastevere area of Rome, the exhibit recreates the atmosphere of bohemian 19th-century Paris by mixing art and technology, and showcases works by artists such as Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Cézanne, and others who revolutionized painting by using the contrasts of light and shadows that the streets of Paris, the ‘City of Lights’, displayed for them. Works showcased include masterpieces such as Monet’s Impression, Soleil Levant by Monet, Cezane’s Les Baigneurs, Renoir’s

“Mastroianni showed a very deep kind of irony - even in the face of his imminent death, he spoke about life with joy and this is a great teaching for us all,” said exhibit curator Gian Luca Farinelli. “He created his whole career on his own terms and chose the right directors, he put actors at ease. He created a new type of Italian who refused to prevaricate, who was able to duet with actresses and who also knew how to lose,” said Farinelli. The son of a carpenter, Mastroianni was born in Fontana Liri, a small village in the Lazio province of Frosinone, and grew up in Turin and Rome. During World War II he was interned in a German prison camp, from which he escaped to hide in Venice. His international success came in the 1950s. His most remembered movies are La Dolce Vita, Divorce Italian Style, A Special Day, and Casanova 70 among many others. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best actor: for Divorce Italian Style, A Special Day, and Dark Eyes. Together with Dean Stockwell and Jack Lemmon, he is one of the only actors to have been twice awarded the Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1950, he married Flora Carabella, with whom he had a daughter before separating because of his many affairs with younger women. His first serious relationship after separation was with Faye Dunaway, who he starred with in the film Place for Lovers in 1968, but whom he refused to marry and have children with since, being a Catholic, he refused to divorce his wife.

Le Déjeuner des Canotiers, and Toulouse-Lautrec’s Bal au Moulin Rouge. Following an initial educational part, in which some panels illustrate the historical context and the biographies of the Impressionist artists, the exhibit takes an unusual approach by projecting paintings everywhere with the SENSORY4™ technology, a media platform which creates a full-spectrum exhibition environment while educating and entertaining across all demographics in a truly multisensory environment. Background music from French composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Offenbach, and Russian Tchaikovsky, will enable visitors to

immerse themselves into the culture of 19th century Paris. Started in the mid-19th century and rose to popularity in the last quarter of the century, Impressionism was an anti-establishment movement with foreign/asian influence that painted modern life instead of academic subjects of history and mythology. Impressionist artists created their own first exhibition in 1874, which fared poorly but inaugurated a series of many others that soon after had considerable success and led French Impressionism to change European art. Impressionist artists became famous for their ability in portraying with brushes and sensitivity fleeting instants of life, the wonders of nature, as well as Paris streets and cafes. After being absent in the first decades of the 20th century, in the 1950s Impressionism came back in vogue and Parisien art galleries became overwhelmed by tourists from overseas wanting to see French Impressionism. The exhibit is open from Monday to Thursday at 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. – 11 p.m., and on Sunday at 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Tickets for adults are €15 and tickets for children are €12. Discounts are given for large families or groups, as well as students and teachers.

French Impressionists Palazzo degli Esami, Rome Until Jan. 5 €15 (reduced €12)

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Vasari Corridor to Reopen in 2020 “The reopening of the Vasari Corridor could be the restructuring work most quickly done in Italy in the last few years,” Uffizi director Eike Schmidt said last October. The corridor will most likely reopen to the public in the summer of 2020, although Schmidt initially announced the reopening for May 27, 2018, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Georgofili bombing carried out by the Mafia in 1993. “The executive project is complete in every detail and ready to be carried out; since, after deduction of administrative and legal practices, the works for the restoration of the corridor are not that ponderous and challenging, we can conclude that the reopening of this space can be considered the public work most quickly carried out in Italy in recent times,” Schmidt said in an interview released last fall. The restoration works will cost an estimated 7 million Euros and include the construction of emergency exits, improvements of the anti-seismic systems, elimination of architectonic barriers, new toilet facilities, and the recovery of spaces for the exhibition of artworks. The Vasari Corridor traces a route through the rooftops of Florence from Palazzo Vecchio, across the Ponte Vecchio, and to Palazzo Pitti. It was designed by Vasari in

1565, on the orders of Cosimo I de’ Medici, to commemorate the marriage of his son Francesco to Joanna of Austria and was created to allow safe passage for the Medici duke and his family between their residence at Palazzo Pitti and the government offices at Palazzo Vecchio, high above the butchers’ knives and plebeian crowds on the Ponte Vecchio below. The corridor stretches for more than a kilometer and showcases a collection of artworks from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the early morning on May 27, 1993, a bomb exploded on Via de’ Georgofili in Florence killing five and wounding 48. The attempt was carried out with a small car packed full of explosives parked near the Torre dei Pulci, the seat of the Accademia dei Georgofili, between the Uffizi museum and the Arno River.

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Uffizi Extorted

he Public Prosecutor of Florence recently filed a complaint for extortion to the descendants of a Nazi soldier who stole a Uffizi painting during the Second World War. The reason for the complaint was that the family of the soldier said that they were prepared to return the painting only on receipt of a 500.000 Euro payment. The story begins during the Nazi occupation of Italy begun in September 1943 after Italy signed an armistice with the Allies following their invasion of the southern part of the peninsula. During this time, Florentine authorities hid some works of art to prevent the occu-

piers from stealing them. Such attempts at avoiding thefts, however, were often vain. A few years ago, the Polo Museale Fiorentino, the Florence Museum Complex (dismantled in 2014 after its functions were taken over by the Uffizi, the Academy Gallery, and the Bargello Museum), received a letter proposing the buyout of a painting. As letters kept on arriving, the buyout proposal reached a sum of about 500.000 Euros. The letters were signed by an intermediary writing on behalf of the “owner” of the painting, who remained unknown until last November Italian investigators were

able to identify him. As the Florence Museum Complex refused the offer to buy a painting that belonged to them, the Public Prosecutor Office of Florence started a case. The charge, initially against persons unknown, was extortion. Investigators also discovered that the painting was stolen by Nazi soldiers and sent to Germany not via train or plane, but as normal parcel post. Although the heirs of the Nazi soliders have been finally identified, it has not been possible yet to recover the painting because of difficulties in the cooperation between the judicial authorities of Italy and Germany.

Lost Leonardo’s Auctioned A

lost drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci, recently found among a book of unsigned sketches in Paris, could be sold for as much as € 60,000,000. Made between 1482 and 1489, the two-sided drawing, which depicts the martyred Saint Sebastian tied to the trunk of a tree and is inscribed ‘Michelange’ on the mount, was discovered in March 2017 in a portfolio of drawings by a retired French doctor which he had inherited from his father. The precious artwork was then taken into the renowned Tajan Paris auction house.

On the back of the drawing are two smaller scientific sketches accompanied by notes. Often depicted in art as being tied to a tree with arrows shot through him even though he was believed to have been saved from the post, Saint Sebastian was actually clubbed to death for warning Emperor Diocletian about his sins. In 2016, Tajan valued the drawing at between €15,000,000 and €20,000,000, but after Leonardo’s painting ‘Salvator Mundi’ was sold for $450.3 million last year, the value was reassessed to about € 60,000,000.

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A World of Flowers

Cai Guo-Qiang’s Flora Commedia at the Uffizi

he exhibition Flora Commedia by contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s is running at the Uffizi Gallery until Feb. 17. Co-curated by Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi, and Laura Donati, curator of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Uffizi, the exhibit features in ten interlinked galleries over 60 works of gunpowder paintings as well as sketches that illustrate GuoQiang’s creative process. Guo-Qiang ignited the daytime fireworks event City of Flowers in the Sky, inspired by Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece Primavera, last month at the Piazzale Michelangelo. “The fireworks explode thousands of flowers resembling those of the Renaissance, while at the same time evoke the palettes of Renaissance masters. The Uffizi’s sumptuous collection seems to over-

flow from its ancient architecture, merging into one with the city that nourishes her… I chose the gallery that faces the Piazza della Signoria to facilitate a connection between the drawing within and the society without. I imagine that, for an instant, visitors standing in the gallery will see the Uffizi’s walls fade into transparency, and marvel as the boundary blurs between the artwork on paper and artwork in the sky,” said Guo-Qiang. The idea of the exhibition came after Guo-Qiang visited the Uffizi Gallery, the Boboli Garden, the Pitti Palace, the Prints and Drawings Department, and the Statues and Paintings Gallery in 2017. The concept is that flowers are meant to account for the spirit of the Renaissance, with its desires and pleasures, its connection with nature, the awakening of humanity, and the new perception of the

human body that was inaugurated in this period. Refined and complex, at the Uffizi, Guo-Qiang’s art establishes a close exchange with nature while triggering a dialogue with the masters of the past. “When looking at the paintings of Old Masters, we can still feel the warmth and emotion of creating art, as well as the warmth and emotion with which art used to be created in the past. Do we, as artists today, continue to pass this warmth on to our successors? I want to believe...,” said Guo-Qiang. “In the balancing act between his attempt to contain the natural elements—beginning with fire—and his desire to lose control and to release a creative force that transcends human forces, Cai is located exactly at the midpoint between East and West. For the Uffizi Galleries, this is an opportunity to

re-read through a contemporary lens, regardless of the geographic temporal borders,” said exhibit curators Eike Schmidt and Laura Donati. “The whole of Cai’s practice turns around the formulation of a passage between distinct moments, so that everything is in evolution: from the drawing to the event, from the image to reality, from darkness to light,” said art historian Germano Celant. Flora Commedia is part of a multiyear project, An Individual’s Journey through Western Art History, which has brought Guo-Qiang’s exhibit to Florence after stops at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Museo Nacional Del Prado in Madrid. In February, the exhibi-

GETTING BEST

tion will be showcased at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples before returning to the East for its conclusion. The exhibition is accompanied by a multilanguage catalogue with essays by Eike Schmidt, Germano Celant, art historian Sir Simon Schama, Laura Donati, and the artist himself.

Flora Commedia Uffizi Gallery Until Feb. 17 Tuesday-Sunday, 8:15 a.m. - 6:50 p.m.

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Leonardo’s Codex Leicester on Display at the Uffizi Exhbit runs until Jan. 20

eonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester will be on dispay at the Uffizi Gallery until Jan. 20. The exhibition – entitled Water, the Microscope of Nature. Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester – has been produced by the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Museo Galileo with a contribution from the Fondazione CR Firenze. The Codex, also known as Codex Hammer and named after Thomas Coke, is Leonardo’s most famous scientific journal and has the second highest sale price of any book. It was last shown in Italy in 1995, at an exhibition at Palazzo Querini

Dubois in Venice. The last time it appeared in Florence was in 1982. The codex is a mixture of da Vinci’s observations and theories on astronomy, the properties of water, rocks, fossils, air and celestial light. It consists of 72 handwritten pages bound in red leather for a total of 18 sheets of paper, each folded in half and written on both sides. Handwritten in Italian by Leonardo in his characteristic mirror writing, the document contains 360 diagrams and drawings related to hydraulics, geology, paleontology, mechanics, astronomy and designs of a submarine and a diving mask whose invention was predicted by the genius. Microsoft founder Bill Gates purchased the Codex in 1994 at Christie’s auction house for USD $30,802,500, the equivalent to $49,772,200 in today’s money. To get it, Gates paid American oil tycoon Armand Hammer the 30.8 million dollars. When he made the Codex Leicester between 1504 and 1508, Leonardo was experiencing one of his most intense moments of artistic and scientific production. He was pursuing anatomical studies in the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova and seeking the secret of human flight. At the same time, he was involved in the painting of the Battle of Anghiari on the wall of Palazzo Vecchio and was studying possible

solutions to make the Arno river navigable. The Codex’s 72 sheets will be displayed in the Aula Magliabechiana of the Uffizi Gallery. Thanks to an innovative multimedia aide christened by the Codescope, visitors will be able to leaf through the pages of the Codex on digital screens, access transcriptions of the texts, and receive information on the issues they address. The display will be accompanied by drawings that Leonardo produced in the same years of the Codex Leicester, do-

nated for the exhibition by some of the most important Italian and foreign museums. The multimedia applications produced by the Museo Galileo can be seen on the websites of the Uffizi and the Museo Galileo. “The display of Leonardo’s Codex Leicester alongside other extremely precious drawings and writings by the genius from Vinci points up our eagerness to improve visitor accessibility to highly complex themes of scientific research, and to set crucial moments in the history of science in context, in a thoroughly contemporary perspective,” Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt said. “The precious manuscript records Leonardo’s obsession with probing the secrets of water, its swirling and eddying, the strength with which it moulds and shapes, and the power with which it destroys. This, with recurrent references to Florence itself, to its urban fabric and to its river, at once a resource and a threat to the communities that lived on its banks. The exhibition urges visitors to travel back to a time of bold visions, of futuristic projects and of manifestations of thought of unparalleled genius,” Museo Galileo Director Paolo Galluzzi said. “The exhibition also marks a further stage in our long and fruitful cooperation with Italy’s most im-

portant museum, the Uffizi, and with the Museo Galileo whose team, under the guiding hand of Professor Galluzzi, produced an innovative digital edition of German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller’s large map, the world’s oldest document (1507) bearing the name America as a tribute to Amerigo Vespucci – an outstanding achievement which we presented in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. last year and which has proved to be a resounding success,” Fondazione CR Firenze President Umberto Tombari said.

Respect Florence T

he City of Florence has launched a campaign called #EnjoyRespectFirenze that promotes sustainable tourism to preserve the heritage of Florence by respecting the city and its inhabitants. Following are the main points of the campaign:

• Remember you are not allowed to eat food, drink, or lie down on the street or staircases. If you wish to eat something or rest be sure to use proper benches and tables. • Don’t climb the monuments. • Vandalizing monuments, doors, or walls is a serious crime punishable by law. • It is forbidden to be drunk in public. • It is forbidden to litter. Please dispose of any garbage or recyclables in their proper containers. • It is forbidden to eat or drink on the steps of monuments and churches. • Don’t write on churches or works of art • Don’t swim in the fountains • In public places and establishments be sure to wear a shirt. Going shirtless or wearing a swimsuit is not considered enough coverage. • Don’t engage in any behavior that would endanger you or others. • In places of worship, short dresses, shorts, and tank tops generally aren’t allowed. If you plan on visiting any of Florence’s many churches, be sure to dress conservatively, making sure your clothing goes past your knees. • Beware of counterfeit goods. Just a few days ago I saw a scammer trying to sell a single watch on the street, claiming it was a Rolex. Always buy your goods from stores that are clearly marked. Abusive sellers are punishable by law, but you are too if you buy from them. • When it comes to your noise level, please be considerate, especially from midnight to 7 a.m. Don’t disturb the peace with excessive shouting or loud musical instruments. • If you need to relieve yourself, always use a public toilet. Urinating in public and exposing your private parts is strictly forbidden. • There are four information points in the city: Piazza Stazione, via Cavour, Bigallo (piazza Duomo) and at the airport. • In Florence there is fresh water available to the public. Be sure to carry a reusable water bottle.

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The Woman that Nobody Expected Leonardo’s mom identity discovered

recent research conducted by Martin Kemp, a professor of art history at Oxford University, has demonstrated that Leonardo Da Vinci’s mother was neither a peasant nor a slave, as most scholars believed, but a poor girl impregnated by an ambitious lawyer in the Florentine hills. Before Kemp announced his findings, the only

thing that was known about Leonardo’s mother was her name, Caterina. Kemp provided the missing piece, giving her a surname and thus an identity: Leonardo’s mother was one Caterina di Meo Lippi. Caterina was a common name for slaves at that time. “What had become progressively attractive in the public domain

was that Caterina was a slave, an African slave, or even an Oriental slave. Caterina was a name that tends to be given to slaves,” said Kemp, according to whom Leonardo’s mother was a local girl from a poor family who was only 15-years-old when, while living with her grandmother in a decrepit farmhouse near Vinci, she was

seduced by a local lawyer. “Tuscany set up a very early system of wealth tax and rates on the value of a property. So, this is an absolutely fantastic record because everyone had to submit returns … Of course, everyone pleads poverty. They all say ‘this house is falling down’, but inspectors went round. In the case of Vinci, they verified that Caterina’s father, who seems to be pretty useless, had a rickety house which wasn’t lived in and they couldn’t tax him ... He had disappeared and then apparently died young. So, Caterina’s was a real sob story,” said Kemp. Kemp, who wrote his book Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting together with Giuseppe Pallanti, an economist and art researcher author of the famous book Mona Lisa Revealed, has mostly based his research on previously studied documents. The story of Leonardo’s mother is quite interesting, with convincing evidence supporting it. The lawyer was Ser Piero da Vinci. Piero worked in Florence, but in July 1451 he took a break and came to his countryside house “exactly the right weeks for her impregnation: nice, summer evening probably in the fields – and that was it,” Kemp said. However, things got complicated, as Piero was supposed to marry another woman. Thus, to keep everything quiet and avoid ruining his wedding, he provided Caterina a dowry: not much, but enough for her to quickly marry a local farmer “from her own stratum of society” by the name of Antonio Piero Buti, who gave her one more son and four daughters. Just a few miles away, Leonardo grew up with his grandfather, contemplating that nature around him that was destined to remain forever the most important inspiration for his genius. For his part Piero, now married to the woman he was promised to, did not forget about Caterina, although he probably did so with his son Leonardo, as he reappears in documents studied by Kemp to help her in conducting a minor legal transaction for her husband. Besides old documents, the two scholars also found new ones where they discovered that Lisa Del Giocondo’s husband, Francesco, was not a Florentine gentleman as previously thought, but a businessman whose trade ranged from sugar, leather, money, property, to include even female slaves. Following a trawl through 15th-century financial documents held within the archives of Vinci and Florence, Kemp and Pallanti also questioned Leonardo’s place of birth, the famous house in Anchiano that has become a favorite destination for tourists. According to the two scholars, Leonardo was more likely born in his grandfather’s house. Quite interesting are the reasons that Kemp suggests have been an obstacle to reaching the truth for so many years although such truth emerged from documents already studied.

Leonardo’s Famous Descendants

he famous Italian movie director Franco Zeffirelli is among the 35 living descendants of Leonardo Da Vinci. The news was released recently after results of 43 years of research were announced. The research began in 1973 and was carried out by art historians Agnese Sabato and Alessandro Vezzosi, who directs the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in the town of Vinci where Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452. The astonishing results will make it possible to isolate Leonardo’s DNA exactly five centuries after his death in France. The son of Ottorino Corsi and nephew of Olinto Corsi (a notorious person in Vinci at the end of the 19th century), Zeffirelli, whose real name is Gianfranco Corsi, became related with the Leonardo in 1794 following the marriage between Michelangelo Tommasi Corsi and Teresa Alessandra Giovanna di Ser Antonio Da Vinci, a direct descendant of Leonardo’s father Piero. Among the the 35 living descendants of Leonardo is Giovanni Calosi, a former accountant of a small company in Vinci, who was the first to be informed of the discovery nine years ago and since then helped identifying the other descendants. When he was told about the finding, Calosi recalled the words of his mother, Dina, who often talked of documents and letters spelled backwards, from the right to the left, as only Leonardo was doing. These letters and documents, which had been sold by the family, could be read only in front of a mirror. Calosi’ s daughter, who also helped identify other descendants, also recalls the words of her grandmother and concludes that the recent research has transformed legend into history. Leonardo Da Vinci recently hit the headlines of newspapers also because another researcher said that Leonardo’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, is androgynous. The researcher, Silvano Vinceti, concluded that, to portray the Mona Lisa, Leonardo did not use just one model but two, the first one being Lisa Gherardini, the second being his pupil Gian Giacomo Caprotti. Vinceti carried out his study through infrared rays, photoshop and documents, the latter being the only base for previous researches.

Leonardo’s Florentine Steps Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi has a room showcasing The Baptism of Christ, The Adoration of the Magi and The Annunciation. The Leonardo da Vinci Museum Located on Via Cavour 21, this exhibition is composed of more than 50 functioning models that spread across four areas.

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Marina Abramović: The Cleaner Exhibit begins Sept. 21 at Palazzo Strozzi

alazzo Strozzi will host a major exhibition from Sept. 21 to Jan. 20 featuring Marina Abramović, one of the most famous and controversial figures in contemporary art. The event is a retrospective bringing together more than 100 works and providing a comprehensive survey of Abramović creations from the 1970s to the 2000s. On display will be videos, photographs, paintings, objects, installations, and live recreations of her most famous performances by a group of artists specially chosen and trained for this show.

The exhibition – which is meant to continue the series of shows at Palazzo Strozzi by leading figures in contemporary art, following those dedicated to Ai Weiwei and Bill Viola – is the result of a direct collaboration between Palazzo Strozzi and the artist that will give Abramović her first opportunity to interact with Renaissance architecture. Abramović featured in a special event organized by the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 3.30 p.m. The event was sold out and was a conversation between Abramović

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and Arturo Galansino, curator of the show and general manager of the Strozzi Palace Foundation, in which the artist discussed aspects of her personal and creative life, surveying the stages in her career from her beginnings in Serbia to her latest major performances throughout the world. Born Nov. 30, 1946, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now in Serbia), Abramović is known for works that dramatically tested the endurance and limitations of her own body and mind. She was raised in Yugoslavia by parents who fought as Partisans in World War II and were later em-

ployed in the communist government of Josip Broz Tito. After studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, she became interested in the possibilities of performance art, in particular the ability to use her body as a site of artistic and spiritual exploration. In 1972 she conceived a series of visceral performance pieces that engaged her body as both subject and medium. In Rhythm 10 (1973) she methodically stabbed the spaces between her fingers with a knife, at times drawing blood. In Rhythm 0 (1974) she stood immobile in a room for six hours along with 72

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objects, varying from a rose to a loaded gun, that the audience was invited to use on her however they wished. These pieces provoked controversy not only for their perilousness, but also for Abramović’s occasional nudity, which would become a regular element of her work thereafter. In 1975 she moved to Amsterdam, and a year later she began collaborating with Frank Uwe Laysiepen (byname Ulay), a German artist with whom she shared a personal life and artistic career, until they parted ways in 1988. Much of their work together was concerned with gender identity. In 1997, she won the Golden Lion for best artist at the Venice Biennale. Her exhibit, the brooding Balkan Baroque, used both video and live performance to interrogate her cultural and familial identity. In 2002 she again captured public attention for The House with the Ocean View, a gallery installation in which she lived ascetically for 12 days in three exposed cubes mounted onto a wall. In 2010, the MoMA museum in New York City held a wide-ranging retrospective of her work, The Artist Is Present. Abramović has also worked with such pop icons as Jay Z, Lady Gaga, and James Franco.

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‘The Form of Paint. The Color of Sculpture’ Santo Ficara presents Luigi Mainolfi town in the province of Avellino, Mainolfi began to draw at a young age. He attended the Naples Art Academy before joining the artistic circles that in the 1970s were mushrooming in Turin, a city that in those years was the center of the Italian artists vanguard. In this period, Mainolfi’s art had a strong political connotation and switched from sculpture to actions and performances. In his view, the artist

he art gallery of Santo Ficara is presenting a solo exhibition by Luigi Mainolfi, one of the most acclaimed Italian contemporary artists, until Jan. 26. Curated by Fabio Cavallucci, the exhibit presents both sides of Mainolfi’s art: sculpture, to which Mainolfi was committed until the end of the 1970s, and painting, which, for Mainolfi, mostly means exploring the surface of things and researching the shape of colors.

At the core of Mainolfi’s artistic production is a strict relationship between the two forms of art; whereas painting is inconceivable without a shape, without confining color in spots that give it a sense, sculpture cannot be understood without a color – even though that color may simply be that of its surface – which is filled up with shades and small fissures that light it up. Born in 1948 in Rotondi Valle Caudina, a small southern Italian

“acting” was meant to destroy the casts he previously made. In the 1980s he was indicated by Renato Barilli as an exponent of the Nuovi-nuovi, a movement inspired to the artistic modes at that time popular in the United States that were focusing on Kitsch and decoration, although the Nuovinuovi rejected the excesses of their American peers in favor of a greater sobriety of forms and a stricter control of emotions. In this period, Mainolfi could perhaps be defined as the only real sculptor in the Italian artistic scene. The materials he chooses for his sculptures vary; they include paper, pottery, stones, tuff, bronze, wood, and iron. Mainolfi’s art was showcased in some of the most important exhibitions, galleries and museums around the world, such as the Venice Biennale, the San Paolo Biennale. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Michelangelo Prize for sculpture.

The Form of Paint. The Color of Sculpture Santo Ficara Art Gallery Until Jan. 26 Via Arnolfo 6L

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Showcasing Models of Leonardo’s Designs

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‘In Love With the Rejected’ Il Ponte tributes Carol Rama

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

o celebrate the 100th anniversary of Carol Rama’s birth, the contemporary art gallery Il Ponte presents a wide-ranging exhibition showcasing her art until Feb. 8. The exhibit traces Rama’s endless experimentation of techniques, materials and iconographic subjects through 35 works made from 1942 to 1997. The exhibit is rounded off by important pieces made during the 1980s and ’90s emblematic of Rama’s deliberate and wholehearted return to figuration. Bodies, false teeth, tongues, genital organs, shoes inhabited by phalluses, fantastic figures and animals, drawn

on printed paper – often using technical drawings by architects and engineers as the background – express Rama’s perennial desire to blend art, life and imagination. “I’ve always loved objects and situations that were thrown away and rejected; indeed, back then, it was almost compulsory to create a scandal around me,” Rama once said in an interview. Born in Turin in 1918, Rama began to paint when she was a teenager influenced by artists such as Felice Casorati, Edoardo Sanguineti, Massimo Mila, Albino Galvano, Carlo Mollino, Paolo Fossati, Carlo Monzino, Luciano Berio, Eugenio Montale, Andy Warhol and Man Ray. Following distressing family episodes, she expressed her inner suffering and fears in her art. After approaching Surrealist visions, Dubuffet and Art Brut, she approached the abstract research of the MAC (Movimento d’Arte Concreta) in the early 1950s and the objet trouvé, meaning “found object,” trend in the 1960s and 70s. She later developed a personal, independent path using different materials, topics and styles to

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express her dream-like universe featuring provocative images suspended between transgression, eccentricity, autobiography and explicit erotism. Her great public accolade came in 2003 with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, awarded on occasion of the 50th Venice Biennale, followed by the prestigious President of the Republic Prize awarded to her by Giorgio Napolitano in 2010. Rama’s international fame consolidated in 2017 thanks to the portant exhibition dedicated to her at the New Museum in New York.

1942-1997. Thirty-five Works by Carol Rama Galleria Il Ponte Via di Mezzo 42/b Monday-Friday 3:30 - 7 p.m. Until Feb. 8

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‘The American Season’

Open Art Gallery presents Francesco Somaini

he contemporary art gallery Open Art is presenting an exhibition by sculptor Francesco Somaini, one of the most established Italian contemporary artists in the United States. The exhibition, which runs until Feb. 9, showcases works made from the late 1950s through the 1960s, when Somaini reached his peak of success in the United States. Almost all the works on display have resided in American collections or were shown at some of the artist’s international exhibitions. Born in 1926 in the northern Italian city of Lomazzo, in the province of Como, Somaini was one of the

worldwide exponents of Informalism. Thanks to his knowledge of foundry processes and metalworking, he charted an original course of investigation of the relationship between matter and its expressive definition, between the dynamism of forms and their aesthetic qualification. He exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1954, 1956 and 1958, after which he began to be followed by some of the most renowned contemporary art international critics such as Enrico Crispolti (who, since 1957, praised Somaini’s work with unflagging enthusiasm and curated the catalogue raisonné of his sculpture together with Luisa Somaini, art historian and the artist’s daughter), Léon Degand, Michel Tapié (Somaini was the recipient of the critics’ award at the 1961 Biennale de Paris), and Giulio Carlo Argan (who presented Somaini’s first solo exhibition in the United States, at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York in 1960). The 1959 Biennal de São Paulo, Brazil, in which he was awarded first prize in the International Sculptors category, opened Somaini to the doors to the high-profile U.S. collectors’ market. Nelson and John D. Rockfeller, Joseph Hirshhorn, Lydia Kahn Winston Malbin, architect Philip Johnson as well as many other private collectors purchased his works, supported the their acquisi-

tion by principal American Museums, and promoted commissions for monumental works in public spaces such as those installed in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Rochester. Among the works on display at the Open Art Gallery are two examples from the Proposta per un monumento series (made from 1958 and 1963), which culminated in the great work sculpted in 1959 and installed in Baltimore, Piccola Assalonne (Corona); Nauta II from 1960 (a small lead sculpture hollowed by flame, shown at the Venice Biennale that same year), Racconto sul Cielo (1961) and Racconto Patetico I (1962) from U. S. collections, including John D. Rockefeller’s (Racconto sul Cielo). The exhibition was also the occasion for the illustrated publication of Somaini with

an essay by art historian Francesco Tedeschi, who reflects on the role of Somaini’s sculpture in the international context of the period. The publication presents information about each of the works on display as well as notes provided by the Archivio Francesco Somaini, an anthology of critical essays, and the artist’s own writings on his poetic.

Francesco Somaini. The American Season Open Art Gallery Viale della Repubblica 24, Prato Until Feb. 9 Free admission 0574.538003; galleria@openart.it

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Romanelli Awarded for Ferragamo’s Bust In 2016, the Ferragamo Family commissioned sculptor Raffaello Romanelli a bust of Salvatore Ferragamo. The Ferragamos gave Romanelli pictures of Salvatore from their family archive to get the inspiration for his work. As the sculpt was quite appreciated by both the Ferragamos and Romanelli himself, the sculptor decided to present a wax version of the bust at the 36th edition of the prestigious award Premo Firenze, thanks to which he was awarded the bronze medal.

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PINO TRADEMARK Graphic works by Pino Pascali

rittelli Arte Contemporanea is proud to present the exhibition PINO TRADEMARK. Graphic Works by Pino Pascali, one of the most renowned Italian contemporary artist, from Dec. 20th to Feb 9th. Curated by Roberto Lacarbonara, the exhibit derives its name from Pascali’s bizarre signature of a letter he once sent to the art dealer Gian Enzo Sperone, thanking him for showcasing his works. PINO TRADEMARK is also an ironic allegory of the artist’s vision of America – often critical and sarcastic of its capitalistic hegemony – whose “models” Pascali quoted in his graphic research of new stylistic solutions for his ad campaigns. Most of the works on display – drawings, collages, emulsions, mixed media – relate to Pascali’s investigation of moving pictures. As special highlights, the sketch Super, exhibited here for the first

time, and two of the artist’s most famous video commercials: The Killers, proposed to a large Italian ice-cream company and developed after the company’s refusal, and Cirio, a video in which the artist reinterpreted the famous Neapolitan masks Pulcinella and Pazzariello. Pascali’s career as an artist was short and intense. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1959 and soon started making a name for himself as a talented scenographer. He drew sketches, drawings and short movies for Carosello (an Italian television advertising reel) and other TV shows, as well as drawings and models of sailing ships, trains and armours. In 1965, he held his first solo show at the Galleria La Tartaruga in Rome. By 1968, he had attracted the attention of several major Italian art critics – such as Vivaldi, Argan, Calvesi, Grandi, Ru-

Florence News 15

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biu, Boatto, Bucarelli, De Marchis – and leading gallery owners – Sargentini, Sperone, Jolas to name a few. In 1968 he was also invited to exhibit his works at the 34th Venice Biennale, where he was given a personal room. As a sculptor, scenographer and performer, Pascali combined primary and mythical forms of Mediterranean culture and nature (Mother Goddess and Venus, the Sea, the Land, the Fields, the agricultural tools and rituals) with childish representations of Play and Adventure (prehistoric animals, animals of the zoo and the sea, war toys, the world of Tarzan and the jungle, caterpillars and worms, costumes, Pulcinella). He translated the world of imagination into monumental forms and essential structures, concise like the Apulian romanesque features and the medieval bestiary characteristic of its churches, which at the same time remind us of the symbols of spreading mass culture (comics, cinema, fashion). Pascali died in 1968, at the very young age of 33. He was awarded posthumous the International Prize for Sculpture at the end of the 34th Venice Biennale.

Pino Trademark: Graphic Work curated by Roberto Lacarbonara Frittelli Contemporary Art Gallery Via Val Di Marina (Novoli area) Dec. 20 – Feb. 9

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Italy in Hollywood Exhibit runs at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum

JULIA ATKINS

he Salvatore Ferragamo Museum is hosting the exhibition Italy in Hollywood until March 2019. The exhibit is inspired by the period Ferragamo spent in America, the years from 1915 to 1927, that greatly contributed to the creation of Hollywood and focuses on Italian influence on art, craftsmanship and film in California. The exhibition opener is the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The Italian Pavilion, designed by Marcello Piacentini, featured in this world fair confirmed the American appreciation for Italian art, architec-

ture, and culture. The showcase features famous Italian personalities such as Enrico Caruso, Tina Modotti, Lina Cavalieri, and Rudolph Valentino as well as major films such as Ben-Hur, Romola, and Fellini’s Cabiria. A section, titled “Portraits from Hollywood,” displays photographs of famous Italian directors, actors and artists.

Italy in Hollywood Salvatore Ferragamo Museum Piazza Santa Trinita 10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Until March 10, 2019

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he caption of the photograph read: “Public admiration . . . shouldn’t fluster you. Ogling the ladies is a popular, harmless and flattering pastime you’ll run into in many foreign countries. The gentlemen are usually louder and more demonstrative than American men, but they mean no harm.” The “gentlemen” are the Florentine youth of the early 1950s, two of them are sitting on one of the very first models of Vespa, the scooter that in the turn of a few years became a symbol of the reborn country. The girl breezes past clusters of them on a sidewalk right by one of the most famous Florentine cafès, head held high as if impervious to their ogling as she grasps her shawl and handbag. The picture is a piece of Italian and Florentine history. And the girl who made this history, Ninalee Allen Craig - 23 when, in August 1951, a young photographer by the name of Ruth Orkin, captured her - left this world last spring at the age of 90. She will remain forever the “beautiful” and “luminescent” - Orkin’s words woman walking by the streets of Florence under the admiring eye of local men. Ninalee was an adventure-seeking graduate from Sarah Lawrence, a New York college, who had been travelling solo for the past few months. The image leaves no doubt: she was young but already strong and independent, standing tall and elegant through the lunacy, walking with complete

Florence News 17

HISTORY

In Memory of the ‘American Girl’

Subject of iconic image recently passed away, immortalized beauty

assurance and maintaining dignity throughout it all. She could not be aware that she was soon to become a symbol of independence and freedom for a country that was lacking and looking for those values after Fascism and the war. And she could not know that she bore an elegance of which Italians, in the turn of a few years, were to become masters. Totally unaware, Ninalee was showing her visiting country a new way of life, American style. And her visiting country learnt an important lesson from her, although the American style she was the bearer of was ‘italianized’ in any possible field and in any possible way.

In Florence, Ruth and Ninalee met at the American Express office, which at that time, far from the era of mass telecommunications, was the place for sending letters and telegrams, making phone calls, and exchanging money. Ninalee reveled in meeting each other, especially when they discovered they were staying in the same hotel for the same price, $1 a night, meals included. She recalled how the idea of the picture came out. And that’s quite interesting. “Ruth said: Hey, you know what, I could probably make a bit of money if we horse around and show what it’s like to be a woman alone.” The two hit the streets of Florence

the next morning around 10 a.m. The shot of Ninalee passing by the men was one of the first Ruth snapped. After that they went separate ways, only to bump into each other again shortly after, in Paris first and then in Venice. Other opportunities for other shots, but the moment destined to make history had already been captured. The print appeared in a photo essay titled “When You Travel Alone…” with Cosmopolitan magazine in 1952. The essay included advice on “money, men and morals to see you through a gay trip and a safe one.” The photograph proved to be an

important piece of artwork in the decades to come. It was hung in dorm rooms and homes, appeared in calendars and postcards. It also invited different, less ironic interpretations, adding meaning to its power in association with harassment, victimhood, and the feminine psyche. But Ninalee always saw her iconic image differently, and she was always clear about that. “Some people want to use it as a symbol of harassment of women, but that’s what we’ve been fighting all these years; it’s not a symbol of harassment, it’s a symbol of a woman having an absolutely wonderful time!” Ninalee was not afraid of Italian men whistling at her, she was not upset at all that she could not walk down the street in peace. “I was thrilled. I was having the time of my life; I was Beatrice walking through the streets of Florence. I felt that at any moment I might be discovered by Dante himself.” Which happened, except for the fact that her Dante was a fellow countryman of her. After her travels in Europe Ninalee returned to New York, where she taught school first and worked in advertising after. She married twice, first to a Venetian Count, and then to a Canadian steel industry executive. We never saw an image of her when she was old, we don’t want to. We only know that her powerful figure will continue to stand with the same excitement and independence as she keeps on walking, “beautiful and luminescent,” towards the Ponte Vecchio.

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HISTORY

The Renaissance as the Root of Modern Fashion COSTANZA MENCHI

n the early 1930s, Italian writer Gianna Manzini noted that the renowned Bronzino’s portrait of Eleanor of Toledo with her son, Don Garzia, acts as “a program, a prophecy,” the document of an epoch. It is, in fact, in the Renaissance that we can find the first manifestation of a “discourse on dress” and a ‘rhetoric’ of ‘la bella figura’ (literally: beautiful figure, meaning: giving a good impression). Thus, the Renaissance is the key moment in history for understanding the roots of Italian fashion. Fashion in the Renaissance became scientia habitus and a political and a state affair via the Sumptuary Laws. In the 16th century, numerous authors, such as Baldassar Castiglione and Cesare Vecellio, expressed an existing concern for appearance, while it was in this period that the body became a vital component of identity as individuals, beginning with the members of the Medici family, began to see themselves as the ‘agents’ of their own fate. In the Renaissance, the act of “fashioning” had connotations different from modern ones. Clothes were seen as to transform the wearer, while dressing in particular, elegant clothes gave people

a form. In the mid-16th century, Cosimo de’ Medici became a duke and his wife Eleanora became a duchess, by putting on the robes of state. From Eleanor’s wedding dress of 1539 to her burial dress of 1562, the Spanish-born duchess wore ceremonial dress to advertise both the Florentine silk industry and Duke Cosimo’s loyalty to the Spanish Emperor Charles V. Here we have identified some of the early meanings of modern fashion: dressing becomes, in this period, a way of advertising, of communicating an identity. Our primary evidence for Cosimo and Eleanor’s newly achieved ducal status is portraiture. Florentine painter Agnolo Bronzino under-

stood the importance of dress in crafting Eleanor’s public persona, and for this reason he made the virtuoso depiction of clothing and jewels (some of them attributed to Cellini) central to his four portraits of her in ceremonial dress. In these portraits, Bronzino depicts Eleanor as an icon of Spanish nobility and, together with her two eldest sons, as a symbol of a fecundity at the base of the Medicean dynastic ambitions. Thus, just as Eleonora’s public appearances in lavish dress were carefully staged, Bronzino’s images of her in this clothing were part of Duke Cosimo’s political culture, in which he presents his duchess as he wished her to be seen. Eleanor, Cosimo and the members of the Medici family represented in those official portraits were not just showing off their personal refined style and taste but the richness of the city of Florence. Through their wardrobe and clothing choices, they adopted different ways and tricks by means of which ideas, ideology and power could be conveyed through appearance. Today, Florentine heirs of that tradition are still recognized worldwide for the superb “Made in Italy” fashion, textiles, leather goods, jewels and accessories, which still let people wearing them make a good impression during public and private occasions.

The ‘Supermodels’ of the Past T

hrough Renaissance portraits of women, it is possible to understand how modern fashion began. It was during this period, in fact, that for the first time in art history, women became the object of a somewhat obsessive attention to the details of beauty. Artists began focusing intently on women’s faces, hair, and clothes, and thus, female portraiture took on another expressive element, beyond representing personality and social status. Simonetta Cattaneo can be considered the first “supermodel” in history, as Botticelli used her as a muse and inspiration for his paintings. Born in Genoa, she married Mario Vespucci, cousin of Amerigo Vespucci who baptized America. In 1475 she was nominated “Queen of Beauty” at the popular chivalrous tournament known as La Giostra, which that year was won by Giuliano de’ Medici, brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Giuliano and Simonetta embarked on a love story which came to a tragic end in 1476. She was only 22 when she died of tuberculosis. Giuliano died a few years later in the Pazzi Conspiracy. Simonetta’s face is believed to appear in The Birth of Venus and the Madonna of the Magnificat at the Uffizi. Hers and Giuliano’s are believed to be the faces in Botticelli’s Primavera, or Allegory of Spring.

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Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (fragment)

Another model was Lucrezia Panciatichi. In Bronzino’s portrait she appears with a “complicated” hairstyle, blue eyes, and a melancholic expression; she wears a sumptuous red velvet dress and a corset trimmed with a belt made of precious stones; one of her two necklaces bears the inscription Amour dure sans fin, an allusion to the love of God, whilst her right hand holds a prayer book; and the sleeves of the dress are big and detachable, as it was common in that period.

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The Three Tenors and La Traviata at Santo Stefano Church accompanies the music, as one would expect in a traditional opera house. If you’ve never seen La Traviata, do a bit of research beforehand. It will make the experience far more enjoyable. Dancers at La Traviata show are from the Florence Dance Performance school. Choreography is by Donatella Cantagallo.

C. DE MELO

oasting an original Romanesque facade of green and white marble, the Santo Stefano Church now serves as an auditorium for musical and theatrical performances. The concert is inspired by the world-renowned ‘Three Tenors’ Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. Standing atop Buontalenti’s stunning marmoreal balustrade of 1574 and accompanied by a chamber ensemble of mandolin, doublebass and grandpiano, Mattia Nebbiai, Claudio Sassetti, and Leonardo Sgroi dazzle audiences with their incredible voices. The excellent acoustics in Santo Stefano require no microphones. The three tenors perform the masterpieces which brought fame to Italy all over the world, such as some of the arias from La Traviata, Rigoletto and Tosca, as well as some of the most famous Neapolitan traditional songs. The musical program includes several operatic pieces from Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Brahms, and De Curtis. The singers are accompanied by the flawless tunes of a grand piano, mandolin, and a double bass. The three tenors exuded tremendous energy and playfulness on stage, making the audience giggle at times with their delightful humor. Their velvety

December Events

voices kept a full house entranced for over an hour with each selected song showing off the full potential of their collective talent. One highlight was the aria, E lucevan le stelle from the opera TOSCA, written by Giacomo Puccini. The emotion and range of this performance was truly impressive. “La traviata last night was a failure. Was the fault mine or the singers’? Time will tell.” Those words were penned by Giuseppe Verdi to a friend the day after La Traviata premiered at Venice’s La Fenice in 1853. La Fenice’s manager had insisted on giving the leading role of “Violetta” to Fanny Salvini-Donatelli, a corpulent 38-year-old woman. Although she was an acclaimed singer, the audience openly jeered at her for attempting to portray a young courtesan dying of con-

sumption. One can only imagine Verdi’s utter frustration and disappointment. “The Fallen Woman” (La Traviata) was written as a tragic three act opera based on a play, which was taken from the French novel “The Lady with the Camellias” by Alexandre Dumas (author of “The Three Musketeers”). The plot is simple: forbidden love. Violetta, a Parisian courtesan, falls in love with Alfredo, a young bourgeois from the countryside. Alfredo’s father, Giorgio, is against the relationship due to Violetta’s dubious past and convinces her to break off the love affair. Alfredo is furious and humiliates her in public. When Violetta is on her deathbed, she reconciles with Alfredo. Giorgio apologizes to her before she takes her final breath. Naturally, the music and lyrics are infused with emo-

tion to lift the soul of the listener. To experience Verdi’s timeless work in any venue is a visual and auditory delight, but Santo Stefano is a special place. The earliest mention of this Romanesque style church dates back to 1116. The original 12th century facade is comprised of white marble from Carrara and green marble from Prato. The interior was revamped in the 17th century to convert three aisles into an open space. Finally, Santo Stefano boasts wonderful acoustics. The church does not have a stage but a high altar with a stone balustrade along the front. The opera performed at this venue is mainly for listening pleasure, consisting of three talented singers – a tenor, a baritone, and a soprano – two talented musicians (grand piano, double bass), and four dancers. No elaborate theatrical performance

December 1,4,8,15,22,30 Auditorium Santo Stefano 8:30 p.m. Chritmas concert with the three tenors December 27 Auditorium Santo Stefano 8:30 p.m. Movies in concert December 28 Auditorium Santo Stefano 8:30 p.m. Traviata pocket December 31 Auditorium Santo Stefano 8:30 p.m. The New Year’s Eve concert with the three tenors and ballet INFO & BOOKING: www.operainroma.com Email: florence@operainroma.com Cell: +39 373 774 6001 Landline: +39 055 230 2411

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Creative Colors and Hypnotic Hues Pitti Uomo returns with a tribute to Portugal 95

T +39 055 36931 uomo@pittimmagine.com

itti Uomo, the most important menswear fashion event hosted in Florence, is coming back to the Fortezza da Basso from Jan. 8 to 11. The theme of Pitti Uomo this winter is modern sportswear, with sections that have more forward-thinking fashion and display the passions of new craftspeople in the activewear industry today. This January, Pitti Uomo will have a vast array of projects that interpret the outdoors in a new and original way that redefine lifestyle concepts. The fair will also have new routes, a careful redistribu-

08 11 january 2019 firenze fortezza da basso PITTIMMAGINE.COM special grant from

tion of the spaces, an expansion of the sections on experimental menswear, and areas dedicated to the future of fashion. Within a space of about 60,000 square meters divided into 13 sections, 1,230 brands – 542 from abroad – will showcase venues that emphasize research in menswear and the future of fashion. The event brings 30,000 visitors and around 25,000 buyers. This year, the collections focus on a theme which combines outdoor passions with the most contemporary fashion attitudes. The show exposes the creativity of young designers in the newly popular athletic-minded wardrobe.

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THE SPECIAL EVENTS AND GUESTS:

EVENTS AT THE DOGANA HUB

• Glenn Martens, Menswear Guest Designer – Pitti Uomo 95

•“Art Meets Fashion”: Special Project Signed by Heculla The brand Heculla will host an event combining New York’s street art with fashion.

The Belgian born designer will present his Y/PROJECT 2019/2020 collection with a special event in Florence at Pitti Uomo. The brand was last year’s winner of the Andam Fashion Award. • Aldo Maria Camillo, Pitti Italics Special Event

MOHSEN TOOTOONCHI

WINTER EDITION

• The Beyond Closet Fashion Show by CONCEPT KOREA Beyond Closet will present its collection on Jan. 9 at Dogna on Via Valfonda.

Aldo Maria Camillo has been invited to present, with a special event, the debut of his brand: ALDOMARIACAMILLO, the ideal wardrobe for the modern man. This is his first collection, after an impressive career of collaborating with designers such as Valentino.

• THE PITTI BOX A tribute to the surprise boxes commonly found at Pitti Immagine fairs. The Main Forecourt of Fortezza da Basso will be transformed into a social space with food, ideas, and relaxation, including scattered surprise boxes across the area.

• Slam Jam Celebrates Urban Culture

INSIDE / OUTSIDE

The Italian company of Slam Jam, that does research on fashion in today’s urban culture, celebrates its 13th anniversary by collaborating with the Marino Marini Museum from Jan. 9 to 10.

• 50 Years of Moon Boot Moon Boot celebrates its 50th anniversary with an event at the Stazione Leopolda.

• Gucci Gardens opens New Exhibit in Galleria Rooms On Jan. 8, Gucci will host a new exhibition in their recently opened Period Room in the Gucci Garden Galleria inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia at Piazza della Signoria.

• Woolrich Woolrich will host an installation event in the Sala Ottagonale room. • Diadora The brand, specialized in sports and lifestyle fashion, will celebrate its 70th birthday with an art exhibition called It Plays Something Else. The exhibit focuses on the marriage between speed and sport.

• Ecoalf Ecoalf, the brand that has paved the way for sustainable fashion, will launch a 100% Made in Italy collection at Pitti Uomo. The new collection was designed and produced with recycled and ecological sustainable materials.

SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF PITTI UOMO • Herno presents the Herno Laminar– Sartorial Engineering The Sartorial Engineering collection, an evolution of the Herno Laminar line that was presented at Pitti Uomo 2012, will be held in the Fortezza. The brand studies new technologies and materials. • Barbour The Barbour waxed jacket celebrates its 125th anniversary. The historic brand is honored at Pitti Uomo with a capsule collection, reworking iconic designs, in the WP Area. • Allegri reveals collaboration with Cottweiler British brand Cottweiler presents its capsule collection with Italian label Allegri. The collection includes ten raincoats that embody heritage, elegance, and functionality. • John Varvatos Enterprises John Varvatos Enterprises participates at Pitti Uomo presenting its newest collections with an edgy feeling at the Spazio

WINTER EDITION www.florencenews.it dello Sprone. • JOOP! The German brand will display its lifestyle for elegant and confident men at the Costruzioni Lorenesi. • Rewoolution Rewoolution will present an activewear collection focusing on the technicality of sport and leisure clothing. Pieces are sustainably made, mindful of both animals and the environment. • Rossignol x Philippe Model Paris Rossignol x Philippe Model Paris combines Rossignol’s innovation with Philippe Model Paris’s skills of craftsmanship. The company will showcase in the garden of Villa Vittoria. Philippe Model Paris is also showcasing the Montecarlo project at the Fortezza da Basso. • Les Hommes Group Les Hommes Group will launch two new collections at Pitti Uomo: LHU URBAN, which displays a more contemporary street style mixed with sport; and COLLAB SERGIO TACCHINI LES HOMMES, a new capsule collection. • Ben Sherman This British menswear brand will participate in the AW19 season with a new exhibition inspired by its 50 years of shirt-making. • Best Company Japanese designer Ono will present a collection revisiting an old sweatshirt tradition with chic

embroidery to interpret it in the future of high-tech outerwear. The event will take place at the Archivi 3 space. • Ellesse Ellesse will present a new collection, which is a renewal of its iconic history. • Mackage This Canadian brand will present an immersive event for the FW 19/20. The event gives insight to both the core and the evolution of the brand. • Vilebrequin Vilebrequin presents its new collection of beach couture style– VILEBREQUIN DENIM – from French designers on the Upper Level. This brand is produced and distributed by the Italian company Giada Spa. • Eleanor McDonald This British designer, winner of an “ITS Award” and awarded by the Italian National Chamber Fashion, has a new capsule collection which will be presented in the Unconventional area of Pitti Uomo.

PROJECTS ON NEW SCENARIOS OF FASHION DESIGN • GUEST NATION PORTUGAL: A Window on the the Portuguese Scene

Pitti Uomo will showcase some upand-coming Portuguese brands in the Spazio Carra area on the lower level of the Main Pavillion. The show includes names such as CAIÁGUA, Ecolã Portugal, Hugo Costa, Ideal & co, Labuta, Nycole, Puente, and Westminster. • SCANDINAVIAN MANIFESTO: A focus on Experimental Fashion The second edition of the Scandinavian Manifesto, presented in collaboration with Revolver Copenhagen, displays designers and collections from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway at the Arena Strozzi. Among the brands showcasing are Forét, Henrik Vibskov, Hope, Klättermusen, L’homme Rouge, Mfpen, Mucker, Newline Halo. • The TOKYO FASHION AWARD Brings its Six finalists to Touch! The Tokyo Fashion Award brings six finalist collections from new Japanese brands selected by a jury inside the area TOUCH! Brands are Anei, Cinoh, Jieda, Nobuyuki Matsui, Postelegant and Rainmaker. • The JAPANESE WHITE LEATHER PROJECT Japanese designers Satoshi Ezaki, Kozaburo Akasaka, Ryuki Yamaka, and Ryo Midorikawa, specialized in creating white leather, will present their new collections.

Florence News 23

CITY BEAT THE NEW FEATURES IN THE FAIR GEOGRAPHY • “Outdoor Meets Fashion, Fashion Meets Outdoor”, the mantra of I GO OUT Launched last June, this project focuses on outdoor sport and style as well as functionality, high performance and design. Among the brands that will showcase in the Sala della Ronda are 24bottles, And Wander, Arc’teryx Veilance, Danner, Diemme, Element & Griffin Studio “Future Nature”, Fase, Goldwin, Griffin, and Harvest Label. • New look for TOUCH!, “The most Eclectic Wardrobe” One of the fair sections, TOUCH!, presents a new setup in the Medici Pavilion displaying cutting-edge designs from brands including Atelier & Repairs, Barena, Béton Ciré, Buttero, Captain Santors, Children Of The Discordance, Danton, De Bonne Facture, Delirious Eyewear, Eat Dust, Fiorentini+Baker, and Geym. • Pitti Uomo 95 on e-PITTI.com: the online launch during the fair Pitti Uomo’s online platform allows fashion fans to “attend” the fair online by publishing a catalogue of over 920 brands and 6,000 pieces on showcase for buyers to look at and purchase. The site will open during the fair on Friday, Jan. 11, and will remain open for nine weeks.

Pitti Uomo 95 Jan. 8-11

Contemporary Global Lifestyle

The world’s most important platform for men’s clothing and accessory collections and new projects in men’s fashion. Exhibition times Everyday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Last day: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration times Registration: 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Last day: 8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors: from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Exhibitors: from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Pitti Filati 84 Jan. 23-25

New fashion and lifestyle trends start here. The main international event for the knitting yarn industry, a research lab and an observatory on global lifestyle trends. Exhibition times 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. last day: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration times 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. last day: 8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. .

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The Five Steps to an Italian Christmas Feast

GRACE GELEP

raditionally, Italians would fast all day on Christmas Eve to prepare their stomachs for a feast called Cenone della Vigilia after midnight mass. The chefs of the evening may choose how many courses to serve based on Catholic beliefs: seven courses for the seven sacraments, nine courses for the Holy Trinity (squared), twelve courses for the apostles, thirteen courses for the disciples including Jesus, or twenty-one courses for the Holy Trinity multiplied by the seven sacraments. In the traditional Cenone della Vigilia, there is no meat to be served, only fish. A popular seafood dish on Christmas Eve is baccala’, which is a dried and salted cod that must be prepared with several days of soaking in water. Other possible seafood to be served include oc-

topus and shellfish. Pasta dishes are also prepared, usually topped with anchovies, clams, or mussels, along with cheese and spices. Finally, the most common dessert is a “Christmas bread” called pane di natale, a cake with fresh fruit, nuts, honey, and chocolate. The traditions of the Christmas feast have become much more relaxed and up for interpretation in modern day Italy. Many regions do not abide by the culinary rules, such as our home of Tuscany and Florence! Here are the 5 steps to create a more modern day Italian Christmas feast. 1. Begin with a traditional Tuscan antipasto, including cheeses, olives, nuts, and different types of crostini. Crostini is a starting dish with small toasted breads and various toppings. There could be a chicken crostini, which includes

chicken liver pate. Another crostini is one with tomato, which is known as ‘bruschetta’ in Italy.

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CITY BEAT

Twelve Tips for a Great

2. Serve a variety of pastas for the first course. “Ragu is the best one,” says Francesco Santoro, manager of Florence restaurant Rubaconte. “We like pasta with different types of cheese, pasta with fresh tomato and basil, it depends.” 3. For the main course, eat meats such as turkey, chicken, sausages, and bistecca alla Fiorentina, from the ancient breed Chianina cow, which is served as a two to three inch cut and cooked rare. “It depends what the family or the restaurant decides to serve,” says Santoro. 4. Dessert shall include panettone, a sweet bread with dried fruits and different sauces, or tiramisu and different types of cake. 5. Pairing this feast with the right beverage is crucial to Italians. “We love to eat and drink, because usually for Christmas we decide to select a lot of different types of drink,” Santoro says. “With the appetizer we like sparkling wine. With the first course we drink white wine or rose. With the meat or chicken we like red wine.” There are many ways of celebrating Christmas with food in Italy. No matter where you go in the country, you never know what meal might be served. One thing is for sure; everyone will be full and satisfied at the end of the feast!

hen asked about the secrets of such longevity, a 105-yearold Japanese doctor who died in 2017 released a list of 12 tips to have a happy, long life. These tips may be useful for a better 2019 and we decided to share them with you. They read as following: 1. Consider just what deserves your attention. Avoid stress. Stress is bad for your spirit. Do not give importance to small matters. 2. Let yourself be inspired by art, poetry and music. Neglecting these forms of art means locking the doors to your imagination. 3. Do not be jealous of what you learn and share all your knowledge with others as if it were a gift. 4. Always make plans and be careful not to be caught up by the days (? not sure what you meant by caught by the days, but that doesn’t sound right in English). If you make good plans, no commitment will ever be too onerous for you. 5. Take pain off your mind. Avoid thinking about what hurts you

and what takes your energies away. Learn how to let it go. 6. Do not neglect little daily joys. Love yourself and those around you. 7. Learn how to listen to different versions of the same story, you will be more objective in your decisions. 8. Eat healthy and sleep when is necessary. Your health status is crucial. 9. Be confident. There is a difference between humility and lack of self-esteem. Do not ask for help anytime you have to face a problem, try to solve it yourself first. 10. Do not get attached to money. Money was made to be spent, so do not get depressed when you do not have much. 11. Look for people who you think are better than you and ask them for advice anytime you are undecided. 12. Love what you do. If you have fun doing your job, you will not work a single day in your life.

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Christmas Markets in Florence

Fortezza da Basso Dec. 11 – 14 Entrance costs 5 euros, and is free for children under 12.

Florence News 27

CITY BEAT

A New Factory of Ideas

Fierucola di Natale If you’re looking for that last-minute gift idea, then Piazza Santo Spirito hosts a Christmas-themed fair of organic and handmade products. Piazza Santo Spirito Dec. 16 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. The Immaculate Conception Two-day fair with crafts and food Piazza SS. Annunziata Dec. 7 – 8 AILO Christmas Bazaar The American International League of Florence, or AILO, hosts its annual charity Christmas Bazaar that has an American feel with foods such as brownies, hamburgers, jams and pickles.

German Christmas Market Florence’s Christmas markets bathe the city in a warm wintery glow from Dec. 3 – 21 as about 55 wooden house-shaped kiosks selling products from northern European countries take over the Piazza Santa Croce. Traditional German alpine crafts and foods are the main feature of this market, offering tastings of specialties such as pork shanks, sauerkraut, pretzels, strudel and, of course, beer, mulled wine and sweets. The

market is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Piazza Santa Croce Nov. 28 – Dec. 20 Santa Croce Natale in Fortezza Fortezza da Basso hosts Christmas in the City, with a range of gift items and gastronomic products on display, as well as a dedicated children’s space featuring Santa Claus.

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Le Pagliere (ex Scuderie Reali), viale Machiavelli 24 Dec. 8 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mercato Nataleperfile It is a charity Christmas market raising money for FILE, an association which assists terminally ill patients and their families. The stalls range from vintage clothing to jewellery, books to food. Palazzo Corsini, Via di Parione 11 Dec. 12 – 14

new space called Fabbricato Viaggiatori opened in December inside the central railway station of Santa Maria Novella. The name of the place – located on the Palazzina Reale, a historical building created in 1935 and designed by the Gruppo Toscano of architects, among whom was the renowned Giovanni Michelucci who created the Florence train station – recalls the concept of travelling. Fabbricato Viaggiatori is in fact a special space open to anyone that welcomes travellers to and from Florence while also helping introduce them to the city. It has a restaurant, open all day long from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., for breakfast, lunch and dinner, that serves food made with traditional Italian products but also opened to an ‘international taste’. The food served is made with seasonal, fresh, and organic and

eco-sustainable ingredients. A wide selection of wines is also available as well as a cocktail bar and a coffee shop. The place is colorful and decorated with a variety of green plants, with a design enriched by a vintage feel, from furniture to lights. Fusing tradition and innovation, Fabbricato Viaggiatori also has a sort of American-style to the sophisticated waiting area for Florence’s main train station. It has free Wi-Fi connection, a selection of books, music, movies and documentaries, events and vernissages, tastings, master-classes and concerts. This new waiting area is awaiting your visit.

Fabbricato Viaggiatori Piazza della Stazione 50

28 Florence News

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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 be-

come 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

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Fashion Online

Roberto Ugolini: Master Loafer

WINTER EDITION

A Florentine Stylist: Andrea Sassi Fusing passion and creativity is the formula of Florentine stylist Andrea Sassi. Andrea began producing women’s shirts in 1985, and in the early ‘90s he was already one of the most successful emerging stylists in Florence. This rapid growth brought to an expansion of his production, which began to include dresses, suits, and accessories. Today the brand has two shops in Florence, one on Via de’ Federighi 1r – right off Via Tornabuoni, Florence’s most famous fashion street – and one on Via Senese 19r, near the Porta Romana, where it is possible to buy items of clothing made of pure silk or linen, as well as accessories such as handkerchiefs, leather bags, handmade necklaces and bracelets.

hoppingscanner is a search engine for clothes and accessories for women, men and children, cosmetics and house decor. Easy to manage, it uses tools and filters such as price range, discount percentage, color, size or name of the product, brand, keyword. One can also navigate within the categories and find a series of tips and outfits that are in the trend section. Shoppingscanner has currently four versions: Italian (.it), French (.fr), English (.uk) and American (.com) and nearly 1,000,000 products per site from over 60 of the best Italian, European and American stores. The website gets about 400,000 visitors per month. “We’ve created this search engine that can browse the best online stores and filter products according to brand, price range, discount, color and size. We want shopping online to be easier for everyone. We’re working hard to perfect it. Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening,” say Laura Cappelletti and Alessandra Massaini , co-founder s of the platform.

www.shoppingscanner.it/com/fr/uk

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WINE ON TAP IN SANTO SPIRITO

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

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

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Brand new gym in the heart of Florence is now open. • Fully outfitted with the latest cardio & strength equipment from Technogym • Offering a wide array of classes ranging from Zumba to Pilates, every week • All-inclusive memberships with no sign-up fees • Special pricing for students • Friendly English-speaking staff • Free wi-fi Mon. to Fri.: 8 a.m.-10 p.m, Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m, Sunday: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Via dei Fossi, 56/r 055 23 96 497

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Meet Marco Cantini

allets, jewelry, fragrance, handmade by a real Florentine craftsman, Marco Cantini. Marco was born and raised in Piazza della Passera, in the most ‘authentic’ neighborhood of Florence, Santo Spirito, where you can still find pure Florentines today, which seems to be an increasing rarity in this city. Since childhood, his life has been devoted to his strong passion for work. In these early years, Marco’s daily life consisted of school in the morning and working at a boutique with a craftsman in the afternoon, polishing frames and restoring small objects. He later became the apprentice of a Florentine goldsmith. “I could ‘smell’ the beauty of this noble and ancient art,” Marco says, recalling this time, “but couldn’t accede to it until I was 20, when my mentor started teaching me the medieval techniques of his job. My adventure begins here. I bought my first workbench and started creating.” But still, Marco’s curiosity was not satisfied. “I needed to know, to see, to explore. Being Florentine and a goldsmith has been really helpful in my tours and adventures. In London I worked for David Morris on Bond Street. It’s there that I was introduced to the world of international fine jewelry,” says Marco. “I under-

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‘Son of the Heart’

Jewelry and Fragrance W

Florence News 29

them,” Ishan told us. The first Benheart store opened Florence six years ago. Since then, he has expanded to six stores: five of which are in Italy, and one of which is in Tokyo. Soon, the boutiques will be seven, as a new one is about to open in San Francisco at the beginning of the next year. The clothing and accessories are crafted entirely by hand, the treatment of which is taken from the traditions of Ben’s native town. Customized pieces are also available if you visit one of their locations in Florence.

stood that, thanks to what I learned in my early ages, I could travel and work all over the world. And that’s what I did. I travelled to Brazil, Mexico, New York and connected my craftsmanship techniques and to the new ones I learned abroad.” Despite these travels, Florence has always been Marco’s real home. And it’s here that, back in the 90’s, he opened his first shop, with more on the way.

Marco Cantini

Via del Castello D’Altafronte, 28/r, www.marcocantini.com

Sneakers Lab

he story of this young stylist is quite literally derived from his heart. It was after a heart transplant, in fact, 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 synonymous to ‘son of the heart’ - the distinctive logo imprinted on all his leather goods: shoes, bags, jackets and belts. 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. “We look at quality first: quality is our brand’s identity. Then, of course, all our products have to fit and look beautiful when you wear

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

e Village seamlessly links Italian artisan tradition and modern design, presenting works that are in line with today’s changing market. The company’s latest winter collection features classic sneaker models revised with modern aspects. Become the crafter of your sneaker at the Le Village Lab Shop in Florence. The varying models and materials to choose from gauge different customers and offer a versatile product that transforms the concept of Italian craftsmanship and production quality. The Florence Le Village Lab Shop is located in Via Castello D’Altafronte 26, right off Via De Neri, in the Santa Croce area.

30 Florence News

CITY BEAT

Learning Self-Defense A

course aimed at informing, educating and spreading awareness on self-defense is being held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Centro Studi Danza e Movimento, Borgo degli Albizi. It is based on both group and one-toone lessons. The course provides all the necessary tools to minimize risks and limit the damage in a potential dangerous situation. It is based on a simple and effective way and techniques inspired of different Martial Arts (Chinese, Japanese, Thay), which allow the trainees to work on their fears and insecurities, as well as assess and handle the various aspects, physical and mental, involved in a high risk situation for both themselves and others. The training system includes physical training, bare-hand and armed defense, studying of the vulnerable parts of the body, emotional control, and psychological and environmental analysis.

WINTER EDITION www.florencenews.it

A Florentine Gift V

SOS

isconti is an authentic Florentine company which manufactures pens, watches, and other accessories. The company was founded October 20, 1988 by Luigi Poli and Dante Del Vecchio, who shared a passion for high quality pens. The luxury of the work shows in the uniqueness of each piece and the special manufacturing process. If you are looking for a memorable souvenir stop by Pinart, located at Via de’ Guicciardini, 2r, 50125 Firenze, located near Ponte Vecchio.

Borgo degli Albizi 16 Kungfu-firenze.com

Tattoo Piercing Via degli alfani 32/r Firenze +39 344 20 48 393 +39 342 75 47 804 Fb: Blood Brotherhood

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EMERGENCIES

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

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

PINART

C/o Centro Danza e Movimento

TOURIST INFORMATION

Bring Home Organic Wool Y

ou can get clothing made from organic wool at the MP shop located on via dei Pilastri 22r. Organic wool is not genetically modified, so it is more environmentally friendly. The growing process allows the soil to remain fertile, and it reduces the need for toxic fertilizers, making organic wool a good choice for the eco-conscious consumer.

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

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

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

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

TAXI

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

TOURIST INFO POINTS

TAXIS

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

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

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The True Cost of Craftsmanship Meet artisan Jamie Lazzara SOPHIE MACMILLAN

tepping into her storefront is like entering the wardrobe to Narnia, only to come out surrounded by violins and not snow, as the crowded streets of the Florence historical center are left behind replaced by thin stacks of wood and a workbench. Within the walls of a tiny shop on Via dei Leoni we meet Jamie Lazzara, a woman who has dedicated her entire life to music and art. Jamie sits on a small stool in the center of her 6-square meter shop - a space that can hardly contain her passion and purpose - with one lamp facing over her workspace. A partially crafted violin rests on her lap as her hands slowly carve away the excess wood on the outer edges, while her fingers effortlessly slide over the wood smoothing the edges into perfection. The walls are covered with handcrafted instruments and images of their owners. Signed portraits and little notes are tacked to the dark walls. On the large shelf behind her there is wood that is centuries old, and below that, hangs saws and other tools. Her accomplishments are immediately clear: an image of

Photo credits: Sophie Macmillan

former president Barack Obama in the window display shows a hand signed thank you note for the violin she made for his daughter; hanging from the ceiling is a certificate from the society of artisans in Florence that recognizes her craft and shop as authentic. Jamie has been playing the violin since age 8. At 19 she came to Italy from California to attend the Inter-

national School of Violin Making in Cremona. But since, at that time, women were not allowed to make violins, she was banned from the school. She then traveled to Florence and studied at a fine arts academy, only to return to Cremona two years later as she was finally accepted into the International School of Violin Making, where she became the first American woman to graduate. Then, she returned to Florence, where she has been crafting violins ever since. Every new skill she acquires can in some way translate back to her work. Jamieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity revolves around a love for her craft, music, and art. Her vast knowledge of many art forms and music combined with her dexterity of different techniques makes her truly unique; and throughout her time in Florence she was able to study with and learn from a variety of different artists. Crafting violins is a long and difficult process. It all begins with a single piece of wood. From there, each piece is built individually, with a precision that only human hands are capable of. Jamie carefully drags the base of the violin across a block of sandpaper, testing the length of every side after a few strokes. She ensures that each side is even to guarantee perfect alignment. There is a determination in her hands, no rush, and great precision. Jamie moves on to the top piece of the violin. She uses the base to trace the shape onto another piece of wood. With a hand saw

Florence News 31

CITY BEAT produced to be exactly the same for the vast and ever-growing consumer market. The art of craft has been sacrificed for industry and speed. Jamie takes on a different mindset; each instrument can take three to four months. She only produces four violins a year, while also working on repairs and other projects. This quality over quantity approach has led Jamie to craft instruments for famous musicians throughout the world, including Itzak Perlman, who was the first to acquire Jamieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s replica of the Stradivari of 1714. Her work is undeniably authentic and pristine, characteristics that every violinist looks for in their instrument.

she brings the real shape to life, at this point it is only a rough cut out that will be worked and molded into the instrument. The process takes time and dedication. Jamie has an advantage in this industry, being a musician from a young age. She taps the wood with the back of her knuckles listening to the way the material responds. It is as if she can already hear the beautiful notes the instrument will produce. When the violin is finished, she will be able to test it using her own instrumental expertise, and ensure the quality is upheld to the highest degree. Today, most products are mass

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.

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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

WINTER EDITION www.florencenews.it

Italy, Literature, and The Great War 1918-2018: A literary anniversary of the end of The First World War

LEE FOUST

ne hundred years ago this month Italy was winding up its second summer of inconsequential warfare against the Austrian Empire in the Friuli Venezia-Giulia region following the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth battles of the Isonzo River. Despite a long-standing defense pact with Germany and Austria, Italy had broken neutrality and entered the Great War in 1915 with the secretly arranged Treaty of London. Encouraged by Russian victories in the Carpathans against Austria and, fearing to lose out on the spoils should the Austrian Empire be dismantled, Italy had for two years since been mired in a trench war. Morale had been awful at first and no serious headway had been made in 1914, but the sixth battle of the Isonzo, during the second season of fighting, had taken the town of Gorizia—a largely nominal objective. 1917 would be a more decisive year. The spring offensive brought Italy to the verge of triumph—but, outreaching their supply lines, the advancing army would be forced to halt in the mountains, and the trench stalemate resumed. Although the now combined German

and Austrian forces would make a similar mistake and fail to secure a decisive victory, in October of 1917 they would drive the Italian army down from the mountains and across the plains to the far side of the Tagliamento River in the famous retreat from Caparetto. The next year, in October again, the regrouped and reinforced French and Italian army would win a great victory at Vittorio Veneto on the Piave River, and, exhausted by fighting on too many fronts,

Austria requested an armistice and the Great War in Italy ended. Perhaps more than Italian literati, American readers know some of these facts from Ernest Hemingway’s partially lived and copiously researched second novel, A Farewell to Arms, which charts an American architecture student in Italy’s adventures as a volunteer Red Cross ambulance driver during the 4-year conflict. I will go out on a limb here and proclaim this to be the American modernist’s greatest

Florence News 33

LITERATURE literary achievement, a novel rich in reflection, experience, and the best example of his terse, evocative prose style. If you love a great novel, are studying in Italy and interested in history (curious what your peers were doing 100 years ago), or are curious about either the war or the mysterious northeastern regions of Italy, I highly recommend this readable twentieth-century classic. It is with a heavy heart, however, that this scholar of Italian literature notes that there is no great Italian WWI novel equivalent to the American A Farewell to Arms, the German All Quiet on the Western Front, French Journey to the End of the Night, English Parade’s End trilogy, or even to the Czech The Good Soldier Svejk. The literary legacy of the Italian experience of WWI comes rather from the poets, notably the trench poems of Giuseppe Ungaretti, which appeared in his first three collections, Il porto sepolto (The Buried Port, 1916), La Guerra (The War, 1919) and Allegria di naufragi (Joy of the Shipwrecked, 1919). To get a feel for the poet’s Hermetic, spiritual experience of the daily facing of death, I’ve translated a short poem from Il porto sepolto recounting a night spent in a foxhole with the cadaver of a fallen, fellow soldier. Be sure to sound out the Italian original even if you don’t know what the words mean—within their music, the plosive t’s, d’s, and hard c’s may remind you of distant machinegun fire. The poem is remarkably beautiful affirmation of life in the midst of manufactured death.

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

Vigil

(December 23rd, 1915, Cima Quattro) A whole night long Tossed down alongside A slaughtered Comrade His teeth clenched In his mouth Turned toward the fullmoon The clotting Of his hands Penetrate Into my silence Where I ‘ve written Letters full of love I’ve never been So so Attached to life

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Florence News 35

FOOD&WINE

Seven Delicious Reasons to Visit Florence This Season

C. DE MELO

he invigorating nip in the air combined with the comforting scents of chimney smoke and roasting chestnuts means that autumn is officially here. Fashion-conscious Florentines break out their sleek leather boots, wool coats, and cashmere wraps to hit the streets in style. In my opinion, this is the best time to visit Florence. Not only is the tourist season is winding down (allowing you to have the Renaissance city all to yourself), but there are so many culinary delights this time of year. Here are seven autumnal treats to tickle your taste buds: 1. Tartufi Toscani (Tuscan truffles): Their aroma is enough to make your mouth water. These fancy fungi grow beneath the soil and are sniffed out by specially trained

dogs. Pigs were used in the past, but they also like to eat the truffles and it was always a race to get to them first. There are two types of truffle that come from Tuscany. Tartufo Bianco (white truffle), which sells for 2000,00 - 4000,00 euro per kilo depending on the time of year. Tartufo Nero (black truffle), which sells for less than 800,00 euros per kilo. Keep in mind that truffles weigh next to nothing, so a small piece may run about 50,00 euro. What can you eat truffles with? Nowadays, just about everything. It tastes amazing sliced (paper thin) over a fine piece of meat or grated on pasta or eggs. Some people sprinkle black truffle on pizza or mix it with butter to create an elegant crostini. 2. Funghi Porcini (porcini mushrooms): Earthy, aromatic, and silky in consistency, porcini mushrooms are divine. Porcini can be

diced or sliced, sautéed and eaten in risotto, pasta, or over meats. It can also be thinly sliced and eaten raw, seasoned with some olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar. NOTE: Never wash mushrooms! To clean them, use a cloth and carefully remove dirt. 3. Cavolo Nero (black kale): Super healthy, full of antioxidants, and flavorful, this “winter veggie” is mostly used in soups, like ribollita. Cut the stalks short since they tend to be a bit tough, wash them and then boil or steam them until tender. Drain and toss in a hot skillet with some salt, pepper, and olive oil. Serve as a side dish or on toast (as a crostini). 4. Fichi (figs): You have to catch these darlings in the early autumn. I’ve always considered figs to be the luxurious divas of all fruits. There are two kinds of figs: decadent black and elegant white

and both are delicious. They taste wonderful by themselves or as a side to gorgonzola, honey and walnuts. Fig and ricotta cheese is also a classic combination, so look for those two flavors in gelaterias and combine them on your cone or in your cup. 5. Castagne (chestnuts): There is nothing like the warm scent of roasting chestnuts on a chilly evening. Street vendors all over Europe sell them in paper cones and people walk around, munching as they window shop. Ahhhh... Here in Tuscany, they also make chestnut flour that is used in making desserts. 6. Melograno (pomegranate): Every time I eat one of these, I am reminded Hades and how he tricked Persephone. These fruits are beautiful and taste great, but they’re also good for you. This Thanksgiving, why not decorate the turkey

by placing pomegranate seeds all around it? 7. Schiacciata all’Uva (schiacciata with grapes)” This traditional flat bread is usually topped with rock salt or vegetables with savory spices. After the grapes are harvested in the fall, however, just about every forno (bakery) or pasticceria (pastry shop) in town makes this very special version of schiacciata. Normally, black grapes are used but- if you’re lucky, you may find a pasticceria that uses white grapes.

C. De Melo Author & Artist www.cdemelo.com Author of: SABINA: A Novel Set in the Italian Renaissance (available on Amazon.com)

THE LARGEST ENOTECA IN TUSCANY! WINE & TYPICAL TUSCAN PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

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36 Florence News

FOOD&WINE

Asparagus and Truffle 1/2 kilo fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces 2 scallions, chopped 2 T olive oil 3 cups arborio rice 1/2 cup Vernaccia di San Gimignano 4 cups vegetable broth 3 T butter 1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan or Aged Pecorino) 1. Place olive oil in pan with scallions and asparagus. Sauté for 2 minutes. 2. Add rice, wine, and half of the water. Lower heat and let simmer. 3. As water evaporates, keep adding more, stirring frequently to achieve a creamy texture. 4. Rice should be cooked until tender yet al dente. Add butter and cheese, stirring to distribute evenly. 5. Sprinkle generously with grated truffle.

Ristorante Il Pino Via Cellolese 6 San Gimignano 057 79 40 415 www.ristoranteilpino.it

Gluten Free T E

ating out can become an unpleasant experience for those who suffer from food allergies. One of the most common food allergies in the world is celiac disease. Thanks to the commitment of its owners, who have attended the courses organized by the Associazione Italiana Celiachia (the Italian Association specialized in celiac diseases), alongside a traditional menu the restaurant Trattoria Da Garibardi offers a special gluten free menu with pasta, bread, pizza, as well as many other dishes. The restaurant has a very large kitchen and special tools that allow to prepare gluten free food without any danger of contamination. Thanks to this special background and commitment, the typical, tasty Tuscan cuisine is now accessible even to those who suffer from celiac disease.

Trattoria Da Garibardi Piazza del Mercato Centrale 38/r Tel.: + 39 055 212267 www.garibardi.it

WINTER EDITION www.florencenews.it

The Seven Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making a Pizza

he best way to approach the preparation of a pizza, is to know what mistakes you should avoid. Here is a list of the most common mistakes that people make when preparing their own pizza. Using the improper flour: This is important because it sets up the foundation of your pizza, the crust. If the wrong flour is used for the dough, it can prevent the crust from rising or make it rubbery. Use an average-strength flour that has 10–12 grams of protein. Combining the yeast and salt: This must be done in a very specific way. Mix the two ingredients in two separate bowls with water before putting them together. This prevents the salt from damaging the yeast. Letting the dough rest: You must set the yeast aside so that it can “rest” for two or three hours after first enabling the yeast with the salt. Then divide it into small sections of 200–300 grams and allow it to sit for six to eight hours to become soft. Manipulating the dough too much: After the resting session, roll out the dough and begin to form the shape of the pizza. You must also tap and knead the dough to make it firm. Bake in an inappropriate tin: The perfect pizza requires a lot of heat, especially from underneath. Consequently, a thin aluminum pan

will give you the best results. Using mozzarella that is too damp: Make sure you drain the mozzarella before you put it on your pizza. The best way to do this is to cut it the night before and set it in a colander in a refrigerator overnight or for a few hours. This method is also effective for buffalo

mozzarella. Putting on toppings before baking: If you apply the toppings too early, they will burn your pizza. Instead, put the mozzarella and vegetables on right before the pizza is done cooking. Toppings like ham or meat can be added after it has been removed from the oven.

Pizza Man on via Dell’Agnolo explains the proper way: Pizza Man via Dell’Agnolo use 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. 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 48 hours and the pizza must be cooked in a wood fired oven that has a temperature between 400 and 450 degrees Celsius. Such long leavening permits to prepare a light, easily digestible pizza. Pizza Man Via dell’Agnolo 105-107/r (near Piazza Santa Croce and the San Pierino Arch)

THE BAR DELL’ORSO IS RENOWNED FOR ITS CURED MEATS, CHEESES AND PRESERVES IN OIL

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38 Florence News

MUSIC

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Pink Floyd’s Masterpiece Hits 45th Anniversary MARCO BRACCI

oger Waters, founder, bassist and lyric-writer of Pink Floyd, once declared: “We all fight small battles between the positive and the negative in our everyday lives, and I’m obsessed with truth and how the futile scramble for material things obscures our path to a more fulfilling existence. That’s what The Dark Side of the Moon is about” This LP (long playing record) tells about the journey of human existence in search of identity: paradoxically, for Pink Floyd, it begins the end of their own journey started some years before with Syd Barrett, the “crazy diamond” who had left the band due to existential problems and because his creativity turned into insanity; the collective experience of the band will not find, in the next years, the same basis that instead allows the creation of The Dark Side of the Moon. The Floyds will peak after years of psychedelic experimentations, and in Water’s opinion, “make so much success is the purpose of every band. And once you get it that’s done, everything ends. In retrospect, I am convinced that the Pink Floyd finished at that time”. Let’s step back in time, to the second half of the Sixties, which is

characterized by innovative music and style tendencies, in which the “Underground” begins to inspire the formation of new rock bands. This is the case of Pink Floyd, which thanks to his genius founder Syd Barrett, proceed to obtain consent in England and abroad. Artistic experimentation is, since the very beginning, the trade-mark of Pink Floyd, name chosen to pay homage to two great American bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council; the artistic experimentation is supported by the creativity of their light shows and of the sleeves of their records designed by Storm

Thorgerson and the Hypnosis studio, and it comes with the life of the band until Barrett’s defection in 1968 and the nearly entry of the new solo guitarist David Gilmour into the group. Nevertheless, this kind of experimentation will go on hereafter, as The Dark Side of the Moon demonstrates. This album, represents changes hard to perceive, and, above all, hard to govern; then, in the near future, there will be an unexpected and hard to deal explosion of popularity, with the single track Money used by Capitol Records to penetrate US market. This musical experience that has remained in the history of rock music and in the individual and collective memory of some Floyd fans generations, but not only, in 2018 celebrates its 45th anniversary (it was first released in March 1973). Despite the passing of the years, it yet surprises the topicality of human being representation, who, since his birth until his death, passing through insanity, must connect to himself and to others in the endless construction of his existence; and it strikes that topics such as money and the relation with personal success are currently some of those individual faces. There, Pink Floyd of The Dark Side of the Moon, who, in 1973, are caught unprepared because of the huge and global success achieved,

after having been legitimized and accepted even in the USA, begin to understand they have probably reached artistic maturity as a band, as a team, as a variegated – and even meaningful - group of people/artists. From that moment on, then, a slow but inexorable loosening of the collective vision that has inspired them till then, happens; almost at the same time, Waters will take command of the band, clarifying that the band identity is by now no more collective but individual. In fact, after 1983 The Final Cut, a net cut between lyricist and other members really takes place: the first one decides that

Pink Floyd are over and will not exist anymore, while other three members, with Gilmour ahead, respond that the band will push forward, without him. From here on there will be lawsuits, personal rifts and fallings out; in 2005, only the global media event Live8 is able, within the space of a mini concert, to settle the tear, bringing the four Floyds back together on a stage. So, 1973, the year of The Dark Side of the Moon, stands for the dismay of people composing the band, in conjunction with their most important artistic and selling hit. 1973 represents the beginning of the identity crisis of the band.

HISTORIC VINYLS

VIA DEI NERI 15R

Via dei Pandolfini, 26r • 347 381 8294

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Florence News 39

CITY GUIDE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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