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WINTER EDITION 2017-2018, N 18 0

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Urs Fischer on Display

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wo years after Jeff Koons, Piazza Signoria is again hosting the contemporary art event in Florence. The guest will be Urs Fischer, one of the leading contemporary artists in the world, who will present a large metal sculpture about 12 metres tall called Big Clay. The sculpture will be on display from Sept. 22 to Jan 21. “Big Clay is only seemingly monumental. It is a monument to the simplicity and the primordial nature of the human gesture as it moulds a shape. Closer inspection of the work’s aluminium surface reveals the artist’s fingerprints. The sculpture is an enlargement of small pieces of clay modelled by the artist in his workshop. It is a monument to dexterity and to the simplest, most humdrum creative action,” said curator of the exhibit

Francesco Bonomi. Urs Fischer rose to fame in 2011 at the 50th edition of the Venice Biennale, where he melted a full-size wax copy of Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Woman, one of the great masterpieces of Renaissance sculpture on display in the Loggia dei Lanzi since 1583. Fischer is now ‘returning’ to Florence with a new project bound to trigger strong reactions and a heated debate on the language of contemporary art, the redefinition of taste, the development of techniques, and the concept of beauty. The sculpture on display in Piazza Signoria aims at creating a contrast between neoclassicism and the shapeless, between ancient and modern, between the “timeless” images of Bandinelli, Cellini and Giambologna, and Fischer’s

‘shapeless’ images. “In recent years, we have accepted the challenge of international exhibitions in our city by the world’s great artists, creating short-circuits and experimental dialogues between the classic and the contemporary, between different languages and styles or techniques and materials, with the aim of stimulating people’s curiosity and of revitalising the way they look at things,” said Florence Mayor Dario Nardella. The objective is to continue the trend inaugurated two years ago. “We must challenge the prejudice and the ideology of convenience, we must enjoy neo-Renaissance artist Urs Fischer’s works with astonishment and surprise. This is a major opportunity for us to continue to pursue with courage and determination the path on which we set out with the Biennale In-

ternazionale dell’Antiquariato two years ago. Florence at this juncture has opened up to contemporary art; now a vibrant workshop, it refuses simply to be a fine showcase, an urban museum. We want to be leading players in today’s life so as to avoid downgrading the golden Renaissance to the status of a mere fossil from the past,” said Nardella. Fischer will also be placing two artworks on the Arengario of Palazzo Vecchio, between the reproductions of Michelangelo’s David and Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes, in the furrow of the exhibitions staged by Jeff Koons (2015) and Jan Fabre (2016). The Two Figures will be those of Francesco Bonami and Fabrizio Moretti, seen by the artist as two citizens of the world whose roots lie in the local territory and its culture, two portraits that become abstract bodies as the wax is consumed. Fischer’s choice of the two figures was based on a study of their features conducted in the meetings to prepare the project.

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A Japanese Renaissance at the Uffizi Nature on painted screens from the 15th to the 17th century

he Uffizi Gallery is hosting an exhibition on Japanese art from the Early Renaissance to the early 16th century. The exhibit, on display in the Aula Magliabechiana of the museum until Jan. 8, 2018, is the first one of its kind ever held in Europe. Japanese Renaissance showcases pieces from museums, temples and the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency presenting a selection of 39 landscapes and depictions of nature in the format of the folding screen (byōbu) and the sliding door (fusumae), which represent the golden age of Japanese art

Japanese Renaissance showcases pieces from museums, temples and the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency (14th – 17th century), when opposing aesthetic ideals emerged. Atmospheric monochrome painting, which is made up of voids and simple rapid strokes, reminiscent of both the Chinese tradition and the zen philosophy of the warriors of the Kamakura era (1185 – 1333)

and was used to decorate Samurai homes and temples, will be on display. Additionally, the exhibit will present the yamatoe style of painting, which consists of gold grounds and flat fields of colour, used to decorate merchants’ and aristocrats’ homes and castles. For

Florence News

NEWS a few weeks, at the Uffizi, landscape paintings by masters such as Hasegawa Tōhaku, Kaihō Yūshō and Unkoku Tōgan will ‘dialogue’ with the flowers, birds and the four seasons of the Kanō tradition. “The patronage system in the East was no different from that in any Renaissance or Baroque court in Europe, or from what we see in

spawned a spectacular flowering of the arts which is certainly no exaggeration to define Japanese Renaissance,” said Eike Schmidt, Director of the Uffizi. The exhibit is one of the crowning events of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Trade and Friendship Treaty on Aug. 25, 1866. “Italy and Japan are meeting in

our capitalist society today. The screens that adorned Japanese residences, castles and temples, were a display of prestige for the owner or donor: they were meant to reflect his authority, wealth, cultural influence and level of education. The Muromachi and Momoyama periods, as well as the start of the Edo period, were marked by an increase in the number of commissions and such increase

the Uffizi, proving culture to be a bridge across which two great countries, both heirs to ancient civilisations with strong, solid traditions, can renew their friendship and their ancient ties consolidated through the numerous cultural initiatives produced in both countries to celebrate this important anniversary,” said Dario Franceschini, Italian Minister of Culture.

The Japanese Renaissance Nature on painted screens from the 15th to the 17th centuries Uffizi Gallery Open Tuesday to Sunday 8:15 a.m. – 6:50 p.m. Full price ticket varies from 8 – 12.50 Euro Until Jan. 8

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WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it secular works. Among the painters on display are Michelangelo, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Giorgio Vasari, Jacopo Zucchi, Giovanni Stradano, Girolamo Macchietti, Mirabello Cavalori and Santi di Tito, while sculptors include Giambologna, Bartolomeo Ammannati and Vincenzo Danti. A network of synergies with local

and international museums and institutions, as well as a major restoration campaign, devised and involved 15 masterpieces that played a key role in this exhibition. Among the works restored for the occasion were the Capponi Chapel in Santa Felicita, ten large altarpieces, and a sculpture by Michelangelo which had long needed major restoration.

Giambologna (Douai 1529-Florence 1608) Morgan le Fay 1572, marble, 99 x 45 x 68 cm. Private collection, Courtesy of Patricia Wengraf Ltd.

Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo; Florence 1503-72) Deposition of Christ c. 1543-5, oil on panel, 268 x 173 cm. Besançon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, inv. D.799. 1.29

The Cinquecento in Florence From Michelangelo and Pontormo to Giambologna

alazzo Strozzi is hosting The Cinquecento in Florence from Sept. 22 to Jan. 21. The exhibition, the final of a trilogy began in 2010 with Bronzino and continued in 2014 with Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino, showcases Florentine artworks of the second half of the 16th century by artists such as Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, Pontormo, Bronzino, Giorgio Vasari, Santi di Tito and Giambologna. The Cinquecento in Florence explores an era of outstanding cultural and intellectual talent in which the prevalent debate pitted the supporters of the “modern manner” against those of the Counter-Reformation. This contrast between sacred and profane resumed in an era marked by the

Council of Trent and in Florence by the personality of Francesco I de’ Medici, one of the greatest figures in the history of courtly patronage of the arts in Europe. The Cinquecento in Florence

showcases over 70 paintings and sculptures that capture the cultural climate of those years through a dialogue, which is presented as part of a layout both chronological and thematic, involving sacred and

The exhibit puts together masterpieces, many of which were restored for the occasion, by artists such as Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, Bronzino, Giorgio Vasari, Santi di Tito, and Giambologna.

Il Cinquecento a Firenze. From Michelangelo, Pontormo and Giambologna Palazzo Strozzi Until Jan. 21, 2018 Open everyday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Entrance allowed up until one hour before closing time. Ticket prices: Euro 12 full price, reduced Euro 9,50, schools 4 Euro. For more info go to www.palazzostrozzi.org

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NEWS process was already taking place on the international level thanks to Hollein and Pichler in Vienna, the Archigram in London, the Metabolists in Japan, Yona Friedman in France, Buckminster Fuller in the United States, Frei Otto in Germany, or Costant and Debord’s Situationist Movement in France and the Netherlands. The Radicals rocked the foundation of the grey, bourgeois and monotonous society that seemed to have no interest in addressing any real new cultural debate. Initially labelled “Superarchitec-

ture”, “counterdesign”, “conceptual architecture,” or “utopia” their movement fused architectural research and the visual arts. Florentine avant-garde architects renewed design strategies and conceptual platforms by rendering global theorisation and conceptual input into interior architectural design and the urban space. Divided in themed sections, Radical Utopias reveals the cultural scene’s interplay between art, design, architecture, music, mass concerts, and discotheques.

Radical Utopias at Palazzo Strozzi CHEYENNE CURLEY

alazzo Strozzi is hosting Radical Utopias Beyond Architecture: Florence 1966–1976, an exhibition featuring Florentine Radical Movement between the 1960s and 1970s, until Jan. 21. The exhibit presents the visionary work of the artists who, between 1966 and 1976, turned Florence into an avant-garde in architecture and design. The exhibit is composed of clothing, lamps, furniture, photographs, photomontages, and scale models, each made by artists and groups such as Archizoom, Remo Buti, 9999, Superstudio, Gianni Pettena, UFO and Zzigurat.

Radical Utopias brings together the Florentine Radical architects for the first time since the 1970s. The Florentine Radical Architecture movement was led by students who spent their time with

the Florence University’s Faculty of Architecture, who were the first in Italy to renew the discipline of architecture by researching and using the most advanced forms of technology. This new architectural

Florentine avant-garde architects renewed design strategies and conceptual platforms by rendering global theorisation and conceptual input into interior architectural design and the urban space.

Radical Utopias. Beyond architecture: Florence 1966-1976 Venue Palazzo Strozzi, Strozzina Contemporary Art Times Daily 12 -8 p.m., Thursdays 12 - 11 p.m. Admission Full Euro 5; reduced Euro 4 ; schools Euro 3 Until Jan. 21

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The King of Spain’s Grandchildren

From Brooklyn to the Bargello

Anton Raphael Mengs at Palazzo Pitti

he Uffizi Museum complex is presenting an exhibition on German painter and precursor of Neoclassical painting, Raphael Mengs, until Jan. 7. On display in the Sala Delle Nicchie of the Pitti Palace are portraits of Ferdinando and Maria Anna, and the children of Archduke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine with his consort María Luisa de Borbón y Sajonia, which were, for the most part, made in the same palace where the exhibit is being displayed. Born in Bohemia, Mengs worked

in Italy and Spain. In 1749 he was appointed first painter to Frederick Augustus but continued to spend most of his time in Rome where he married his former model, Margarita Guazzi, and died in 1779 in poor circumstances. He left behind twenty children, seven of whom were later pensioned by the King of Spain. In Rome, Mengs converted to Catholicism and, in 1754, became director of the Vatican school of painting after his fresco of Parnassus established his reputation as a master painter. His portraits and self-portraits pay great attention to detail and give insight that is often lost in his grander paintings. Particularly important is his relationship with Johann Joachim Winckelmann, with whom he shared enthusiasm for classical antiquity to which he added a touch of Roman Baroque. “The task of a living museum is to safeguard of art,- HAND preserve MADE IN works ITALY - FIRENZE MADE memory, spread culture through both exhibitions and research and also allow collections to ‘breathe’ with targeted additions linked to the story of the city, its hinterland, and to the collection of which they are going to become a part. Acquisitions, especially if they are so subtly motivated, are a crucial part of a museum’s life, particularly if they are the product of research guaranteeing both their prove-

Della Robbia ‘returns’ to Florence CHEYENNE CURLEY

nance and a fertile interaction with the museum’s existing heritage,” said Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Gallery.

‘The King of Spain’s Grandchildren’ Anton Raphael Mengs at Palazzo Pitti Sala delle Nicchie, Palazzo Pitti, Gallerie degli Uffizi Open Tuesday to Sunday 8:15 a.m. – 6:50 p.m. Full price ticket: 8.50 Euro

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

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

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

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David Banned

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Bill Gates to (Temporarily) Exhibiting Models Donate Leonardo’s Codex of Leonardo’s Designs Leicester to the Uffizi

Florence court ruled last November to ban the unlicensed commercial use of images of Michelangelo’s David in Italy and Europe. The decision was made to prevent the selling of overcharged tickets to the Academy Museum, where the statue is. “It’s a precedent and a model, many other museums that are also victims of the plague of overpriced ticket selling can now take this legal route, because the law will triumph over what is effectively a scam for visitors,” said Academy director Cecilie Hollberg. Luca Bagnoli, head of the complex in charge for the Duomo, the Baptistry and Giotto’s Bell Tower, announced that the Florence’s cathedral may be the next landmark to reclaim control over its image. “Florence’s image must not be commercially exploited without limits or rules,” said the city’s mayor, Dario Nardella. Cultural institutions all over Italy could potentially follow suit, although it remains unclear to what extent ‘commercial use’ reaches, as such expression may also include souvenirs and postcards.

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ffizi director Eike Schmidt announced last November that Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Codex Leicester will return to Italy as its owner Bill Gates will be donating it to the Uffizi for an exhibit running from October 2018 until January 2019. The Codex, also known as Codex Hammer and named after Thomas Coke, is Leonardo’s most famous

scientific journal and is the second highest sale price of any book. It was shown in Italy the last time in 1995, at an exhibition at Palazzo Querini Dubois in Venice. The last time it appeared in Florence was in 1982, when it was showcased in an exhibit tributing da Vinci. A mixture of da Vinci’s observations and theories on astronomy, the properties of water, rocks, fossils, air and celestial light, the Leicester Codex 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, forming the complete 72-page document. Handwritten in Italian by da Vinci in his characteristic mirror writing, it contains 360 diagrams and drawings relating to hydraulics, geology, paleontology, mechanics and astronomy, and designs of a submarine and a diving mask whose invention was in this way 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.

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

Via Ghibellina, 144r (near Santa Croce) • 055 24 66 907 www.pozzodivino.eu

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Prince of Collectors

Palazzo Pitti tributes Leopoldo de’ Medici

o mark the fourth centenary of Leopoldo de Medici’s birth, the Gallerie degli Uffizi Museum complex devotes this former Grand-Duke of Tuscany and cardinal an exhibition showcasing the treasures that over the years he collected and brought to Florence from all over the world.

The son of Grand Duke Cosimo II and of Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria, Leopoldo de’ Medici (Florence, 1617-1675), stands out from the multitude of European collectors because of his variety. Thanks to his network of agents, merchants and secretaries in Italy and abroad, he put together a col-

lection of superb and sophisticated items: from ancient and modern sculpture to coins, medals and cameos, paintings, drawings and engravings, ivories, semi-precious stones and precious objets d’art, portraits large and small, books as well as scientific instruments and natural rarities. After he died, most of his collections entered the grand ducal collections and many pieces were expressly earmarked by his nephew, Grand Duke Cosimo III, for the Galleria degli Uffizi. As a collector of art, Leopoldo created an ‘empire’. “We to him the gallery’s first collection of self-portraits that is one of its kind still today in terms of the type of work it contains and of those works’ sheer number,” said Eike D. Schmidt, Director of the Gallerie degli Uffizi. At a time when major excavations were taking place in Rome, Leopoldo purchased classical sculptures and busts such as the basalt statue of a boy in a toga from the 2nd century BC unearthed in 1651, with the assistance of his agents and advisers, who included Ottavio Falconieri, Leonardo Agostini, Pietro da Cortona, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Ercole Ferrata. An admirer of Galileo, he and his brother Ferdinando II contributed to the foundation of the Accademia del Cimento (1657–67), which inaugurated the experimental approach that flourished at the Medici court a few years after Galileo’s death. His collection included several tools used by Galileo for his experiments and

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researches on display courtesy donated by the Galileo Museum for this exhibition. Fascinated by travellers, Leopoldo also gathered natural rarities and precious items from the East and the countries of the Americas: from cups with nautili produced in China and objects in Japanese lacquer and Indonesian weapons, to a rare green travertine mask from Teotihuacan in Mexico of the 4th or 5th century AD. He also collected religious and secular ivory sculptures. In addition, the religious mood holding sway at the Medici court helped him to commission reliquaries which in the 18th century were dispersed in several basilicas throughout Tuscany but that have been brought together again for this exhibition. Although it is impossible to perfectly recreate Leopoldo’s apart-

ment and bring together the vast number of paintings in his collection (although the results of the study conducted for the exhibition will be published in the catalogue and on multimedia supports), a selection of paintings will evoke the lavish splendour of the rooms in which the work of Titian, Pontormo, Botticelli, Parmigianino, Veronese, Bassano and Correggio stood out against a red backdrop of taffeta-lined walls in all the glory of their gold frames designed by artists such as Pietro da Cortona and Ciro Ferri. The exhibition is on display in the rooms of the Grand Ducal Treasury, the Tesoro dei Granduchi, inside the Pitti Palace, where in his sumptuous apartment on the second floor, decorated in Roman Baroque style, his collections were originally housed.

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Portraits of the Reformation at the Uffizi

he Uffizi is hosting an exhibition that celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reform showcasing paintings and engravings of Lutheran roots from the Medici collections. This exhibit is on display in the Sala Detti and the Sala del Camino of the Gallery until Jan. 7. Portraits of the Reformation hosts three series of engravings, illustrating religious themes such as the Passion of Christ, the Apostles and the Martyrdom of the Apostles alongside individual prints. It also showcases allegorical prints against the hierarchy of the Church of Rome and portraits of Florentine influential personalities who were attracted by the new ideas, and for this reason investigated, such as Pietro Carnesecchi, portrayed by Domenico Puligo and Bartolomeo Panciatichi, portrayed by Agnolo

Bronzino. The portraits by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the ‘official’ painter of the Reformation, are the core of this exhibit: these include those of icons of the Reformed Church such as Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon (the two theologians who promoted the Reformation); Luther’s wife, Katharina von Bora, a former Cistercian nun; and the brothers Frederick III the Wise and Johann the Steadfast, Electors of Saxony and also the political advocates of the Reformation. A personal friend of Luther and court painter to the Elector Palatine Frederick III the Wise, Lucas Cranach the Elder (Kronach 1472 – 1553 Weimar) promoted the Reformation by creating works that were manifestos of the new religious ideas. Cranach used these portraits to formulate the official iconography for Reformation leaders on the base of the utmost simplicity and also produced engravings of Reformation texts, even publishing some himself.

‘Portraits of the Reformation’ Uffizi Gallery Open Tuesday to Sunday 8:15 a.m. – 6:50 p.m. Full price ticket varies from 8 – 12.50 Euro Until Jan. 7

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Tributing Giuseppe Chiari

Galleria Santo Ficara

Via Ghibellina, 164r Dec. 2 - Feb. 2 Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Galleria Il Ponte

Via di Mezzo 42 www.galleriailponte.com Dec. 2 - Feb. 2 Monday –-Friday 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Frittelli Arte Contemporanea

ive contemporary art galleries - Santo Ficara, Il Ponte, Frittelli, Tornabuoni, and Armanda Gori - are simultaneously presenting PentaChiari, an exhibition celebrating the work of Giuseppe Chiari, beginning on Dec. 2. Each gallery exhibits a particular phase of Chiari’s work, allowing visitors to see the entire repertoire of one of the most acclaimed artists that our city gave the world. Born on Sept. 26, 1926, Chiari studied piano and music composition alongside mathematics and engineering in Florence. In 1961, he experimented in visual music converting sound into visual forms. In the same period he joined the Fluxus group, an international and interdisciplinary group of artists, composers, designers and poets that took shape in the 1960s

and 1970s and generated new art forms through different media and disciplines. Chiari later identified as an artist-composer-philosopher and became known in Europe for his contributions to music, performance, painting and sculpture, artistic theory, art aesthetic, and in particular for what he referred to as “action music,” a type of music made of sounds originating from water, dry leaves, stones, etc. His work “Giocare con l’acqua e dire la parola acqua” (“Playing with water and saying the word water”) is renowned for the transformation of script into an aesthetic object and the clarity and rigour of the texts that foreshadows later conceptual art. Chiari also experimented with different visual mediums such as painting-collages, sheet music, and photographs.

Via Val di Marina 15 Dec. 2 - Mar. 2 Monday - Friday 10 a.m. –-1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Tornabuoni Arte

Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini 3 Dec. 2 - Jan. 27 Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Armanda Gori Arte

Viale della Repubblica n. 64-66-68, Prato Dec. 2 - Jan. 28 Friday, Saturday, Sunday 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

PENTACHIARI_

cinque gallerie e Giuseppe Chiari a cura di

Bruno Corà

Galleria Santo Ficara, Firenze

Frittelli Arte Contemporanea, Firenze Armanda Gori Arte, Prato

PENTACHIARI_ Galleria Il Ponte, Firenze Tornabuoni Arte, Firenze

cinque gallerie e Giuseppe Chiari a cura di

Bruno Corà

opening_02.12.017 Galleria Santo Ficara, Firenze

Frittelli Arte Contemporanea, Firenze Armanda Gori Arte, Prato

Galleria Il Ponte, Firenze Tornabuoni Arte, Firenze

Galleria Santo Ficara

Armanda Gori Arte

Via Ghibellina, 164r Dec. 2 - Feb. 2 Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Viale della Repubblica n. 6466-68, Prato Dec. 2 - Jan. 28 Friday, Saturday, Sunday 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Frittelli Arte opening_02.12.017 Galleria Il Ponte Contemporanea Via Val di Marina 15 Dec. 2 - Mar. 2 Monday - Friday 10 a.m. –-1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Via di Mezzo 42 www.galleriailponte.com Dec. 2 - Feb. 2 Monday –-Friday 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Tornabuoni Arte Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini 3 Dec. 2 - Jan. 27 Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

12 Florence News

NEWS

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‘Made in America’

Open Art Gallery presents the Thousand Lights of New York

alleria Open Art brings together a carefully selected lineup of artists from the Martha Jackson Gallery – Paul Jenkins, Sam Francis, James Brooks, Fritz Bultman, Norman Bluhm, and Michael Goldberg – to which it flanks other eminent exponents of American abstract expressionism – John Ferren, John Grillo, and Conrad Marca-Relli – and one of the foremost champions, together with Louise Nevelson, of American sculpture in the feminine: Beverly Pepper. The works on show all boast outstanding provenances and bibliographies, and go a long way towards recreating the exciting, efferves-

cent climate of the New York of the mid-20th century. For more than a few of the works, it is the first time they have shared gallery walls since then, making this exhibition an extraordinary tribute to an era – but also, and above all, a fascinating opportunity for an in-depth study of a unique period in the history of art. In the 30s, reactionary regimes shattered fragile democracies or squelched the freedoms that the arts demanded from the newborn ‘sixth part of the world’, the Russia of the Soviets. But where did the artists take their experiences of those years? What was the land-

ing place of that emigration of the arts uprooted by totalitarianism? The United States – in particular, that incredible multi-ethnic enclave known as New York City. From Laszlo Moholy-Nagy to Martin Gropius, from Josef Albers to Piet Mondrian, the ‘new frontier’ opened by the epoch-making 1913 Armory Show, already crossed by Marcel Duchamp and Salvador Dalí, stood as the great theatre in which the experiences of modernism in art could find an audience and worldwide resonance. In 1942, Peggy Guggenheim opened her Art of This Century gallery/museum; following his work in Paris alongside René Drouin, Leo Krausz (Leo Castelli) was busy searching out the young talents who crowded the Big Apple – and opened his gallery in 1957. The New York School was blooming tumultuously in the late forties, bringing into its corolla the proponents of the sign and the pictorial gesture – the action painters – as well as those who preferred large expanses of color, the color field painters. In 1950, the “Irascibles” – as they were disparagingly dubbed by the Herald Tribune – vigorously disputed the exhibition project presented by the Metropolitan Museum. Among them, besides Barnett Newman, were Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, Mark

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Rothko, James Brooks, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, Clifford Still, and Arshile Gorky: the heart of that abstract expressionism that was searching for an original balance between the vigor of the sign and the “sublime,” between abstraction and inner vision. In 1953, Martha Jackson, a Buffalo native, opened her gallery in New York. In the space of a decade, she attracted a constellation of premier artists: from Jim Dine to Sam Francis, from Adolph Gottlieb to Willem De Kooning, from Claes Oldenburg to Christo, from Paul Jenkins to Norman Bluhm, from James Brooks to Hans Hofmann. If, as she herself said, “an art dealer [was someone] whose primary role was that of a mediator between the artist and society,” we ought not to

be surprised by her interest in one of the most radical and irreverent art experiences, that of the Japanese Gutai group. Thus, although Paul Jenkins was first introduced to Gutai in 1957 in Paris through Michel Tapié, he, as well as John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, were able to experience works by Shozo Shimamoto, Atsuko Tanaka, Kazuo Shiraga, Akira Kanayama and Sadamasa Motonaga in the 1958 landmark exhibition of Gutai at the Martha Jackson Gallery.

Made in America

Open Art Gallery Viale della Repubblica 24, Prato Until Jan. 27

14 Florence News

NEWS

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An Embattled Community Following Carabinieri Rape Accusations US students’ September rape raises protest against male and gender violence

CAROLINA ESPINAL

or two American girls studying abroad in Florence, the predawn hours of Sept.7 underscored the magnitude of studying abroad as a life-changing experience as they reported being sexually assaulted by two Carabinieri officers later identified as Pietro Costa, 32, and Marco Camuffo, 47. After failed attempts to reach a taxi, the on-duty police agents offered the two young women, aged 19 and 21, a ride home from Flo nightclub. Security camera footage captured them leaving in the Carabinieri car. What the footage failed to capture, however, was the undoubting, unsuspecting, and unsuspicious nature of the women in the hands of security. Dressed in dark blue uniforms and ‘Napoleonic’ hats, the Carabinieri, a national paramilitary police

force under the control of the Defense Ministry, oversee criminal investigations, national and serious crimes. But fear and anti-establishment sentiments have lingered throughout Florence and the study abroad community. “In this particular case, our number one role is the safety and security of Americans. We work with the victim, work with their families, work with the university program director to ensure that the victim is safe and secured and that they’re not having any further problems. We help them interface with local authorities if need be,” said Benjamin Wohlauer, Consul General of the United States in Florence. On Nov. 22, the victims returned to Florence to recount their accusations in a pretrial, closed-door hearing. The interrogation, which lasted 12 hours, forced the victims to relive the episode that changed

their lives forever. The two women told investigators they were intoxicated and had smoked cannabis the night of the attack. According to Italian news outlets, the lawyers for the two Americans described the dramatic moments when one of the victims nearly fainted and the other burst into tears. In a separate hearing, the officers admitted to consensual sex, but denied rape. Such occurrences concerning abuse of power blur the lines between the institutions meant to keep the public safe, perpetuating a divide that breeds cynicism. “Italian politicians should begin to say, out loud and clear, that violence is made against women so that the first target of anti-violence policies are the men who make such violence,” said Debora Spini, a professor of Social Sciences at Syracuse University in Florence. According to the World Health Organization, about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. The case bears a striking resemblance to the 2016 proceedings involving the murder of 35-year-old Ashley Olsen by a Senegalese migrant on the same day they met at a nightclub in Florence. The episode has also resurfaced

a reality that infiltrates the world writ large – a chilling reality that pervades American campuses, that has dominated Hollywood and newsrooms and politics; it is a reality that serves as a double-edged sword, compelling victims to speak out. “At least it did bring some good consequences because there was a women demonstration that following Saturday. In this city, there has been a major wakeup call and there are a lot of important conversations that are going on. There has finally been a crack in the usual response of ‘you shouldn’t have looked for it,’” said Spini. Marches and protests, like the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, designated on November 25, serve as outlets for change. As part of a national demonstration, women inundated the streets of Rome on Nov. 25 in a march against male and gender violence. The campaign Non Una Di Meno (Not One Less) sought to establish autonomy for women. “The demonstration is just and serves as a concrete plan to help combat violence against women. It is an honor to be witnessing and partaking in this cause,” said members of the Carabinieri in Rome who wished to remain anonymous. The march began in Piazza della Repubblica and concluded in Piaz-

za di Porta San Giovanni, but the message with a resolve of evoking responses that would elicit change surpassed highways and avenues. “In 2017, our society is still male-chauvinistic and patriarchal, making it necessary to launch a great political, cultural, and social message that endorses the self-determination of women and LGBT movements. From this point of view, we will counteract not only the male violence that is presented through the physical, but also with respect to the whole social context … today, we men move to the women’s side because we want to change our society. Because ultimately, this is a cultural and feminist revolution,” said Marco, an Italian student participating in the march. The Florentine community now finds itself hanging by a thread. Although the aftershock lingers, citizens are growing concerned, skeptical, and are asking questions. As seen in the Non Una Di Meno movement, the public is waging demonstrations and speaking out against male and gender violence. But for many students studying abroad, the fear of sexual assault looms like a sword of Damocles. Institutions must reform themselves if they want to salvage public trust, which is indispensable for a country’s democracy and national identity. As long as the residue of distrust persists, so will discord.

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16 Florence News

FASHION

Two Authentic Florentine Hands W

T Marco Cantini

DEEP

Sneakers Lab

The story of designer Piero Puliti

Street. It’s there that I was introduced to the world of international fine jewelry,” says Marco. “I understood 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.

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

www.florencenews.it

From the Florentine Trecentesco to Modern Fashion

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 seem 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

WINTER ISSUE

he Florentine Trecentesco, an antique technique for gold leaf work on furniture pieces, frames and various accessories, inspired Piero Puliti, a designer specialized in shirts and ties, to express his sensibility for the unusual composition of materials and colors. After growing up in San Frediano, one of the most popular neighborhoods in Florence, Piero’s love for everything fashion-related drove him to carve out a place for himself in this field, creating custom phenomena

for the Florentine fashion boutiques that in the 70’s were the leaders in the field. Later, Piero concentrated on the creation of prêt-a-porter fashion for both men and women. This particular field constantly needs new ideas, as products immediately undergo market testing. Therefore, it constitutes the best training ground for a creative mind. Piero’s dream, however, was still having a space of his own in the heart of Florence. All he wanted was a shop where he could express his creations, taste and style freely. In 1994 this dream came true and he opened a shop on Via Del Corso, the first in Florence to offer only shirts and ties with a vast selection of fabrics. Cottons come from the best mills in Italy and the ties, realized by major silk factories in the northern Italian city of Como, are designed by Piero exclusively for his shop, as he had always dreamt.

Via Del Corso 51/r 055 282662 www.pieropuliti.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.

WOMEN FASHION OUTLET

MEN FASHION OUTLET

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Dressing Up

Pitti Uomo returns with a focus on sportswear, cinema and Finland

itti Immagine Uomo, the premier international event for men’s fashion and lifestyle, is returning to Florence from Jan. 9 to 12. The fair, which will take place in its usual venue, the Fortezza da Basso, will capture the most up-todate fashion currents and projects in menswear. This January, the special focus will be athleisure, contemporary and experimental menswear styles. Besides cutting-edge designs and luxury underground brands, on showcase will be the new genera-

tion of artisans and designers from all over the world, gender-neutral collections and some of the most forward-looking proposals and international talent.As the core of Pitti Uomo 93 will be fashion labels bringing forward the new classic style and brands that promote modern sportswear. The theme of this winter will be Pitti Live Movie. The exhibit will be transformed into a sort of ‘Film Festival,’ with the main forecourt of the Fortezza da Basso evoking a movie theatre district with bill-

boards announcing the scheduled blockbusters and pavilions arranged as cinemas. The styles of the venues on showcase will be interpreted as movie genres ranging from thriller to adventure, action and sport. Pitti Live Movie is a dream-like journey, not only between reality and make-believe, but also between cinema and the city. An enormous building will be dominating the forecourt of the Fortezza da Basso, the setting for Pitti Uomo, and will be covered with an installation of movie posters dedicated to the fair’s pavilion: a lively and colorful area with jumbo screens showing videos about the new season. Oversized movie theater seats will invite the guests to “sit down” and enjoy the show with 11 films being scheduled. But the whole Pitti Uomo, this winter, will be a set itself,” said Sergio Colantuoni, creative director of the project. The guest nation this winter will be Finland. The main Finnish brands participating will be Mannisto (Julia Männistö), Vyner Articles, Nomen Nescio, Saint Vacant, Formal Friday (Teemu Muurimäki), Ikla Wright x Turo, Maria Korkeila x R-Collection and Rolf Ekroth. “We are happy to present Guest Nation Finland at Pitti Uomo. Our fair offers visibility and business opportunities to the up-and-coming names on the international fashion scene, and Finland today is becoming one of the most dynamic and creative countries for fashion: this is why we have decided to present eight of Finland’s most

VO HANDMADE SHIRTS

Via Del Corso 51/r 055 282662 www.pieropuliti.it

Florence News 17

FASHION Pitti Uomo 93 Jan. 10-13

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.

innovative brands to our international audience of buyers and the press,” said Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine. “Finnish design and lifestyles is open to experimentation and cross-pollination between tradition and modernity. We are very pleased with the cooperation relationships created for this event and we are grateful to Finland’s institutions for their participation in the project,” said Lapo Cianchi, Pitti Immagine’s Director of Communications and Events. The brand showcasing this winter will be 1.230, 44% of which from abroad, with 227 brands coming to Pitti Uomo for the first time. They will exhibit in a space of 60.000 square meters divided in 14 sections.

Pitti Filati 82 Jan. 24-26

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. .

18 Florence News

FASHION

WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it

Roberto Ugolini: Master Loafer

‘Son of the Heart’ Meet designer Benheart

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 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.

Tayloring Since 1818 The story of Sartoria Vanni

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

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 ‘breathe’ 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

Via Castello D’Altafronte, 30r • www.marcocantini.com

he story of Sartoria Vanni dates all the way back to 1818, when a small tailor shop opened in the heart of Florence and quickly earned a solid reputation as the destination for premium bespoke tailoring. Since then, all of their garments have been made using the most prestigious fabrics: from exceptional cashmere and merino wools signed Loro Piana, to the finest cottons and linens from Thomas Mason. Today, Sartoria Vanni brings the authenticity of Italian craftsmanship to a worldwide audience. The sartoria offer a personal tailor service, allowing their international clientele to have a dedicated Italian tailor always at their service to order high quality made to measure. If you happen to visit the shop to start your ‘tailored journey’, thanks to a visiting tailor service in Europe and USA and to a personal online profile, you will have your own private Italian tailor. Via dei Fossi 51/r – Firenze www.sartoriavanni.com

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Florence News 19

FASHION

Discovering Gucci Through Hais

BROOKE FEICHTL

he Gucci Museum portrays the brand’s history through a variety of products ranging from travel and homeware to fashion and art. The museum, which opened in 2011 to celebrate Gucci’s 90th birthday, is 1,715 square meters in size and spans three floors of the the Palazzo della Mercanzia near Piazza della Signoria. The location was chosen because it was once an administrative building that promoted the Florentine

craft guilds of wool, silk and cloth importers. The exhibit begins with the story of the brand’s founder Guccio Gucci, who worked as a liftboy in London’s Savoy Hotel. When he returned to Florence, Gucci was inspired by upper-class British travelers and began creating fine crafted travelware. The initial exhibits show the emphasisthat Gucci placed on travel, from diverse suitcases to the Gucci car that featured a monogrammed steering wheel, upholstery and tires. The next floor exhibits Gucci’s Flora motif. The

design was created when Rodolfo Gucci commissioned illustrator Vittorio Accornero to create an original floral pattern for a scarf to be presented to Princess Grace of Monaco when she visited the Gucci Milan store in 1966. Variations of the pattern feature flowers, insects and berries for all seasons and have been printed on many products, such as dresses, purses and porcelain. The collection also displays other Gucci trademarks such as the horse bit that represented the British upper class, and Gucci’s bamboo purse

handle. Gucci’s bamboo handle was invented during the supply shortages of World War II when bamboo canes were still available for purchase. The handles are now made from a rare bamboo root and take more than 13 hours to fashion. On display are also Gucci evening gowns such as the ones worn on the red carpet by Blake Lively, Cameron Diaz and Salma Hayek Pinault. The museum also features a café and the Icon store, where visitors can purchase one-of-akind items.

Gucci Museum Piazza della Signoria, 10 Museum: Mon. to Sun.: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Icon Store: Mon. to Sun.: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Bookstore and Gift Shop: Mon. to Sun.: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Café and Restaurant: Mon. to Sun.: 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Admission is €7 (Thursdays from 8 p.m. is €5)

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Florence News 21

FASHION

Understanding the Roots of Fashion from Florence Renaissance 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 Renaissance 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.

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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SHOPPING

Gazzarrini Celebrates 200th Anniversary A historic landmark of quality and craftsmanship

addles and suitcases for over 200 years. It all began shortly after Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba after his military campaigns in Europe. Indeed it was in 1815 when the Gazzarrini store first opened in Florence. The location was the same as today, Via Porta Rossa. At that time the store’s address was number 13, which corresponds to today’s 71–73/r. The shop initially produced saddles and suitcases. The first landmark change came in 1911 when Giuseppe Gazzarrini, an employee of the shop, bought the firm and decided to specialize in suitcases. In the 1920s the firm began to exhibit at national and international trade fairs, where it was lauded for the quality of its products.

One of the Gazzarrini family’s most difficult moments came in 1966, when Florence’s famous flood thoroughly damaged the shop. After the flood, the Gazzarrini came up with their most innovative idea. They were the first to introduce “rigid suitcases” to Florence, which at the time just was an American novelty. Today you can find countless leather goods at the shop in Via Porta Rossa, as well as travel accessories and quality brands, including Samsonite, Tumi, and Longchamp, of which Gazzarrini is an exclusive dealer. Via Porta Rossa, 71R 50123 Florence, Italy valigeriagazzarrini.com

WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it

Geronico Embraces Third Generation W

The history of a tradition

hen in 1919, shortly after the end of WWI, Pietro Geronico came to Florence from the lakes district of northern Italy, he was only a young boy looking to make a living. Born in 1899 in a small city not far from the Lake Maggiore where most people employed themselves in repairing umbrellas, he came to Florence looking for fortune. Here, repairing umbrellas was his first job. Soon after, he was hired by a shop in Via Calzaiuoli that sold bags and umbrellas, of which in the turn of a few months he became the manager. It was the first step towards a brilliant career. Pietro decided to open his own shop, in the same street as the one he was working for. He named it with his surname: Geronico. This was in 1929, just ten years after his move to Florence. In the early stages of the Geronico store, the core business was umbrellas. Alongside umbrellas, Geronico sold travel bags and handbags of all sorts, as well as leather and fur to produce other items, as it was common practice at that time. It was only between the late 1950s and the early 60s, a time of vast and sudden expansion in Italian fashion, that the shop changed its profile and became international. To adjust to the demands of a rapidly changing market, it reduced its sales to leath-

er goods, including travel and work bags, evening and formal handbags, and a wide assortment of high-quality items made exclusively in Italy. During this time, Florence was known as the “district of leather,” and thanks to stylists such as Ferragamo and Gucci became the capital of Italian fashion, until in the 1970s it was replaced by Milan. Today Geronico, which recently received the award of “historical shop” by the Comune di Firenze, is run by Marina, third generation member of the Geronico family. Marina has renewed the shop, turning it into an elegant contemporary boutique, while at the same time preserving its classical essence. Notice the handmade umbrellas at the entrance to the shop, remnants of Geronico’s past.

www.shoppingscanner.com

Fashion Online S

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,” says Laura Cappelletti and Alessandra Massaini , co-founder s of the platform. www.shoppingscanner.it/com/fr/uk

NEW YEAR’S EVE IN FLORENCE’S MOST FAMOUS CLUB At 9:00 pm Dinner at the end of the year Menu: Appetizers Salmon on fennel salad with orange and pink pepper Julienne of courgette with toasted pine nuts truffle flavored Parma Ham roulade with radicchio and cheese cream Crostone (slice of bread) with mushrooms and Taleggio cheese First Course Ravioli Ricotta cheese and herbs with eggnog cream Pasta with duck Ragù Main Course Celtic thread fillet in crust on bed of mysticism and pomegranate Side Dish Roasted potatoes with olives and tomatoes Dessert Chocolate cake with English cream Water and Wine (1 bottle per 4 people) Chianti and Antinori At 11:45 pm: Discotheque until dawn with dazzling music from ‘70 to today! ATTENTION: Entrance to the evening is allowed only by the MAJORITY - Likes ELEGANCE

Info: Via Sassetti 5R • +39/3317225475 - 055/215160 • yab.official@gmail.com • www.yab.it www.facebook.com/YabOfficialFirenze

24 Florence News

CITY BEAT

Mobike Invasion

The explanation of a success CHEYENNE CURLEY

www.florencenews.it

Ten tips for mobike 1. To begin your journey, download the Mobike app from the app store.

ast summer, hundreds of new bikes with signature orange rims appeared in Florence. Throughout the fall, these weird, colored bikes could be spotted everywhere in the city, and in 2018 there may be a real ‘invasion’ of them as an additional 4,000 are expected to arrive raising the problem of how the city will ‘accommodate’ them all. Such success came unexpected, and currently the Florence Council is studying measures to solve the problem and continue to offer Florentines a service that has encountered their favor. What makes Mobike different, and more popular than many other bike-sharing concepts, is that there is no need to hunt for a bike dock as Mobikes can be found and left virtually anywhere in the city. The main secrets of their success are price and ease. The ride, in fact, is very cheap: 30 cents for 30 minutes; however, it will increase to 50 cents soon. In addition, subscriptions for monthly, trimester, semester and annual use are possible, bringing the price even further down. Additionally, getting a bike is quite an easy process: all you have to do is download the Mobike app and create an account that must be verified with your cell

WINTER ISSUE

2. Create an account. 3. Using the app, locate Mobikes in your area. This is incredibly easy because there is almost always a Mobike close by. 4. Pick a Mobike and unlock it by scanning the barcode with the app. phone number; once the app is installed, you are given a map to help you locate closest bike; press “unlock” and scan the QR code and begin your ride; then, park your bike wherever is most convenient to you; finally, just remember to push the lock back into place so you do not ensue further charges. Another reason for Mobike’s success is that the bikes seem to have solved a pesky and common problem in the city: bicycle theft. Each Mobike, in fact, is tracked by a GPS and has a loud alarm that sounds when the bike is moved while the lock is still activated. Mobikes also have other security systems, for example, the bike’s brakes will not work if the bike is not activated through the proper app procedure. There is also a benefits and punishment system to encourage

safe parking. When you download the app for the first time you have 100 points. Points are awarded to, or stay the same, for those who use the bikes often and in a correct manner; meaning, they park the bikes responsibly and report broken bicycles. Riders with a certain amount of points will receive discounts, while those who do not use the bikes correctly, i.e. people who park their bikes haphazardly, will have points deducted. If poor use continues, they may have their subscription cancelled. However, even with a benefits and punishment system, Mobikes are still parked in incovenient places, and it is unclear how the city will handle the increase. As for now... just enjoy this new bike sharing concept that will revolutionize biking in Florence.

5. The bike will unlock and you will hear a beep. 6. After you bike to your desired destination, park your Mobike without worrying about finding a bike rack. 7. Park your bike wherever (but be responsible and use your common sense!). 8. Manually close the lock. You will hear a beep. 9. You will be charged 30 cents for 30 minutes (the price will soon go up!). 10. Celebrate. Hurray, your Mobike journey is complete!

The Week at Porto di Mare THE PORT OPEN TO ALL MUSICIANS TUES: PALCO D’AUTORE: Music lab for emerging artists and songwriters WED: CITY LAB PROJECT: Musicians forming an orchestra will accompany the Palco D’Autore artists THURS: CAM’ ON: Students from the school of music CAM exhibit their talents. Then open mic jam sessions open to all musicians FRI - SAT: Rock music or singer-songwriters SUN: TARANTA NIGHT: Popular southern Italian music and dance. Starts at 6 p.m. CONTACT FRANCESCO COFONE Via Pisana, 128 055 71 20 34 Porto di Mare

WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it

Christmas Markets in Florence

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. till 8 p.m. Piazza Santa Croce Nov. 28 – Dec. 17 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. Fortezza da Basso Dec. 11 – 14 Entrance costs 5 euros, and is free for children under 12.

Etsy Christmas market Etsy Made Local is arriving in Italy for the first time, and Florence will host a market on Sunday 3rd of December. At the Christmas Market you’ll discover more than 20 Etsy local artisans, designers and artists. You’ll be able to buy directly from them and find a wide selection of unique items, art prints, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, clothing, accessories and gifts. What is Etsy?

Etsy operates marketplaces where millions of people around the world connect, both online and offline, to make, sell and buy unique goods.

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 hand-made products.

Via Guelfa 45 r Sun. 3 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.

Piazza Santo Spirito Dec. 21 9 a.m. till 7 p.m.

German Christmas Market Florence’s Christmas markets bathe the city in a warm wintery glow from Dec. 3 – 21 as about

Red Cross Christmas Market It’s the perfect occasion for buying all your Christmas gifts in one place, featuring Italian gastro-

Florence News 25

CITY BEAT nomic excellence, clothes, festive decorations, arts and crafts, and games. The market was devised to raise funds for the charity, and therefore, differs from other markets in that its proceeds go towards helping the less fortunate. Buying your gifts from this market will ensure you contribute just a little this Christmas, which is, after all, a holiday for giving. Teatro Obihall Nov. 21 – 23 The Immaculate Conception Two-day fair with crafts and food Piazza SS. Annunziata Dec. 7 – 8 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. 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 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

A Long History

hristmas markets combine the charm of tradition with the excitement of an open-air marketplace and help rekindle the enchantment of our childhood memories. Originated in German-speaking parts of Europe, this tradition signals the beginning of Advent, as for centuries Christmas markets brought cheer to weary villagers and added a touch of light and color to the long winter nights. The story begins in the late Middle Ages in parts of the former Holy Roman Empire with Wien’s Dezembermarkt (December Market), which dates back to around the end of the 13th century when emperor Albrecht I granted shopkeepers the rights to hold a market for a day or two in early winter so that townspeople could stock up on supplies to last through the cold months. Since then, winter markets began to spring up all over Europe: Munich in around 1310, Bautzen in 1384, and Frankfurt in 1393. Today, during the lead up to Christmas, most towns of moderate size across the German-speaking world have a Christmas market. More regional food specialties include Christstollen (Stollen), a sort of egg bread with candied fruit from Saxony, and hot Apfelwein and Frankfurter Bethmännchen from Hesse.

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NEWS

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Florence News 27

CITY BEAT

High Luxury Boutique

A Shuttle to the Barberino Designer Outlet

Aeleonore, a new high luxury boutique, recently opened its doors near Piazza Strozzi. Located in the very heart of the city, the shop offers products that combine its founders’ passion for arts, design, and fashion with Florentine and Tuscan traditions. Dedicated to reinventing a glorious past, Eleonora Sassoli and Stefano Niccoli, the minds behind Aeleonore, successfully fuse together the charm of Florentine authenticity with innovative solutions. History and mastery of Tuscan craftsmanship are the two intergral ingredients of this brand. The materials for their items – bags, belts, headscarves, jewels – all have guaranteed traceability. Bags and belts are made of monochromatic leather, matching the collection of 12 headscarves with polychromic prints. The use of these colors is intended to create a soft, neutral base with respect to the different colors of the collection. Aeleonore is located on Via Monalda 3-5-7/r.

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

RISTORANTE • PIZZERIA

Fashion Passport

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

CUSTOMIZED FLORENTINE GADGETS CUSTOMIZED FLORENTINE GIFTS

GET 5 EURO OFF FOR ANY PURCHASE OVER 50 EURO Viale Giovanni Amendola 16r (near Santa Croce) • 055 244937

Via Ghibellina 121r 055 239 8154 • www.jackinflo.com Via•Ghibellina 121r

055 239 8154 www.jackinflo.com

28 Florence News

CITY BEAT

A ‘Port’ for All Musicians

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

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

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

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

WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it

The International Solution for Student Housing Problems “The world is a small place” has never felt as true as it does today; the world is becoming increasingly globalised and interconnected thanks to advances in technology and trade. The world of education is no exception. Students are taking advantage of the growing number of opportunities that are becoming available to study abroad, whether it is for an exchange, an internship, or for their full degree. However, as student mobility increases, the problems and challenges associated with it grow simultaneously. One of the main concerns that students face when moving to another country is housing; where am I going to live? Often the housing provided by their university is in short supply. This forces students to search for alternative solutions, which could result in risk of scams or higher expenses. The Problem: How can students find a room in another country? What should they do with their

room at home? How can they be protected from scams? The Solution: A Dutch based startup, HousingAnywhere.com has been helping universities and higher education institutions by providing a safe online housing platform. The basis of the platform is very simple: outgoing students can rent out their rooms to incoming students on the platform, creating a balance of demand and supply. Additionally, landlords can list their rooms on the platform to create extra supply, but only if they are verified by HousingAnywhere. There is also a secure booking system, an integral feature that is tailored towards the problem of safety when students try to find accommodation from abroad that protects both the student and the landlord. The solution brought into play by the innovative start-up is working, thanks to their 122 partner universities worldwide, 100 student ambassadors, and a hard working

international team that reflects the global outlook of the platform. “We don’t provide real housing solution to students”, says Niels van Deuren, founder of HousingAnywhere.com, “but we actually use current solutions more efficiently.” He further states: “Our mission is to reach 1000 universities by the end of 2020. By doing so, we will be sure to face in a better way an important problem that is affecting international students.” ABOUT HOUSINGANYWHERE. COM – Founded in 2009 by Niels van Deuren, HousingAnywhere. com provides a trusted platform that connects international students looking for a short-stay accommodation for their studies abroad. The company’s headquarters are in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and there is a team of 50 people from 14 countries that collaborate on this project. HousingAnywhere.com has now 122 partner universities worldwide with an average of 400 rooms posted worldwide every week.

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30 Florence News

FOOD&WINE

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7 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)

12 EURO

I' GIRONE DE' GHIOTTI THE VINAIO NEAR PIAZZA SIGNORIA

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

Il Supermercato... da Gustare e deGustare HOME DELIVERY SERVICE AVAILABLE 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 ISSUE www.florencenews.it

Dine with Dante

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

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

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

Florence News 33

FOOD&WINE

Get Your Food Home Delivered

Burger, Pizza, Mexican, Sushi, Chinese, Thai, Typical Tuscan, all at your place

et your food comfortably seating on your couch from a choice of 70 Florentine restaurants of any type is now possible from the website www.thefood. it or downloading the THE FOOD App. You will have 3 Euro discount on your first order. Delivery time is from 12 a.m. to 2.30 pm for lunch and 7 to 10.30 p.m. for dinner. Cost for delivery is 2 Euro, and payment methods can be cash, credit or debit card. You can order food

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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

from some of the most renowned Florentine Tuscan traditional, vegetarian, and vegan restaurants, pizzerias, gelato shops and ethnic restaurants such as 100 Montaditos, Al Noor, Bamboo Sushi Wok, Dioniso, El Chico, Gallo Bianco, India, Kome, Nin Hao, Niwa, Odysseia, Royal India, Salaam Bombay, Takemura, Tijuana 2, #RAW, Mama’s bakery, Cantina del gelato, Gelateria Rivareno, Mordilatte, and Stickhouse.

SNACK BAR ANNA THE BAGEL POINT Perfected specialty since 1990, Snack Bar Anna offers homemade bagels and sandwiches that make it one of the most popular among local Americans. Have a chat with Anna and Stefano while drinking a jumbo cappuccino and enjoy the no-charge table service that renders this spot hospitable, friendly, and a must go. Opening hours: Mon. to Sat.: 8:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

Via de’ Ginori, 26/r 055 23 81 143 miranna.lomartire@gmail.com

34 Florence News

NEWS

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Florence News 35

LITERATURE

An Interview With Author C. De Melo Christine, when did your writing career begin and what do you like writing most? History has been my passion since childhood, and I became an avid reader of historical fiction during my adolescence. I’ve always enjoyed telling stories, but I began writing historical fiction after obtaining my university degree in June 2000. Several of your books are set in the Renaissance. What sort of research do you undertake in order to capture the details and flavor of the period? What attracts you to this specific historical period?

LORI HETHERINGTON

hristine De Melo is a longtime Florence resident who has put her art history degree and storytelling skills to good use. To date, she’s published seven novels which range from dystopian to time travel to historical fiction, as well as numerous articles. Her latest title, Allegra, is set in 16th century Florence and follows on the heels of her Amazon bestseller, Sabina. On Tuesday, November 7th at 6:30 pm at a Florence Writer’s event at St. Mark’s Church in Via Maggio 16, Christine will appear along with author Jule Selbo in a discussion moderated by writer David Orr; both authors will also read from their latest works.

Medici and his dynastic family. How do you find new story ideas? Have you ever felt as if your well of ideas is dry or is it more difficult to choose what story to write next from the ones you have in mind? I travel a lot and have lived in several cities in four separate countries. Different places have served as the impetus for my books. For example, living in Florence and researching the Medici inspired Sabina and its sequel, Allegra. I wrote The Duchess de Nuit while I lived in Lyon, France. And my travels throughout Portugal and my fascination with ancient alien theories

Academic textbooks and scholarly papers are my preferred tools when researching historical information, but I make it a point to visit the cities and sites that I write about in order to create vivid, accurate descriptions for the pleasure of my readers. I’m fascinated with the Age of Discoveries and how navigational exploits changed the world. In college, I focused mainly on Portuguese Manuelino style, which emerged from this time period. Since I’m Luso-American, the link between Portugal and Italy is of particular interest to me, especially since Manuel I had ties to Florence and the Medici. In 2003 I began working in Florence and became obsessed with Lorenzo de’

gave birth to The Watchers. Luckily, I inherited the gift of storytelling from my grandmother and can easily weave tales out of thin air. In fact, I tend to jump from one project to the next due to an overactive imagination. Also, the talented and experienced writers within my writing group have contributed greatly to some of my stories with good ideas and intelligent critiques. Your historical fiction books often feature a strong-willed female protagonist. Are they based on real historical figures or are they born of your imagination? Do you think human nature has changed much in the last 400 years? I spent my childhood and most of my twenties in a religiously fundamental patriarchy. Many of the difficulties endured by my female protagonists mirror the challenges I had to face in the past, so each woman I create from my imagination contains a part of me. From a historical perspective, nothing has changed in the sense that people are still people with the same desires, fears, and needs. Unlike my protagonists, however, I was fortunate enough to have been born in a westernized nation where, as a woman, I can enjoy unprecedented freedom. I understand that not everyone is so lucky and never take my liberty for granted. Can you share with us what you’re working on now?

I’m enthralled with 14th-century Verona and the Ghibelline warlord, Cangrande I della Scala. The man led an amazing life, and the recent exhumation of his body (which was incredibly well-preserved) revealed that his death was the result of poison. How can the writer in me resist? The novel I’m writing now is set between Verona and Venice during this exciting historical time and the female protagonist is a wholly different sort of character compared to protagonists in my other books. Thanks, Christine, for telling us a bit about you and your work. Best of luck! For more information about C. De Melo’s books or food and travel articles, visit www.cdemelo.com, follow her on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on her projects, or check out her visual storyboards on Pinterest.

In Florence there is a new pharmacy

Cavour Come to visit us. You will find a wide range of skincare products dedicated to you. Ask your pharmacist for advice.

Lloyds Farmacia Cavour Via Cavour, 59/R Firenze We are open for you: Monday to Saturday 9.00 - 20.00

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

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

NEW GYM NEAR SANTA MARIA NOVELLA 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

36 Florence News

CHIANTI

WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it

A Jewel in Chianti

On Horseback in Tuscany

Discover Castello Del Nero, 5 Star Hotel and Spa

B ON THE ROAD

uilt in the 12th century and located near Tavarnelle Val di Pesa (about 20-minute drive from Florence), Castello del Nero is member of the Leading Hotels of the World, the consortium with more than 375 luxury hotels and resorts in over 75 countries.

called La Taverna, features typical Tuscan flavors. In the wine cellar, located in the oldest part of the castle, it is possible to taste wine and EVO. The ESPA branded SPA is over 1000 square meters and offers personalized treatments, heat experience,

The hotel has 32 rooms and 18 suites painstakingly restored, furbished with elegance and completed with state of the art technology. Its frescoes, vaulted ceilings and fireplaces exude charm and history. There are two restaurants, a wine cellar, a bar, a SPA, a swimming pool, four hiking paths, an outdoor VITA Parour and two illuminated tennis courts. The main restaurant, La Torre, offers a creative menu, while the other,

vitality pool, a relaxation area and a fitness suite with the most modern and sophisticated equipment. The outdoor heated swimming pool boasts a magnificent view of the surrounding valley with its lakes. Complimentary shuttle bus service to and from the center of Florence or Siena at scheduled times are available all year round. For more information visit: www.castellodelnero.com.

A Journey Through Human Cruelty The Torture and Death Penalty Museum displays more than 100 tools designed to torture and kill. Some of these tools are extremely rare, dating to the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They include the notorious ‘iron maiden,’ the guillotine, rack, torture chair and the chastity belt. Also on display are lesser-known sophisticated devices, such as the ‘heretic’s fork,’ the ‘noisemaker’s fife,’ the ‘Spanish spider’, and flaying instruments. Via San Giovanni, 82 & 125 San Gimignano Open daily: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. 0577-940526, 055-940151 Tickets: Full €10 Concessions: €7; Groups: €5 www.museodellatortura.it

his tour offered by Florence Country Life is an adventure through the lush vineyards, native woods, olive groves and rolling hills of Chianti, with a collection of breathtaking and unforgettable views in the most wonderful and romantic way: on horseback. No prior experience is needed. Before the ride, you will be given a lesson by a trained guide to become better acquainted with your horse. After the ride, you will enjoy a Tuscan meal washed down with Chianti wine and an oil tasting. If you do not want to ride a horse, you can still come and enjoy the tour with a 20% discount. So, while your friends go on the horse ride

you can enjoy snacks, wine and a nice walk around a traditional Tuscan farm. If you have never horse-whispered before, then let horses whisper to you.

Florence Country Life From € 100

(€ 80 for students) www.florencecountrylife.com info@florencecountrylife.com Tel.: +39.366.4738711 TRANSPORTATION INCLUDED

38 Florence News

CITY GUIDE

WINTER ISSUE www.florencenews.it

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Museo delle Porcellane

Galleria Palatina e Appartamenti Reali

Collections of porcelain from reigning royal families.

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.

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: 8.15-18.50 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.

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.

PINART BOTTEGA D’OLTRARNO

ARTISAN LEATHER JOURNALS & ITALIAN PENS Situated 30 meters from the Ponte Vecchio, Pinart has offered quality stationery for more than 20 years. •

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

•

Books, notebooks and photo albums in artisan-worked leather with handmade paper; A large selection of writing instruments from top Italian brands, including fountain, roller and ballpoint pens; Hand-painted wooden boxes and photo frames portraying details from Florentine monuments.

Open: Mon–Sat: 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.

WINTER ISSUE Accad e

www.florencenews.it Uffizi

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42€ from erson

39€

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BEST OF FLORENCE Uffizi - Accademia - City Tour Priority entrance tickets Small Groups or Private Ones

Your Private Concierge

Florence News 39

CITY GUIDE TOURIST INFORMATION EMERGENCIES

SOS

SKIP THE LINE

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

BOOK NOW! booking@keysofflorence.com +39 324 075 6714 More info and tours: www.keysofflorence.com

Premium Tourist Services

Firenze Card

Uffizi

42€

The Firenzecard is a way for tourists and locals alike to visit the countless museums the city Accad has to offer. emia 39€ For 72€, the card includes the cost of entrance, the ticket for the exhibition, and the reservation for all the museums of the Firenzecard Circuit.The card Uffizi - Accademia - City Tour Priority entrance ticketsafter it is activatlasts 72 hours Small Groups or Private Ones ed. Activation SKIP THE LINE occurs when the NOW! card isBOOKused for the first time at booking@keysofflorence.com +39 324 075 6714 a museum. More info and tours: www.keysofflorence.com Cardholders do not need to make any reservation with Firenzecard because it includes, in its price, the reservation for all the museums. With Firenzecard, cardholders can visit the museums when they choose and can access to the museums through the reserved entrance. Firenzecard can be used at 67 museums, but it can only be used once per museum. The card cannot be shared or transferred. For more information on the card or to purchase one, visit www.firenzecard.it

+ HEALTH SERVICES

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

BEST OF FLORENCE Premium Tourist Services

Accad e

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BEST OF FLORENCE

Uffizi 42€ Academy Gallery 39€ SKIP THE LINE Uffizi - Accademia - City Tour Priority entrance tickets Small Groups or Private Ones BOOK NOW! booking@keysofflorence.com +39 324 075 6714 More info and tours: www.keysofflorence.com

SKIP THE LINE

BOOK NOW! booking@keysofflorence.com

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Your Private Concierge in Florence Every day problem solving - Workshops Access to treasures off the beaten path Property finding. Ask with confidence

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

BUSES

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

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

TOURIST INFO POINTS

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

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

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

TAXI

TAXIS

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