Other museums included in the initiative are the archaeological museum of Naples, Compendio Garibaldino di Caprera, Museo nazionale etnografico preistorico Luigi Pigorini di Roma, Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche di Urbino, Museo dei Balzi Rossi di Ventimiglia, and coming up soon in 2012, Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia, Museo d’Arte Orientale a Ca’ Pesaro in Venice, Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra in Rovereto, Armeria Reale di Torino and Museo Archeologico Santa Maria delle Monache, Isernia. There is no question that many of these museums are not just undiscovered but downright obscure, whereas Mantova, Urbino, and Perugia are a bit better known. Many Florentines have never been to Palazzo Davanzati, so this is a good opportunity to bring the museum-goers of the future to this space.

A press conference yesterday was a bit of a change from the usual monotonous presentation because 2 classes of well-behaved 10 year olds were invited, and the representative from the Mibac often spoke directly to them, which was cute. The children were asked what they liked best of the experience and one answered “the scarpetta scaldamano”, a maiolica object whose function – warming hands – was explained in the booklet. This is exactly the kind of information – how things and spaces were used – that I have always said make the museum experience, and that need to be made available in Palazzo Davanzati, a museum that has wonderful potential for families. Participants are asked to write their opinions of the museum visit online or on a handout, offering them an opportunity to reflect on and verbalize the experience. The feedback may help museums develop more projects like this in the future.

Another cute element of this booklet is a drawing of museum staff and an explanation of the people who work behind the scenes: director, conservator, curator, education services (!!), guards, security and technology staff. This reminds children that museums can potentially provide careers. It does not mention the government concorsi and complete impossibility of getting IN to a job like that, but children should be allowed to dream!

This booklet is a great idea, but it could be improved. Part (but not all) of the text from this handout is available online, but it sure would be great if Focus would make a free downloadable PDF available for posterity. Another nice thing would be if a few thousand copies were printed and given out to families for free, even after this special is over, directly at the museum front desk. Finally, I know that it is an Italian magazine, but I would like to see a similar didactic tool produced in English. Encouraging museum visits with children is important on a local and national level, but your typical Italian parent also has good visual training and may be able to guide a child better than a foreigner. Helping tourism by the provision of material in other languages is equally important, and would not have a much larger cost (for example, I would be perfectly capable of translating these twelve booklets into English for a minimal fee). That said, didactic visits to some of Florence’s museums are available upon advance reservation (see servizio didattica).

Improvements are being made in Palazzo Davanzati since I wrote about it years ago. New informative texts are available in multiple languages in most of the rooms. A welcome desk has finally been installed in the front room, with a little bookshop area, after many years of these staff members sitting at a card table in the courtyard.

With kids or not, visit Palazzo Davanzati and read along to understand the context of the early modern Italian family, a fascinating experience for adults and kids. If you can’t use the Italian material from Focus Junior, print out my guide to Palazzo Davanzati and bring it with you!

April 2011 – Official opening of Le Murate

preserved old cells at le murate

Now it's alive!

The former prison (sometimes known as “le Carceri”) has undergone a long period of restoration, and after a preview in January 2010, it opened fully and officially in April 2011. For the first three months, the superintendant of culture Giuliano da Empoli (who in December left this role, unfortunately) asked a handful of associations and media that have been close to him during the previous months to organize events. As I have been involved in le Murate from the start of Da Empoli’s position at Palazzo Vecchio, I was asked to participate with The Florentine to provide some English-language programming for this space. We had a debate called “culture clash” and 2 knit cafes, all of which were quite successful, I think.

Le Murate has been slowly taking off, rather than exploding, but it provides an interesting cultural hub at the edge of the city, along the viali, in a position that promises to become more important in the future. It takes time to populate a cultural center of this type, but the opening of a bookstore and gallery, and more recently the Literary Cafe’, are steps towards the revitalization of the space.

September to December 2011 – The Search for the lost Leonardo

For many years, my old professor Rab Hatfield (Syracuse University in Florence) has been saying that he knows exactly where, in Palazzo Vecchio, Leonardo’s famed Battle of Cascina was begun – only to be covered up by Vasari. He has in fact published a book about this. I remember a particularly impassioned talk that he gave some of us in the Salone dei Cinquecento in which he explained that certainly Vasari valued Leonardo as an artist too much to just paint over his work, so he built a wall with some space in front of it. Another art historian, Dr. Seracini, has also been working on finding the lost Leonardo for many years. Both scholars have pointed out the words “Cerca Trova” (look and you shall find) on the fresco, thought to be a hint as to where to start digging.

This year, the National Geographic Society got involved in the search, thanks to the intervention of an American photographer named Dave Yoder, who figured that using a gamma ray camera (a technology first developed by someone else) could “image” the painting behind the 12cm thick wall. His kickstarter campaign for $265,000 failed. However, National Geographic made a hefty donation to fund the work, which is going ahead without the gamma camera as far as I understand. And most importantly, Matteo Renzi, mayor of Florence, strongly wanted the research to go ahead – and for a discovery to be made.

Scaffolding went up and work commenced on November 27, 2011. The exploration team used an endoscopic probe (kinda like what they use for a gastroscopy, only finer) which they poked through very small holes (4mm) made in the painting. The only thing they determined is that there is an air space between Vasari’s wall and something behind it. Meanwhile, the Carabinieri looked on after some claimed that the research is damaging Vasari’s fresco, and an interesting polemic (it wouldn’t be italy without polemics) began. 400 signatures sit on a petition against the search behind Vasari for Leonardo, names of art historians for whom I have profound respect: Keith Christiansen, Luke Syson, Salvatore Settis, and also the vocal Tomaso Montanari and the polemical critic Francesco Bonami.

Where is all this going? I have no further updates beyond December 9th and believe that this part of the search is over. It may be stopped forever due to protests. The question remains: what would they do if they were to find Leonardo under there, anyway? Bonami says that an obsession with nostalgia and our (italians’) past keeps us from looking and moving ahead. I have to agree: Florence needs a future right now, maybe even more than more past. (On the topic of 2012 being the year Florentines find their future, read my husband’s reflections here).

December 2011 – New Opera House

The Nuovo Teatro dell’Opera di Firenze opened for a short preview at the end of December with a line up of excellent concerts to ring in the new year (unfortunately I am too cheap to have attended any of them). An attractive building designed by Paolo Desideri of Abdr Architetti Associati, it will house three concert halls when finished, including one outside ampitheatre.

2 years and 160 million euros to get to this point and it seems like a miracle, knowing how long major projects usually take around here. Unfortunately only the first phase of the works has been inaugurated, and after this “preview,” more construction is expected. The structure is expected to really open towards the end of 2012. I hope they pull it off. The Maggio Musicale, whose new home this is, says that we will see a 40% increase in programming, including laboratories aimed at children and families – which would certainly help secure the future of classical music.

December 20, 2011 – Uffizi’s Blue Rooms

Eight new rooms to hold a few hundred old paintings – the first lot of the Nuovi Uffizi restoration project that has been going on, and polemical, for as long as I can remember is complete.

Much has been made of the “sale blu“, billed as a heroic step towards a different museum display. True, the Uffizi has always had (boring) white walls and pietra serena accents in the Vasarian vision of this space. But the blue rooms are nothing new, museologically. I admit, I have not seen them yet, but having seen photos, I am immediately reminded of the Bardini museum, whose blue walls inspired Isabel Stewart Gardner. Bardini Blue was thus popular in the 19th century. Why is it, then, that in the Uffizi’s initial proposal for blue walls in 2008 – when Natalini suggested applying them to the Botticelli room (it could use some sprucing up!) – the sh*t hit the fan? This proposal was shifted to the French, Spanish, and Dutch works about which the public is apparently less sensitive.

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So that’s 2011 art news in Florence as I saw it. A bit heavy towards December, which may be fresh in my mind, or may represent a push on the part of administration to get things done by the end of the year! Let’s hope 2012 brings even more activity and fewer polemicized debates. Happy New year, folks.

Flow

Flow Store- photo mens reverie

Tucked in behind the more famous via Tornabuoni, this place looks like the living room of a rich boys’ chalet, with a few racks of super hipster clothing and accessories. One of the few multi-brand boutiques in Florence, the look is 100% hipster – you need to know how to combine their pieces yourself, or be dressed by their staff… which isn’t much of a problem for most Pitti people, anyway. Their dedicated shoe store opened just a few months ago and is perhaps even more exciting than the clothing store.

Brands carried: JFK 68, Gold Bunny, Department 5, Anachronorm, Checkin’ Out, Filson, Jejia, Red Seal, San Francisco, Red Seal, Noodle Park, 2 Men, Htc, Ben’Barek, Soho, Alternative, Golden Age, Ten C, J.Motors, Moma, Pane Tulipani, Destin Surl, Sus, Milano 35, Collection, Privee, Used, L’autre chose, Orciani, Shoto, Buttero, Diadora, Generic Surplus, Walk Over, Prima Base, Numero 10, Riccardo Forconi, Quoddy, Corsia.

Website: www.flow-store.it (in flash – hey Flow, you could hire us at Flod to make you a new website, it’s just one letter away)
Via de’ Vecchietti 20r
Shoe store on via Sassetti (just go straight towards piazza Strozzi from the main store)

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Société Anonyme

Societe Anonyme bag

Store

A beautiful, bright space in which to hang out, a concept store in the fullest meaning of the idea, with an annexed co-working space that encourages sociability. Beyond clothes by international brands that you certainly will not find anywhere else in Florence, the store carries Frietag bags, lomo cameras, and other lifestyle items.

Designers include: Bag “N” Noun, Comme Des Garçons Play, Giulia Materia, Japan Proxy, Jimi Roos, Mm6 By Maison Martin Margiela, Sawa, See By Chloé, and Société Anonyme’s house brand.

Via della Mattonaia, www.societeanonyme.it

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Bottega Quattro

Bottega Quattro

This attractive, large (200 square meters) space opened in September 2011 and is decorated with recycled, reused antiques. Owner Daniele Fiesoli is the Italian distributor for the label Scotch & Soda, found here along with Fiesoli’s own line and brands Wool & Co. and Milkywear.

Via Rondinelli 9 (no website)

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For more hipster boutique suggestions, if you can read Italian, see this article on te la do io Firenze.

In the city: theatre and more

Teatrino del Gallo (Libri Liberi bookshop) at 15.30 and 17.00: Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th January Teatrosfera presents “I tre porcellini” and “Il pirata Barbanera”, Saturday 21^st Buratta La Luna with “Arrivano i cantastorie” and Sunday 22^nd Teatrosfera with “Robin Hood” ending with “Cappuccetto cambia colore” on Saturday 28^th and Sunday 29^th of January.

Teatrino del Gallo (Libri Liberi bookshop) at 15.30 and 17.00: Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th January Teatrosfera presents “I tre porcellini” and “Il pirata Barbanera”, Saturday 21^st Buratta La Luna with “Arrivano i cantastorie” and Sunday 22^nd Teatrosfera with “Robin Hood” ending with “Cappuccetto cambia colore” on Saturday 28^th and Sunday 29^th of January.

Pass Teatri Family: Sunday 15^th January Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione at Teatro Niccolini (in San Casciano Val di Pesa) presents “Anna è furiosa (Non si può andare avanti così)” for capricious children while at Teatro Cantiere Florida in Florence on Sunday 29^th January will be presented “Cartastorie” a show made of paper and on Sunday 5^th February “Alice nel mondo” powered by Company Blu.  On the same day at Teatro Puccini in Florence Pupi di Stac present “Le avventure di Pinocchio” with their lovely puppets (not included in the PassTeatri card).

La Bottega dei Ragazzi at the Museo degli Innocenti (via dei Fibbiai 2 in Florence close to piazza SS Annunziata) is opened Monday to Friday from 9-13 (on Saturday 10-13) in the morning and 16-19 in the afternoon. They hold a 90 minute Workshop “Play and learn with art” for 3-5 years olds (also in English, if required). You can buy tickets (10€) or cards (20€ for 3 or 50€ for 8 workshops) and you have to book 2 days in advance. Here are the next workshops: Saturday Jan 14, 21 (h.16.30/18.00) and 28 January and Saturday 4 February h.11.00 / 12.30 workshop: “Sons of Italy: papers and colours histories” (3-5 anni with one adult).

Shopping for kids in Florence – a day at the winter sales

January is winter sale time where you can spend half price (and at the end also 70% off) to buy a few thing needed and, especially, to prepare the entire wardrobe for next winter! Here a selection of must-have for children that go to nursery / primary school and the shops where I find them (most of them are in via Gioberti were the density of baby-children shops for square meter is incredibly high and dangerous for your wallet.

Tracksuits – as Francesco is a tiny toddler I need those with elastic at the ankle that I find at Iana (via Gioberti 80 R and via Corridoni 44/46 in Florence) in different materials and colours for less than 10,00€ (full price) that you can pair with T-shirts, sweaters, etc. I suggest you also to visit OVS Industry (via Gioberti, piazza Dalmazia, via Panzani, via Talenti, ecc.) where you can find cheap and confortable clothes at the right price.

Underpants and/or knickers – as Francesco needed about 5/6 a day (now he’s learned to ask for the toilet) I made a deep analysis and I can tell you that the nicest ones are in Benetton 0-12 (with stripes, Snoopy, etc) quite expensive normally (10,00€ for a 3 pack) but affordable during sales (in via Gioberti, via dei Cerretani, via Corridoni, etc.) while at UPIM (via Gioberti 70) there is a 7 pack for the same price.  In the picture Francesco karaoke star with a Benetton wool jumper.

Children shoes – one of the best shops in town is Junior Shoes in the Nove Botteghe courtyard (via Gioberti) with New Balance, Kickers, Bikkembergs, Falcotto and all the best brands. Ask for the card to receive 10% discount and wait for sales but.. you cannot buy baby-shoes in advance. You must try them on and they must fit exactly or it may happen that a sandal will be perfect in… November!

A place to eat – Gilda in piazza Ghiberti in front of Sant’Ambrogio market is a tiny bistrot were children are welcome! While adults can choose from the rich daily menu (if you are a ToscanaIN member you can eat all you want for 10,00€ at lunch!) the chef will prepare a tomato sauce pasta for children. Enjoy!

A ski weekend or week

Francesco, Fabio and I went on a ski holiday last year so I did a little research – and shopping – for winter holidays near Florence with kids.

First off: a trick for sports clothes – The best deals are to be found just outside of the city at Nencini Sport in Calenzano: it’s worth driving out there. With the fidelity card you’ll receive a discount of every purchase (even at the Outlet area) and you can also buy online. Not only children but also adults can buy at very low prices what they need to practice any sport!

Now you’re ready to ski in Tuscany at Abetone or Monte Amiata where the season has already started (it snowed on the 24^th of December). At Abetone the daily lift ticket costs around 36,00€. At Amiata you can ski on the Vetta and there is a kiddie hill at Macinaie where children younger than 5 years old pay only 1€ if they are with their parents.

But if you want to ski in the Alps, take a week off! We tried a few family hotels with nursery facilities like the Biancaneve at Selva in Val Gardena, a 4-star luxury design hotel where you can leave your children in the morning and see them again after dinner! Try also Bad Ratzes at Alpe di Siusi with a nursery where children play, eat, etc and there are special walks and activities for families. In the photo at the top of this post, see Francesco resting after the sledding (and a big plate of ‘canederlo in brodo’ eaten in the chalet)

A winter recipe to taste: the strudel – Buy frozen ‘pasta sfoglia’,  brush it with melted butter and dust with toasted breadcrumbs, put inside apple slices (put them in lemon juice and sugar before), pine nuts, sugar, grated lemon peel, raisins and cinnamon. Close the pastry, brush with butter and put in a 200° temperature oven for 35 minutes. Done. Serve with custard or cream. Francy loves it (and so do we).

Online Resources for moms in and around Florence

There are helpful communities that list things to do with kids, or give you the opportunity to meet up with local moms. Here are three great resources.

• Firenze per bambini group
• Firenze Moms 4 Moms (English speaking!)
• WithandWithin social network

Check out the previous months’ posts about Florence for Children because while there is some information about events, there are also tips and secrets to make your life as a mom easier in town!

Here’s the second post from ArtTrav’s colomnist who will be contributing seasonal articles about what to do in Florence with children.

Laura, mother of three-year-old Francesco (in the photo!), is also the energetic founder of ToscanaIN and is involved in the new social network for women, WithAndWithin.

Three-year-old Francesco is the protagonist of Florence for children. He’s very curious and gets bored very easily. This is our selection of the best things to do in Florence over the Christmas 2011 holidays… with kids. I’ve selected activities appropriate for Francesco’s age group, so this is not a comprehensive listing. At the end you will also find some tips about stores and services that visitors to the city might not know. There are some gift ideas here too!

A fair: Firenze Noel (7-11 December 2011 at Leopolda Station)

This Fair is called “The big Christmas Party” and take place at Leopolda Station (viale Fratelli Rosselli, 6r in Florence) from Wednesday 7 December (h.16-21.30) until Sunday 11 December 2011 (10-21.30) – if you arrive there by bus show the ATAF ticket to have a discount (tickets cost 7,50€ for adults and 5,00€ for 6 to 12 years old children).

What can you find there? Animated readings, circus laboratories (with people and with puppets), kitchen – drawing and dance lessons, gospels concerts, etc. Children will learn everything about circus secrets while adults will try and buy typical food and drink (good for your Christmas meals or as a present).

TEATRO PUCCINI “Per grandi e Puccini” season (untranslatable )

For children from 4 to 99 years old, the show “Canto di Natale” powered by Centrale Produzioni full of humour, warmth and suspence, from Charles Dickens novel in Friday 7 December at 18.00 at Teatro Puccini (via delle Cascine 41 in Florence). A show with shadows and lights, phantoms of our past, with songs and choreographies in a space that always change. Tickets 7,00€. On Saturday 7 January at 21.00 a show for 0 to 100 years old people “Il piccolo principe” by Compagnia Mannini Dall’Orto Teatro from Antoine de Saint-Exupery poetic novel. 400 shows around Italy, often sold-out, make this show a cult of the Italian theatre.

A show for fundraising and another by children

On Thursday 15 December a show held by the Scuola Giotto parents to enjoy their children (3-6 years old) and collect money for their school. Two shows with Santa Claus as guest star, full of fun and music, at 16.30 and 17.30 (free offer) at Sala Esse (via del Ghirlandaio, 38 in Florence). Join and tell other families/children!

FESTA English Theatre in Florence has a childrens’ theatre group that is putting on the classic Hansel and Gretel in English on December 17 at the Chiesa Evangelica Metodista – Via De’ Benci 9 at 5:30pm (it’s free). Performed by kids, for kids.

Caffè Letterario Le Murate book reading for trilingual children!

The new Caffè Letterario Le Murate (Piazza delle Murate in Florence) will be hosting the famous children’s writer Arianna Papini on Saturday 17 December at 17.00 to promote her new book, What would you like to be? (Chi Vorresti Essere in Italian) that will be read in Italian, English and Spanish simultaneously (admission free).  There will be a small workshop afterwards with crafts, singing and dancing. A very cute book for early readers (age 3) – if you miss the reading you could buy the book on amazon: Papini – Chi vorresti essere

UNIQUE: a creativity workshop at FERRAGAMO MUSEUM

The special workshop “Creare la moda” (Create fashion) for 4 to 10 years old children at Museo Ferragamo (Palazzo Spini Feroni piazza Santa Trinità 5r in City Center of Florence) with the aim to explain and teach children what a made-in-Italy object should be. The first workshop is on Sunday 18^th December at 15.30 / 16.30 / 17.30 booking in advance. Children will learn about the Ferragamo tradition with a cartoon and, following the instruction of an expert artisan, creating a shoe with their own hands starting with the choice of the right raw materials.

BIBLIOTECA delle OBLATE – spazio BAMBINI e RAGAZZI

There is a lot to do during the Christmas / New Years Eve and Epiphany days in the Children and Youth section of Biblioteca delle Oblate (the Oblate Library) via dell’Oriuolo, 26 in Florence!

Saturday 17^th December, Thursday 22^nd and Thursday 29^th December at 16.30 by Associazione Culturale Allibratori the animated readings “Notte Nero Pece” (Deep Black Night), “Immaginarie Storie” through Japanese Kamishibai and “Le stagioni di Pallina” (Pallina seasons) while in January 2012 the program will start on Thursday 5^th at 16.30 with the animated reading “Storie a colori” and Saturday 7^th at 16.30 with the puppet show “La Befana e la gallina Bianca”

A place to eat… during your Christmas shopping

TheClubHouse in via de’ Ginori 6r in Florence

A perfect stop in the city center close to San Lorenzo market, where you can order anything you want from pizza to pasta and fish and chips (brunch on Sundays). Children can sit in the comfortable chairs with cushions and waiters are very nice with them. If you are a ToscanaIN member (business networking no-profit association) you can get a 15% of discount on a la carte menu and special offers.

A shop for kids’ presents

Imaginarium in via Gioberti 41r (Le Nove Botteghe): via Gioberti is my favourite shopping street in Florence, and Imaginarium is my favourite toy shop. Every child loves it first for its double entrance (a small door for children like Francesco – see picture of him trying to open the little door by himself) and then for its great puppets, colours, animals, etc.! If you join the Imaginarium Club, you’ll receive a card that gives you discounts and special offers (a different gift every month so you are forced to go and spend there). And now you can download the free app “Imaginarium Natale” (for Apple and Android) to write a letter adding your favourite toys and, after sending it via smartphone, Santa Claus in person will call you up: don’t miss it!

A solidarity gift on behalf of Fondazione Meyer

If you are looking for presents with a different purpose, check in the Fondazione Meyer catalogue. You’ll find unique sweaters, T-shirts, mugs, hats, pencils, books, cards, etc. and you’ll help one of the best children’s hospital in Italy (and sick children will thank you!).

Last but not least an idea to spend some time at home

And if it’s too cold or rainy to go out, why don’t you spend your time making something to eat with your child? You can start from the classic North American Gingerbread biscuits (also a nice way to decorate your Christmas tree or for a Christmas present to your neighbours). And a trick: if you fill this form you’ll receive a Christmas recipe a day until December 24 taken for you and your child from “The secret Santa Claus cookbook”. In fact in 2011 Piccolo Cuoco (a project of the non-profit association Piccolo Artista) has been named Santa Claus’ personal assistant and shares with all of you his secret recipes…

A word of thanks to my readers!

Thanks to Alexandra for the hospitality on her blog. In exchange you can read her interview on the English HomePage of the WithandWithin community, a space reserved for women and moms! And thanks to all of you readers for your comments, shares, likes and retweets of my first attempt at blogging last month (if you missed it, see things to do with kids in Florence in November 2011 – some valid tips in there despite the date). I welcome more feedback on these posts. Please note though that this is a personal selection of events and that these posts contain my own opinion. We welcome your constructive thoughts so that all parents can benefit.

Laura, mother of three-year-old Francesco (in the photo!), is also the energetic founder of ToscanaIN and is involved in the new social network for women, WithAndWithin.

My three-year-old Francesco is the protagonist of Florence for children. He’s very curious and gets bored very easily. So I’m starting to gather information on activities to keep children busy and parents happy in Florence on the weekends. And guess what? For parents and children living in Florence, there are loads of opportunities, from kids’ areas in libraries to theatre and music! Here is my list of the best kids’ events in November and December 2011.

In libraries and bookstores

Biblioteca delle oblate – spazio bambini e ragazzi

We can start with the Biblioteca delle Oblate (the Oblate Library), via dell’Oriuolo 26, in the city center (200m from the Duomo) that has a Children and Youth section on the second floor (see photo above). The service offers books in Italian and foreign languages, musical CDs, films and cartoons. With a free library card, children can bring home 8 books per month, 2 CDs+2 DVDs+2 cartoons for a week.

From November 6 until December 18 it will be open also every Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00 (good to spend there some time during the winter rainy and cold days!). And not only! There is an interesting program of interactive readings, literary games, laboratories, workshops and puppet shows during the weekends for children of any age.

Here are a few examples for smaller children (3/6 years old):

Saturdays November 19 at 16.30 the animated readings by Associazione Culturale Allibratori “Il sapore della luna” (The flavour of the moon) is a journey in the African nights together with savanna and jungle animals; and November 26 at the same time, “Un viaggio da leoni” (A lion journey) in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe: Paris.

Saturday December 3 in the morning at 11.00 “Le letture di Sara” animated readings: “Il guerriero e il saggio” and “Yasmin e le mele d’oro”; and then in the afternoon at 16.30 a puppet show “Storie allegre di Carlo Collodi” (Happy stories of Carlo Collodi) with fantastic people of the visionary Florentine writer and creator of Pinocchio by Associazione culturale Altolà.

Libreria libri liberi & Teatrino del gallo

Another wonderful place to introduce smaller children to theatre is Teatrino del Gallo in the limonaia and garden of the bookshop “Libri Liberi” in via San Gallo 25r in Florence (see photo), which specializes in babies’ and childrens’ books and is now celebrating its eighth year of activities with a two-day party on Sunday November 27 and Monday November 28 from 17.00 to 20.00. The party will launch a new green line, a green room, and workshop and shows focused on nature, recycling and bio breaks.

The shows (at 15.30 or at 17.00) for 3-10 years olds held at Teatrino del Gallo in November will be “Cappuccetto cambia colore” by Teatrosfera on Saturday November 19, an interactive show based on the Bruno Munari storyl “Il meraviglioso mondo di Oz” on Sunday November 20 by Teatrosfera and musicians of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; and “Stanza di Fiaba: Hansel e Gretel” a multisensorial journey in the places of the tale on Sunday the 27^th by Miriam Bardini and Roberta Socci.

Theatre for kids

Pass Teatri Family is an excellent deal for families: it allows 6 entrances for childrens’ shows in different theatres in Florence and nearby for 25€. It means that you can go twice mom+dad+child or three times mom+child and any possible combination. And with Pass Teatri Family you can also have discounts to Museums and Exhibitions around Florence!

Here are the shows on the agenda for November 2011:

Sunday November 27^th you can choose between “All’opera… il lupo e i sette capretti” at Teatro delle Arti (via Matteotti 8, Lastra a Signa (FI)) at 15.30, from the Grimm brothers’ tale powered by Teatrino dei Fondi; or “Boxville – Ballata di Cartone” at Teatro Cantiere Florida (via Pisana 111r ang. Via di Soffiano, Florence) at 16.00, by Compagnia Simona Bucci, appropriate for all ages. An imaginary world made of boxes: big, small, full, empty, a box-city and its inhabitants to have a different point of view of ourselves and the way we interact in our surroundings. The week before at Teatro Cantiere Florida you can book for “Vita da gatti” (not in the Pass Teatri Family program) at 16.00 by Compagnia Ferruccio Filippazzi (ticket 7,00€ for adult and children 3-7 years old)

Sunday December 4 there is “Hansel e Gretel” at Teatro Giotto in Vicchio (FI) at 16.00. Gino Balestrino and sweet puppets made by Natale Panaro follow on Sunday December 11 in“Raperonzolo” at Teatro Comunale Corsini (viale della Repubblica 3, Barberino del Mugello (FI)), Pupi di Stac’s puppet version of the famous tale written by the Grimm brothers, contaminated with Tuscan words and music and the active participation and emotion of the public. Without the Family Pass Teatri card, tickets cost 5,00€ for adults and children.

Child-friendly restaurants and shops

I must say that in Florence (and in Italy in general) it’s really difficult to find a restaurant or a bar with a high chair and a changing table for children (public toilets don’t exist), even if it’s one of the most touristic cities / countries in the world! But things are changing: for a restaurant to be eligible for outside seating on public property, Mayor Matteo Renzi obliges them to have those two baby-friendly objects. There’s hope! But I give you two important tricks in the center of Florence in case of urgent need.

A place to eat: Mc Donald’s has two fast-food restaurants in Florence city center, one in piazza della Stazione 25r (in front of Santa Maria Novella train station) and the second via Cavour 61r (steps from the Duomo). You can dislike or love its hamburger and menu (now you can try McItaly hamburgers created by Gualtiero Marchesi) but once in a while it’s better than many other places especially if you are in a foreign country and need a kitchen that’s always open. Children have their menu with a nice present in it. And they always have baby changing tables in their toilets, so if you need to clean your baby at least you can do so in a comfortable way!

A shop: Prenatal is located in via Brunelleschi 22 beside piazza delle Repubblica in Florence. It’s a must for future moms, as the store carries anything you need for body and birth. But it’s also the first choice for newborns to find anything you need from strollers to linens made for baby-size beds, all kind of clothes, toys and cosmetics. And they know how to create return customers with pre-birth courses, a birth-list, and the Prenatal card that enable you to gain wonderful prizes and discounts. And if you need a 10 minute stop in your shopping session to clean or feed your baby in a quiet place, they have a nursing corner.

Stay tuned on arttrav for more child-friendly posts from Laura! Thanks Laura for the great job… didn’t she do a great job, in English, too?! Laura is open to suggestions for the next kid post, so please add your kid-friendly Florence tips in the comments, or write to her at laura@withandwithin.com. And while you’re at it, why not join withandwithin and see what it’s all about?

Sweater, tops and scarf from BP Studio Outlet

I don’t know if it is because I’m getting old, or because of my job I’m becoming better attuned to good quality clothing, but I find that most of the stuff in stores these days looks like halloween costumes, or costs too much for what it is. In particular I’ve been looking to renew my sweater collection, but have been unsatisfied with the quality at mass-production stores. Around Florence there are a few knitwear outlets like BP Studio and Maglieria di Daisy that have solved my problem.

This year styles have changed dramatically and my stuff from a few years ago makes me look incredibly dated, so hitting the stores was a necessity. This is because in the Italian working world, other than in the more stuffy professions, you can pretty much go to work wearing anything as long as it is very much in style. And as I am in the creative industry and many of my clients are in the fashion industry, all the more reason why I have to show up looking like I have somewhat absorbed the message that I am communicating for them.

Many of you know me as a travel blogger, but I also write blogs and social media content in my job at the communications company Flod. One of our clients is BP Studio, which has been making really nice womens’ knitwear – a bit on the conservative side – since 1959. I already knew the brand because their headquarters and outlet is right next to IKEA, so for years we’ve stopped in after that devastatingly tiring shopping experience. It’s not the kind of outlet where you buy everything in sight, for their prices are not exactly low. But over the years I’ve bought a few pieces and they have always stood the test of time (and of the washing machine).

Now that I know more about BP Studio, I realize that their outlet is an honest deal. Last year’s collection of knitwear is all 50% off. Being high fashion, last year’s style here is this year’s style downtown. If you compare their outlet price to that of a similar item downtown, chances are you’ll pay 10% more here but get something that has quality you can see. For example, I’d spotted a wide cut, thin wool cardigan at Zara for 99 euros and thought that was a bit too much. Don’t get me wrong, I like that store, but I go there when I don’t want to spend a lot but need something quick and cute. I found and bought a similar really wide cardigan at BP Studio in very soft, thin merino wool. The tag price was 107 euros.

quality you can see - if it were in focus!

On a splurge this week I walked out of the outlet with my grey sweater, two lovely cotton tops with boat necks and extra long sleeves (55 each), a huge pure cashmere tube scarf that can be worn an infinite number of ways including as a sweater (99 euro) and a thin leather belt that I’ll wear as a bracelet. At the cash register, an added bonus is that there is a Foursquare special so you can take 10% off the bill if you check in.

In the end I know that I have bought stuff that I’m going to wear almost every day this winter. And I also know that I’m supporting the very local economy, for in the building next door, 30 or so people are at work making these clothes. The threads all come from Italy and the production process is highly manual. Having seen their manufacturing process, I realize that the cost of real Made in Italy fashion is, in cases like this, the real cost of production in this country, not inflated by trends or advertising.

Grey sweater in hand, and with a black one in my closet from last year, I needed something brown to match my new boots and leggings (yeah, wide pants are out – see what to wear for the midseason if you don’t believe me). In the residential area of Le Cure there’s another producer of knitwear that I’ve frequented for years – Maglieria di Daisy. They used to have a store in Prato. In recent years they have stopped making mens’ sweaters (much to Tommaso’s dismay) and produce almost exclusively for other labels. Their t-shirt material tops and leggings are not made here any more, but some of their sweaters are still made right next door, here in Florence. I found a nice long brown sweater in poly/wool/alpaca blend for 60 euros, and once again am happy to have supported a local business.

If you’re looking for a purse, Florentine leather producer Nannini is just steps away with another outlet to satisfy your craving for new things!

Outlet Locations

• BP Studio outlet map
• Maglieria di Daisy outlet map
• Nannini outlet map

Spam non-exhibit poster from http://guerrillaspam.blogspot.com

It’s not easy to do street art in Florence. And there’s not a lot of it. Keep your eyes open and you get to know the few players there are. There’s Clet and his modified street signs and Bue with his gesso masks. And then, occasionally, you see some paste art. Just a bit of rain and it’s gone, so it’s a pretty respectful form, excellent for social commentary (as encouraged by this year’s Ted prize winner, paste artist JR).

Thanks to Clet’s facebook fan page I found out about Spam, an anonymous a collective or a single person who is responsible for much of the paste art around this city. Spam’s work makes strong statements about dis-information in mass media, generally with commentary on current political issues or the general situation in Italy. The visual language used is jarring, stark black and white images of mutated bodies with tv’s superimposed on heads and accusatory slogans. Posters have been pasted not only on walls but on the pavement and in fountains. On one occasion, for-sale signs were put up in broad daylight on major monuments (with light, unharmful tape, not with glue). For excellent photos of past pieces see Gold blog.

Yesterday, in an alley just steps from Ponte Vecchio, Spam installed 193 works. This first (non) exhibit, unauthorized of course, was announced the day before in a (non) press conference and comprises a compendium of previous Spam works as well as some new ones. If you’re interested you’d better go see it before the police get wind of it. It’s all over facebook by now.

Like all street artists, Spam works against the institution, so with this (non) exhibit, Spam criticizes art galleries and museums. An entry sign on the main street and a “title” pasted near the entry mock the typical set up in a gallery. I’d have liked to see a more consistent reference of this sort in the rest of the display, with labels and freshly painted walls that would surprise the visitor who would never expect to see this (but who does expect “graffiti”) in a dark alley.

Spam very nicely sent me press material and photos so that I could write this post, so I don’t feel like I should be critical. All of the press on their site is entirely positive. Nonetheless I have to say it: visually, I don’t much like this work. But conceptually, it’s making important statements in an Italy that is too insensitive to or ignorant of much of what is going on. I see informative art in surprising places in projects like “fuorilegge chi beve,” a crowd-participatory installation of non-invasive hanging signs on fountains around last June’s water referendum; “lo studio nuoce gravemente alla regime,” a true statement printed on flyers placed in 200 books in two libraries in Florence; and even “Big Brother” which decorated the luxurious WC of the Accademia delle Belle Arti (the first art attack, and a possible hint as to the training of said artist/s?).

When it comes to pasting on walls, they use materials that are easily biodegradable and don’t damage the wall or paint, so one really can’t complain about urban degradation. Of the pasted works, I particularly like those that play with the concept of windows, two or more pieces of paper interacting with each other.

On the other hand, I’d like to see more monumental pieces that use beauty more than shock value to attract the viewer. The non-exhibit is a first step in this direction, and I look forward to seeing what’s next.

Street art in Florence is a positive and necessary sign of an urban center that is actually alive and contemporary. Recently we’ve seen more authorized manifestations to encourage this “rebirth” (such as the many events at Le Murate, including motion art and talks organized by FFF), but unauthorized creations are also a necessary ingredient. There may be enough street culture here to count examples on the fingers of one hand, but you can hear Florence raising its head and saying, to quote Monty Python, “I’m not dead yet!”.

Exhibit location

View Larger Map

Your options are: The Firenze Card for 3 days that costs 50 euros and gets you into almost all museums in Florence; or the Amici degli Uffizi card that lasts a calendar year, costs 60 euros for adults, and includes only state museums.

Firenze card features

I was at first critical of the Firenze Card because 50 euros seems a high price to pay for only three days. But, if you are visiting Florence for this amount of time – which is just a bit more than the average stay – this card actually is a good deal. Here is why.

• costs 50 euros per person
• lasts three days
• includes public transportation on ATAF bus – excellent if your hotel is outside the historical center
• now 50 museums are included in the card (up from the original 33)
• includes all state musems like the Uffizi and Accademia, the Boboli gardens, the Medici chapels; plus Medici villas outside of town
• Includes city museums like Palazzo Vecchio and Brancacci Chapel (Masaccio paintings)
• Now includes Palazzo Strozzi who has excellent temporary exhibits (this Fall, see Money and Beauty)
• skip the line at the uffizi, don’t need to reserve or wait.
• You know exactly how much you’re going to spend on museums and are unlikely to spend any more

The Firenze Card was a gamble on the part of the city. You purchase the card for 50 euros and they pay each museum you enter anywhere from 50-100% of the entry fee, depending on the agreement they have. The card has recently been in the news because tourists have been managing to visit more museums than the city planned on, thus the city is actually 100,000 euros in debt because of this. Criticized by some as a “flop,” mayor Renzi rightly assures us that the card is an important service for tourists and that the loss is not a problem.

Amici degli Uffizi card features

I have listed this before, but repeat it here. If you are staying in Florence for the long term or studying abroad for a semester, it’s good to have this card so that you can stop into museums for short visits.

• Costs 60 euros per adult, 100 euros for a family of four (2 adults and 2 kids), or 40 euros for students under 26.
• Lasts one calendar year, so best if you buy it in January!
• With this card, you skip the line at the Uffizi and Accademia
• Access to all state museums in the city, plus the Medici villas outside of town.

Further resources

• If you’re heading into museums you’ll need my Uffizi Guide!
• Plan your trip with this Three Day Florence Itinerary for puchase – I wrote it for unanchor.com
• Prepare for your internet access while traveling – where to get free wifi in florence

Printable map and guide to the Uffizi

This is one of my biggest gifts to the public. You can read this post online or print it out for your visit: a map and guide to important works in the Uffizi. This list works like a do-it-yourself guide. Follow the map and the list so that you stop in front of the most important works in this museum. You wouldn’t want to miss these! But this is not just a list – I ask questions that will help you start looking for interesting things in these paintings.

Free Uffizi podcasts

Designed for children and their families, these four podcasts are pretty fun for anyone!

• Introduction to the Uffizi gallery podcast: download this brief introduction to the building by Vasari and the logic of the collections.
• Uffizi podcast: the Giotto Room: the Giotto room is the first room you enter in the galleries. With large Madonna’s by Giotto, Cimabue and Duccio, this room demonstrates the Tuscan proto-Renaissance. This guide helps you understand the subtle differences between these paintings.
• Uffizi podcast: International Gothic room: When you leave the Giotto room you go into a room with some very important and beautiful paintings that are in a different style. This podcast explains what the International Gothic style means and how it is a pre-cursor to the Renaissance.

Uffizi with children

If you are visiting a major museum with young kids, follow the tips in my post on how to take children to the museum. This is designed for kids of all ages, even toddlers. It IS possible to do this even if you’re not an expert and they’re very little!

Uffizi card

Remember, if you’re planing on visiting more than three or four museums while you’re in Florence, there are two discount museum cards available. One for tourists that lasts three days, and another – just for state museums – that is best for longer stays.

Fall in Italy is the topic of this month’s Italy Blogging Roundtable and frankly, the topic has been killing me. The linguistic escamotage of writing about “falling in love in Italy” did cross my mind, as did the use of the verb to fall, as in falling on one’s face. Why? Because for the city dweller, Fall does not really mean chestnut picking, harvesting vines and chopping firewood for the hibernation ahead. At most, it means that the workday seems longer because it’s getting dark earlier and it gets harder to find a day to hang out laundry due to risk of rain. This year Italy’s had an extended summer, though finally this weekend I was able to dig out my favourite sweater and jacket. Now we will have two months of midseason.

There is a funny expression in Italian that my mother in law and consequently my husband enjoy saying: “non ci sono piu’ mezze stagioni.” It means “there are no midseasons any more.” I asked Tommaso about it and he explained that it’s not really a truism, but rather just one of those things that people say. Italy actually has long and pleasant midseasons. Spring, which I like a whole lot better than Fall, usually takes place in April and May, while Fall may be from mid-September through November. In these seasons there can be surprise thunderstorms, major temperature swings, but also really hot days where in the sun it goes up to thirty degrees.

My mother, when she visits during these months, always asks me what to pack for her trip – and then says “and don’t tell me ‘midseason clothing’ because you know I don’t have anything of the sort.” Well, what should I tell her? The reason Mom has no “midseason clothing” is that she lives in Toronto, where I grew up. I fondly remember Fall in Toronto. The leaves turn such a brilliant red, and in a valley near our house we would always go for walks and take pictures. As a child I’m bundled in a winter jacket, and as a teenager there are photos in which I ham it up in a shearling coat. Fall, apparently, is cold like January in Florence. As I will tell anyone willing to listen, I remember having to plan halloween costumes to accommodate a snowsuit throughout my childhood, foiling all attempts to dress in leggings and pretend to be a cat.

Thankfully in Italy I can enjoy a long midseason and, should I so desire, wear leggings and a cat costume, for it’s not too cold out.

What to pack

If you come to Florence in October you’re going to need to pack:

• Midseason pants. Yup! not linen, not summer pants, and not wool yet. Something in between, like jeans or heavy cotton.
• Layers. Maybe not a tank top, but a tshirt or light shirt should be your bottom layer
• Thin sweaters. It may not be time for a bulky sweater yet, though you could use one as a jacket. Rather this is the time for thin cashmere.
• Scarves. Because the Italian will cover his or her neck against any breeze, and they make for good accessories. Not a heavy wool winter scarf yet, but a pashmina or a big cotton scarf.
• A hat for evenings.
• A leather jacket or a trench coat, OR a big belted sweater.
• Boots if you want to look chic.

You’d never know it but I enjoy playing with Polyvore, so I’ve put together this suggested midseason look

Italy blogging roundtable on the topic of Fall

The portrait of Anselm Keifer, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, by Sophie Fiennes, looks mildly depressing but interesting.

I’ll be getting an all-film pass for November 19-Dec 13… and you?

Press release

Florence, November 19 – December 3, 2011

British artist SARAH MORRIS will be the protagonist of the festival’s opening evening, on Monday, November 21, at the Cinema Odeon in Florence, with the Italian premiere of two of her recent films: Chicago (2011) and Points on a Line (2010).

Israeli artist OMER FAST will present his video-installation TALK SHOW on Saturday, November 19, at Cango-Cantieri Goldonetta (Florence).

The Fourth Edition of LO SCHERMO DELL’ARTE FILM FESTIVAL will be held in Florence from November 19th to December 3rd. Directed by Silvia Lucchesi, the Festival features films and videos in which contemporary arts are the subject. As in previous editions, the Festival is divided into three sections: Sguardi (Glimpses), Cinema d’Artista and Festival Talks. This year, a new section has been added: Mobiles, a new exhibition program which will present, in various locations other than the cinema, single works by international artists; pieces linked with moving images and new media. “Mobiles” takes its title from the sculptures of Alexander Calder, and, like these, it is a mobile, light project, adaptable to different needs.

In this year’s particularly rich Cinema d’Artista program, Sarah Morris, best-known for her documentary films and her broad, square canvases covered with colorful geometric designs (featured in her one-man show at MAMBO in Bologna, in 2009), will be the protagonist of Lo Schermo dell’Arte’s opening evening, with two Italian premieres: Chicago (2011), a picture-portrait of the American city from dawn to night; a look at the daily life of a great metropolis; such as Robert Towne creatd for Los Angeles and Beijing in his previous films. Next up is Points on a Line (USA 2010), devoted to two extraordinary pieces of 20th century architecture: Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson’s Glass House. Soundtracks by British artist Liam Gillick, who was the protagonist of the German Pavillion at the Venice Biennale in 2009, add texture to the two films’ extraordinary images. Sarah Morris has recently been selected, alongside other famous artists such as Tracey Emin, Bridget Riley and Howard Hodgkin, to create a symbolic poster for the London Olympics, in 2012.

Included in the Cinema d’Artista program is Armin Linke’s film Alpi (Alps) (Germany, 2011), the result of his seven-year research on contemporary perception of alpine landscapes, in which he filmed places and situations in the territories surrounding the mountain range.

Omer Fast is the guest of this year’s new Mobiles section, which he will inaugurate on the evening of November 19, at 6 p.m., with the presentation of his three-screen video installation TALK SHOW (2010, 65’, courtesy Arratia Beer Galerie, Berlin) at CANGO-Cantieri Goldonetta; the piece will be on view until Dec. 3. TALK SHOW is a live recording of the performance Omer Fast did in New York for Performa 2009. Set on a TV set in front of a live audience, a character tells a story based on his personal memories linked to events from global political news. The principal character, Lisa Ramaci, tells actress Rosie Perez her own personal

experience of the Iraq War. At the end of her story, Lisa leaves and Rosie re-tells what she’s just heard to a third character, who in turn repeats the story to yet another. The sequence in which seven different characters participate is therefore made up of six different narrations born from the first, by Lisa Ramaci: a non-written story which spontaneously transforms itself from an individual memory into a recitation personalized by various characters; a recitation which runs from intimate memoir to tragedy to comedy.

A protagonist of the most recent Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial in New York, 2009, Omer Fast is considered one of the most important international video artists. His works are in major museums around the world, including the Tate Modern, MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Hamburger Bahnhof ,and the National Galerie in Berlin. Inauguration on Saturday November 19; the artist will be present.

Sarah Morris, Omer Fast and Armin Linke will be guests of the Festival and will give lectures within the Festival Talks program.

Among the not-to-be-missed documentaries featured in the Sguardi (Glimpses) section are the portraits of Swiss artist Urs Fischer (who was a protagonist of the last Venice Biennale), by Iwan Schumacher (Switzerland, 2010), and of the Danish couple Elmgreen & Dragset, in the film How Are You? by Jannik Splidsboel (Denmark, 2011), and the story of a piece by Anselm Kiefer, one of the most famous contemporary artists: Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, by Sophie Fiennes (UK, France, Holland 2010), presented recently at the Cannes Festival. In addition, an interesting and up-to-date look at the art world in Russia: Oligarques, Art et Dollars: les Nouveaux Collectionneurs Russes, by Tania Rakhmanova (France, 2010).

Lo Schermo dell’Arte Film Festival was created in Florence in 2008; it’s an original and unique project in Italy, directed by Silvia Lucchesi; among the very few in the world to deal specifically with the theme of the relationship between contemporary art and cinema. Since its First Edition, the Festival has been included in the series “50 giorni di Cinema Internazionale a Firenze” organized by FST, Mediateca Toscana Film Commission, with the support of Regione Toscana, Provincia e Comune di Firenze.

Lo schermo dell’Arte Film Festival – Fourth Edition

Odeon Firenze, Piazza Strozzi November 21 – 24, 2011 Talk Show by OMER FAST Cango-Cantieri Goldonetta, Florence, Via Santa Maria 23-25 November 19 – December 3, 2011

For information:

www.schermodellarte.org

Gold Florin, 1252-1303

You’d have to have been dropped on the head when young to not notice the fortuitous timeliness of this Fall’s exhibits at Palazzo Strozzi – upstairs “Money and Beauty: Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities” and downstairs “Declining Democracy“. The headliner show addresses the beginnings of modern banking and the consequent fortune of Florence which happily resulted in the commissioning of a lot of art (mostly out of guilt or fear). Now we’re plunged in the depths of an economic recession, and Italy’s in the headlines for being the latest country that might bring down the Eurozone, a harsh downgrade that happened just days after this exhibit opened.

Whenever possible, as the director of the Strozzina, Franziska Nori, explains, the Strozzina attempts to address parallel themes in a contemporary manner. Since the economics of contemporary art was already the topic of an exhibit in 2008, curators took a step further back in time to what allowed the Medici and other banking families to make so much money in Florence: Democracy. By grouping together contemporary artists and theorists from various parts of the world and showing their visual results to the public, the exhibit contrasts positive acts of collaboration with more negative ones that embody the sensation more typical of the Italian resident: a feeling that it’s pointless to try to do anything about our current situation.

I had given myself the formidable task of trying to write a review article of the two exhibits together, but once I saw Declining Democracy and heard Dr. Nori’s answer at the press conference to the question of how the two shows are related, I realized this was a far stretch. The best I can do is this: both exhibits are equally contemporary, and they will make you reflect upon our current, collective situation whether you’re an Italian resident or a visitor from abroad.

A brief summary of the “Money and Beauty” show is in order. To kick things off, we meet the almighty florin (distant ancestor of the almighty dollar), a diminutive little sliver of 24k gold that jump-started the Renaissance in Florence. The Florentines realized that a recognized, high value currency was just what was needed to make trading possible between countries – kind of like today’s euro. Thanks to this currency, and to Florentine bankers’ and merchants’ skill at manipulating its exchange, a lot of money flowed into the city and was reinvested in beautiful things like art and architecture.

What better place than Palazzo Strozzi to address this moment in history! A statement by Giovanni Rucellai, not mentioned in this exhibit, comes to my mind. Rucellai married his ally Palla Strozzi’s daughter, and he sums up either family’s values with regard to what we would now call “conspicuous consumption:”

“I think I have given myself more honour and my soul more satisfaction by having spent money than by having earned it, above all with regard to the building I have done.”

Inside the biggest 15th-century palazzo in town, the exhibition treats the following themes: the monetary unit, usury, exchange, merchant activity, sumptuary laws, bankers and artists, beauty, and crisis. The last section refers to Botticelli’s personal crisis that led him away from Neoplatonist thought and into a personal yet very public religious crisis, not to the crisis in which we find ourselves today, though the parallel is too tempting not to draw… All the rich consumerism of the 15th century culminated in crisis in the 1490s, one of a different sort than today’s, but in neither case was crisis able to stave the flow of consumption on the part of those who could or can afford it.

We are led through the exhibit with the help of texts by the two curators. You can just imagine the discussions (fights?) that author Tim Parks and scholar Ludovica Sebregondi must have had before coming up with the unprecedented solution of giving each his or her own, signed, voice. Parks’ text remarks upon the irony that has always attracted me to both Italy and the Renaissance, while Sebregondi provides necessary historic facts. The childrens’ text is useful to get us thinking about some items from a more contemporary viewpoint.

The school of art history in which I studied is the social-historical approach, primarily associated, at its start, with Michael Baxandall in California in the 1970s. I so internalized texts like his classic Painting and Experience that many parts of this exhibit felt very familiar to me. Merchant life, religion, art and beauty co-existed in the Renaissance, each conditioning the other. Many books have attempted to illustrate this relationship in a visual manner, but none so successfully as this exhibit – with the only problem that exhibits generally don’t have extensive footnotes. Sources, however, are made rather clear, and more can be intuited by the scholarly visitor.

Botticelli, Madonna & Child, 1465, MUDI

Some items in the exhibit, and their related texts, point to the beginnings of our current crisis. A beautiful domestic Madonna and Child by Botticelli (from the Museo degli Innocenti) is of a type that might be the first true “consumer product.” It’s also product placement for the luxurious clothes and jewels that its worshippers could not wear due to sumptuary laws. Like a Renaissance version of the tv show Gossip Girl, which, along with Sex and the City was created exclusively for product placement of clothing and accessories aimed at women who would like to be able to afford them.

A document recording the creation of a Medici holding company that provides the family security from personal bankruptcy is an early example of the structure of companies today. In Italy it’s like the limited liability S.r.l. Probably the Medici were the first furbi to set the base for the “scatole vuote” that are more common in Italy than anyone knows – fake companies created in order to push around money and evade taxes.

Renaissance bankers and merchants -and those fortunate enough to be in the productive circle related to them – financed everything you see in this show, including the palace that contains them. From a taffeta belt with a precious niello on the clasp and the illustrated manuscripts from the Biblioteca Laurenziana that we call “decorative arts,” to what we call “art” – altarpieces, domestic paintings, portaits and more. The rich were great patrons of what we think is art, which they funded for two main reasons: religious works to excuse themselves from usury, and anything else (portraits of themselves, etc) to show off how smart and cultured they were.

Lorenzo di Credit, Portrait of a woman, 1485-90

The question beckons: why is there little to no funding for the arts in Italy today? (i.e. if this whole practice started here…) Should not the banks and the wealthy take it upon themselves to sponsor artists and promote culture? One reason that this does not happen as often as it should (with the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi being one lovely exception) is that “art” now is not “art” then. Renaissance “visual matter” was made almost exclusively upon the request of a patron, who had control over the content if not the style of the final “product.” Only some works were made without a specific patron, such as stock productions of birth plates and decorative items ready to be personalized for the buyer. But seldom did artists make things for themselves. Even Leonardo da Vinci, who filled sketchbooks with marvels, did not make large panel paintings of plants or rushing water. And artists on the payroll, like Mantegna, might have had a secure job but they were at the service of a master. A portrait by Botticelli, or to be specific, the one by Lorenzo di Credi of a young woman (above), serves a specific purpose – to communicate something flattering about the sitter, like one’s facebook stream might do today if well curated.

Michael Bielicky & Kamila Richter, Garden of Error and Decay, 2010

Hop on downstairs with me for a moment, to the Strozzina, where what is on display is a far cry from the eye candy upstairs. It is difficult to imagine who – especially a bank – would want to fund a cartoon wall of ideograms based on a twitter stream that you can shoot, but in which you cannot make a real difference. Or video art (so in fashion), or a website that encourages you to smile at Berlusconi for sixty seconds. All of these works are striking and interesting, but they are produced by independent-thinking artists. This is the hallmark of art today: the creativity of the single person or the group (which actually started in the Renaissance…). Art in the service of corporate interests verges on advertising, and is frowned upon. Yet everything we saw upstairs was advertising. Advertising for patrons’ piety, intelligence, generosity and beauty.

When Damien Hirst titled his diamond-encrusted skull “For the Love of God,” did he know that most Renaissance Florentine account books are prefaced with the phrase “in the name of God and profit”? Perhaps it was not what his mother uttered when she found out what he was doing, but a literary reference to the intrinsic themes of both exhibits – when the day of reckoning comes, what will YOU have done that makes you a (good) citizen?

The right question (interactive exhibit).

Exhibit Info

Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities
Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze, September 17 2011 to Jan 22 2012
Tickets: 10 euros max, 8 euros reduced – and remember the foursquare 2×1 special!
The catalogue is available in Italian from Amazon.it: Denaro e bellezza. I banchieri, Botticelli e il rogo delle vanità. Catalogo della mostra.

And

Declining Democracy. Rethinking democracy between utopia and participation
CCC Strozzina, Firenze, September 22 2011 to Jan 22 2012

Opening hours
Tuesday–Sunday 10.00–20.00
Free Thursdays 18.00–23.00
Monday closed

wifi points with the paas system

From September 28 2011, the city of Florence will be adding 14 new wifi hotspots to the existing network. Beyond the wifi provided free by “Firenze wifi”, there are a few other places in the city to get free internet.

Italian law (thanks to the decreto Pisanu) requires users to register to use internet services, so all of these systems require some form of authentication. Firenze wifi, available most widely in the city, requires the insertion of an Italian cell phone number; a code then reaches you by sms so that you can log in. Paas, on the other hand, has a human authentication system that foreigners can more easily use.

Free internet in Florence with Paas

If you do not have an italian cell phone, you’ll want to use this system to get free internet for a few hours a day. The Paas system is active in various closed spaces that are open to the public, such as libraries, associations, circoli, etc. Paas is set up by the Regione Toscana and the same access data can be used in points across Tuscany.

The most central place on the paas system, and the best place to sign up for a user card, is the Biblioteca delle Oblate on via dell’Oriuolo. You need to go to the desk on the first floor and sign up for a free library card, and then to another desk that will take a photocopy of your ID and activate your internet card. This service works very well, and you can enjoy excellent study spaces, open til midnight, with free wifi.

Search for Paas locations – free internet in Tuscany

Free internet in Florence with Wifi Firenze

With the city’s wifi service you get one free hour per day. Registration is via italian cell phone. When you find yourself in a wifi zone, connect and point the browser to any page, and you’ll be asked to enter your name (nome), last name (cognome) and cell phone number. You’ll receive (hopefully) an sms that asks you to phone the following number with that same cell phone: 0554650034. Doing so authenticates you to use the system, and you get a password via sms.

These piazzas in florence have active internet service: Piazza Signoria – Piazza S.Croce- Piazza S.Spirito – Piazza SS Annunziata – Parterre – via Canova c/o Anagrafe – Piazza Ghiberti e Annigoni – Piazza Alberti Villa Arrivabene -Piazzale Michelangelo – Piazza Bambini e Bambine di Beslan – piazzale delle Cascine – Parco di San Donato

As of September 28 2011 the following locations along the arno will be inaugurated: Obihall (ex Saschall), Anconella park, Albereta park, Piazza Ferrucci, Lungarno Pecori Giraldi, Bellariva Garden, Torre San Niccolò/Le Rampe, Lungarno Torrigiani, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Lungarno Santa Rosa, Piazzale Kennedy, Piazza dell’Isolotto

Other sources of wifi

-Wired.it map of wifi spots – the best resource for italian wifi locations, search your location in the map and click each point for info

-Cafe’s with free wifi – this map and app shows bars and restaurants where wifi is free. I’m not sure how up to date it is.

-free wifi firenze app for iphone appears to be a homegrown app, I don’t know if it is reliable

One of this app’s writers, Rebecca Winke, once said that I hate Assisi but that she’d convince me soon enough that it is a great place worth visiting. Rebecca, make the beds at Brigolante cuz I’m coming to visit. Your app has gotten me excited about seeing some of Umbria’s hidden secrets.

Part of what makes this app great (and worth buying for under 3 euros) is the fun writing style by Alex Leviton and Rebecca. Being familiar with Rebecca’s blog but not with Alex’s writing, I find the entries to be very uniform in their style and sense of humour, which seems to reflect good team-work… you get the sense that they had fun writing this app. Their enthusiasm for the region is contagious; their casual frankness (parking evaluated as “plenty” or wifi as “spotty”) makes you feel like you’re being guided along by a friend. I can easily see myself traveling around the area with this app on my iPad. No internet connection is required, which is perfect when exploring things that are off the beaten track.

San Felice di Narco, relief. Photo: Rebecca Winke.

This app does not tell you everything there is to see in Umbria. Rather, it takes you to places that other tourists have hardly discovered. Which is why I suddenly want to go there. I want to go to Southern Umbria for some river rafting and to check out the medieval carvings at San Felice di Narco that represent the locals’ “bit of trouble with a dragon”. Closer to Assisi (and thus a more doable weekend trip for me) is the Brufa sculpture garden that Rebecca wrote about in a guest post on Contemporary art in Umbria, and the appealing little votive church of Madonna del Bagno (if I pray, will a clean public bathroom be always near to me?). For travelers sick of “regular” art museums, Umbria boasts a fishing museum along lake Trasimeno, and a wine museum at Torgiano.

In terms of functionality, the app works very nicely. I particularly enjoy browsing by map view, with little pictures that zoom up with a title and witty subtitle that gives you a good sense of what the place is before you click through to the full listing. You can comment on the “posts” in the app, which I assume show up once approved, adding a social dimension akin to a blog. One improvement I’d suggest is an opening page that highlights the “about” pages (about the authors, umbria, accommodation types, and each area of the region), which you might easily miss if you don’t start by browsing everything alphabetically.

Conclusion: buy this app. Don’t be a cheapskate, you really cannot see Umbria properly without it.

(Disclosure: they sent me a free app code, but did not ask for a review. This post comes out of my spontaneous enthusiasm for a job well done.)

Photo by Emiliano Mancuso, at Palazzo Medici Riccardi Sept 6-12

A short list of what’s on in September 2011 here in Florence.

EVENTS

Sept 6-11, Emergency, incontro nazionale. Talks every evening and all weekend on diverse themes related to world issues, from doctors to journalists, plus some awesome free concerts.

Sept 10: Open studios at Villa Romana, the german think tank for contemporary art. This appears to be a very cool opportunity to see what they’re up to, as well as participate in some special activities and talks.

Sept 11: Mukki Day is a fun day for kids and adults to explore the new Mukki milk plant, with kids’ games, milk product tasting and who knows what else!

September 15-17, Nextech Festival at Stazione Leopolda, purported to be an electronic music extravanganza of european proportions. Explore www.nextechfestival.com.

FREE state museum access on September 24 and 25 (for the Giornate Europee del Patrimonio 2011) and Tuesday September 27 (for Martedi in arte – last tuesday of each month, museums are open late too)

Sept 24-25 is Wine Town Firenze, an event that provides an opportunity to taste numerous wines in some interesting places in Florence, some of which are usually closed to the public, others created for the occasion with temporary stands, etc. (Last year I critiqued the promotion of this event as a drinking fest; I cannot say what the quality will be this year, though invite comments – such as the one by “Rif” below – to let me and you readers know if it’s a good time or not.)

EXHIBITS OPENING

Sept 6-12, exhibit “Stato d’Italia” at Palazzo Medici Riccardi. Photos by Emiliano Mancuso tell the story of the last three years in Italy, from economic crisis to the Lampedusa immigration camps (see photo above)

Opening September 6th (until Nov 8 ) at the small OTTO art gallery is Oh! Nirica (beds and tools for dreaming) with the whimsical sail bed designed by Mauro Lovi, and other design objects of interest.

Mauro Lovi, letto a barca

Opening Sept 17 at Palazzo Strozzi is Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities, the much anticipated Renaissance themed exhibit of the year.

Opening September 23 at the Strozzina is the contemporary exhibit Declining Democracy. Rethinking democracy between utopia and participation

FILMS

Thursday September 8: The Big Chill (1983) is being projected in English for free at Le Murate (see here)

Sundays from Sept 4-25, animated art films at EX3. This line-up was on in the summer, but the gallery was closed for August. Now for Sundays in September you can see short animated art films by international artists, free. Full details here.

Project by Prof. M. Ruffilli, Prof. G. Morolli, and Natali Multimedia s.r.l.).

It hit the news yesterday and the debate has exploded in the press: Matteo Renzi has declared that there will be a referendum to allow Florentines to decide if the facade of the Church of San Lorenzo should be finished according to drawings by Michelangelo. This is not a joke post but a summary of what is in the news, I swear.

In 2007 I wrote about a projection of Michelangelo’s drawing on the unfinished facade and presented a few points to consider against finishing the facade of San Lorenzo.  At the time it was just hypothesis. In past years I’ve enjoyed talking about this concept with art history students, who surprisingly often argue that we should finish it. In the meantime a proposal to create a temporary facade was almost approved, and funds raised. The project was also part of an elaborate joke in November 2009, in which I participated by posting this article claiming that the facade would receive a new ceramic design (see Firenze 2059).

Now, I’m afraid, there is no joke. Renzi wants to spend public money to make people go to the polls to say yay or nay to spending 3 million euros in donors’ money (though some scholars estimate that it would cost tens of millions of euros to do it the way Michelangelo had in mind, with marble from Seravezza and bronze inserts). It is possible that this call for a referendum is just a provocation, and in fact the opposition charges that the mayor is simply attempting to distract attention from other issues around San Lorenzo with this “embarrassing proposition.”

The provocation (perhaps serious) about the facade came towards the end of a press conference about the requalification of the San Lorenzo district. The vice-mayor Nardella has suggested longer opening hours for the central market and improved vehicle access. Renzi’s plan includes removing 250 licenses for “ambulanti” (vendors). The opposition (PdL) retaliates with a statement that this puts 1000 peoples’ jobs at risk. The discussion amongst politicians has little historical or art historical in it, except the one by Valdo Spini who rightly points out that there are plenty of unfinished structures and open debates that we could just as easily dig up; he reminds us that this isn’t just your average unfinished building but one by Brunelleschi, hardly ugly.

Voting systems have been activated on the websites of the two major newspapers Florence areas – Corriere and Repubblica – asking citizens to express their vote of yes or no for the facade. I am surprised by the results which so far show the “yes” side winning on the question “should we do the facade up the way Michelangelo intended?” Maybe some did not understand the question!

How would you vote… and why? Your answers… below!

Sources: La Repubblica di Firenze, Corriere Fiorentino, Comune di Firenze press releases.

La Bottega di Morello

Above Sesto Fiorentino (well, really, above Quinto), this pizzeria and ristorante has a large patio and garden. You can order a hearty tagliere at aperitivo time in the bar area, or sit down for a full meal. The menu isn’t very summery, with polenta and mushrooms or bistecca year round, but as you’re freezing for the first time in weeks, you might actually want to eat this stuff. Location: Via Di Gualdo 1, Sesto Fiorentino, www.labottegadimorello.it

Le Lance

In San Domenico di Fiesole, this huge restaurant and pizzeria seats hundreds of people in its terraced olive grove. While food can be pretty mediocre, it’s a good place for large groups. Pizza is the light, thin Florentine style. A tagliere or wooden board of pizza by the meter is available with the mystifying price of 9 euros per person. You get half a meter of pizza whether you’re 1, 2 or 3 people who order the pizza together, not a good deal unless one person gets the pizza, and another just gets a salad! (Here, a photo of my brother in law who took the challenge of eating the whole half meter of pizza by himself; having failed, he got a box to bring it home.) Location: Via Mantellini 2/b Fiesole, www.lelance.it

Half a meter of pizza for one.

Lo Zocchi

Above the park of Pratolino, renowned walk and picnic location, is this large restaurant with indoor and outdoor options. Typical tuscan fare or pizza is served, often with live music, in a rustic and somewhat tacky atmosphere that is lots of fun with a group of friends. Location: via Fiorentina 428, Pratolino (FI), www.ristorantezocchi.it

Ristorante Mario alla Querciola

One of my perennial favourites despite the never-changing menu, the outside space is limited so reservation is a must. The pear filled pasta with gorgonzola sauce is my fave while meat eaters say that the steak is particularly tender. Location: Via Faentina n.428, Caldine (Fiesole), www.ristorantemarioallaquerciola.it

Piccolo Trianon

In the hills above Careggi, alarge outside terrace perfect for cooling off while eating typical tuscan ravioli or pasta; the specialty of the house, though, is anything fried. Good also for a sunday lunch. Location: Via dante da castiglione 20, Sesto fiorentino (FI), T 055 402007

As you well know, July 4th is independence day, and so the Tuscan American Association puts on their annual shindig, which this year will be on Saturday July 2 and Sunday July 3d. I place bets on sunday being the more busy of the two, with fireworks slated for 10:30pm after you stuff yourself at the BBQ. Held at Parco d’arte Pazzagli, full info here.

On July 4th itself, the much disputed Hard Rock Cafe Firenze opens in Piazza della Repubblica, and the American restaurant’s contribution to the city, other than overpriced burgers, is a free Simple Minds concert in the Piazza. Yeah, I’ll go to that. Hold the fries, though. 7-1opm, free, expect a big casino.

On July 5th, just to keep the week busy, Telecom’s Working Capital is coming to Palazzo Vecchio with their tour dei mille. At 17:30 a series of talks, including astrophysicist Margherita Hack live by video connection, followed by a free aperitivo. In Italian, good for the business minded, sounds interesting.

Cinema Odeon’s English programming is almost over for the summer, but first, the Harry Potter Marathon. Check their listings for complete show times – the marathon starts July 7th, and all films are in English with Italian subtitles.

Now, I expect you all to come out on Monday July 11, 2011, for the third annual English Night organized by ToscanaIn with the support of The Florentine, i.e…. organized by ME. Every year this event keeps getting bigger… and more fun. This year we’re holding it at Syracuse University in order to be sure that there is room for everyone, because last year’s location only fit 80 people and there was a waiting list! The topic is “A Tavola: Cultural experience through conviviality” and, you guessed it, we’re going to tell funny personal experiences about food. The talks, in English, are by some native Anglos but this year we have also opened up the “expat” night to members from China and Mexico! 10 euros gets you an evening out and an ample aperitivo (enough to call it dinner). Come out and meet some nice new people. Registration required at http://toinatavola.eventbrite.com.

Until June 9th, FESTA, an english speaking theatre troupe, is putting on “Dracula at the Bargello,” part of the museum’s summer events that also include Florence Dance Festival and concerts by the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina. See the pdf estate al bargello.

Meanwhile, there are almost nightly free concerts by international youth orchestras playing in Piazza della Signoria under the Loggia dei’ Lanzi – a lovely gift for tourists and residents alike. All concerts are at 9pm, the dates in July are 1, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 24. Full details here.

The second half of the month is looking a little bit lame, unless you think the Campi Beer Festival is a good time (July 27-28). If you know anything I don’t, please comment here!

The itinerary provides an hour-by-hour plan of what to see, taking into account opening times and locations of each highlight. We mix museums and churches with shopping and eating. I’ve listed my favourite restaurants for lunch and dinner each day, and lots of special tips for a great visitor experience.

I put many, many hours into creating this itinerary that includes maps, walking directions, opening hours, contact info and more for each location. It offers much more than you can find on my blog (or on any other website as far as I know). For this reason, it is not free, but rather for sale for the very reasonable price of $4.99 USD. If you’re planning a three day visit to Florence, buy this itinerary. Trust me, you’ll like it.

For those of you not familiar with Foursquare, it’s a location-based social network with which users “check in” to places on the system and share their location with their friends both on Foursquare and on other social networks. The driving factors in this gamified system are collecting points, badges, mayorships (being the person who checks in the most at a place), tips from others, and special offers. Locations are either automatically “in” the Foursquare system or are added by users, but to add a special, the venue owner must first “claim” it online. You can tell if a venue has been claimed if you look at it via browser and see that there is a website link and description available. Businesses, such as bars and restaurants, can reward customers who check in or are the mayor at their location by giving something in return – something free, a discount, a membership, etc.

Museums in the States have been quick to catch on to the possibility of rewarding return visitors with this system, but Italian arts institutions have lagged behind, likely because many are state-run. However, the MART, always very ahead of things when it comes to social media, already claimed their venue in late 2010, permitting them to add a special (three checkins got you a free ticket). Perhaps because at that time there were not many Italian users of Foursquare, the museum chose to not continue with the special. Rather, their staff curates the venue’s and city’s tips while they focus on other social networks (and do an exemplary job at it, too).

Readers of this blog already know that Palazzo Strozzi is my favourite hangout in this city. Working as social media project manager at the communications agency Flod, I was interested in testing out the process of claiming a venue and setting up a special… but I needed a client to test it on. I offered this to the team at Palazzo Strozzi, who was immediately interested in the potential of this niche social network in the context of museums. Flod thus offered Palazzo Strozzi the consultancy and service necessary to get a Foursquare special online and functioning. All the staff at the museum is now aware of the location-based application and their participation in it.

Being on Foursquare is right in line with Strozzi’s social approach to the museum visit, as well as with the current offerings, exhibits on the youth of Picasso, Miro and Dali, and in the Strozzina, Virtual Identities which is about how we construct ourselves on social networks (see my review). Visitors frequently check in at Palazzo Strozzi (on average two per day) and share their experiences on social networks; now the Florentine institution wants to reward loyal museum-goers. People who check in at Palazzo Strozzi using Foursquare will now unlock a Special Offer which, by showing this screen at the ticket office, entitles them to a 2×1 ticket for the current exhibits. The museum hopes that by encouraging visitors to bring a friend to the museum for free, they will have an extended social experience, both online and in person. You can see Palazzo Strozzi’s special offer on Foursquare via browser, or check in and check it out in person!

The historical costumes in imitation of Risorgimento Italy were executed with minute detail and skill, but honestly it was even more fun to see how these young people were inspired by the past to invent new and elegant forms. My two favourites are a grey silk and lace evening dress – totally wearable – and an absolutely huge white tulle evening dress that would be the perfect princess bridal dress. Both modeled by particularly attractive teens.

Here are the best of my photos:

Don't miss Culture Clash on June 9th!

I’m sorry for not writing much these days – there’s a lot to do at work, a million events to attend, and some that I am organizing. As I scribble into my calendar I see that June 2011 has a lot of good stuff to do in Florence so here’s a list of some of my top picks – events that I certainly won’t be missing!

June 5: Cricket Festival in the Cascine Park: this is how Florence has celebrated Ascension Day since the 19th century, with a kind of carnival in which there are crickets in cages (now fake ones due to animal rights’ activists’ intervention). All day in Cascine park, see comune.fi.it for info.

June 8: Personal Branding come aumentare le proprie opportunità formative e professionali col web 2.0 (in italiano) with ToscanaIN at Le Murate, 7pm, 10 euro aperitivo. This looks interesting as it will be an interactive workshop on how to make yourself look good online. See www.toscanain.org for info.

June 9: Culture Clash with The Florentine (and yours truly) at Le Murate, 7pm. We’re putting a young Italian journalist, Edoardo Lusena of the Corriere Fiorentino, up against Deirdre Pirro, an Australian born expat lawyer of another generation, for a moderated discussion about the aspects that unite and divide the expat and Florentine populations. Without getting too pesante, we will address issues of multiculturalism, integration, civic pride, work life customs and more. Free aperitivo to follow – come meet me and pick up a copy of the paper too. Full info here.

June 11: For the love of Contemporary: from 2pm to 2 am the next day Palazzo Vecchio is opening its doors and mind to contemporary art. A lecture series (in italian) in the salone del Cinquecento and various late night openings at museums and galleries, with special activities all night. See comune.fi.it for calendar forthcoming.

June 13: Google and Architecture: Firenze GTUG (google user group) presents a special guest from Google’s offices in the states (who will speak in English). See tinyurl.com/4yazgpc, RSVP required.

June 20-21: Frontiers of Interaction at Otel. This is an important “geek” conference that I’ve been gearing up for all year. Last year we attended it in Rome and it was a real rush to hear about truly cutting edge research and technology. What comes up at this conference usually comes out in mainstream news a few years later. The Florentine is a media partner; subscribers to their newsletter get a discount to this important conference, email events@theflorentine.net for how to get your discount code. For conference info: frontiersofinteraction.com

June 23: KnitLounge2 with The Florentine (and me) and BettaKnit at Le Murate: A reprise of the April knitting event that was a huge success. This time we’re making just necklaces, 15 available + 15 free bring your own spots. Email me at bettaknit@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

June 28: Martedi ad arte free tuesday night opening of state museums in all of Italy, including, for Florence, Ufffizi, Accademia, Medici Chapels, Bargello, etc.

Coloured lights along the arno

100,000 Florentines and tourists alike flooded the streets of Florence’s historical center last night for the Notte Bianca “Insonnia Creativa”. The creative (and apparently low-cost) solution of interventions in the city’s piazze, on the bridges, late openings of museums and private institutions spread crowds out at every corner of the city and made everyone a part of something positive. People were generally good natured and polite, although it was hard to even walk in certain areas due to the crowds. The city was well organized with portable toilets and emergency staff on hand.

Here’s my account of what I saw, liked, and photographed.

We started out with dinner with my inlaws at Trattoria il Pennello near via del Corso (traditional but good Florentine restaurant well frequented by locals); then walked from there over to Ponte alla Carraia (transformed into a forest), along the lungarni, stopping in piazza santo spirito and piazza del Carmine.

The Arno was protagonist of the evening, a joining feature of the city beautifully lit on both sides with the installation “No Dump: pimp my river” (no artist name given). The photography exhibit “Riverboom: Firenze vs. il mondo” edited by Valentina Gensini was projected on the facade of Santo Spirito and can be seen all month as giant posters in 100 of the city’s advertising spaces; this was probably my favourite installation, I could have watched it for an hour.

Riverboom projection on Santo Spirito

In Piazza del Carmine they set up luminous coloured stages for people to sit and watch “Blah blah blah night” with a series of performances and concerts. We stuck around to hear (and photograph) our friend Gianpaolo d’Amico on guitar accompany sound designers Lorelei & Pulse for a beautiful multi-sensorial electronic music show.

Lorelei & Pulse + Gianpaolo d'Amico

Apparently we also missed a lot of things – I wish we could go out again today and take it all in. A few installations in the city’s piazze will be available for a few weeks, including the “Orto-grafia” in Largo Annigoni (the piazza in front of Dada and La Nazione). There were architectonic elements added to Piazza Duomo that I am really sorry not to have seen, and I don’t know if they’ll be staying up.

I know we can’t do a “notte bianca” every week – and frankly I’m not a late-night person – but I hope that we can continue to produce “creativity” with this kind of energy. What I saw was a lot that could be termed “Authorized Street Art” produced by some of the city’s best collectives and associations. Many of the producers of the White Night are the same as those involved in animating the new spaces of Le Murate, the ex-jail that is finally open daily noon to midnight for a calendar of activities from theatre to installations and conferences. Both the success of the Notte Bianca and that of the first few events at Le Murate (amongst them one I organized with The Florentine and BettaKnit) demonstrate that Florence is a city that knows how to have a good time.

The statue of Dante by Enrico Pazzi was inaugurated in 1865 on occasion of the poet’s 600th birthday. Originally he was placed at the center of the piazza, but after the flood of 1966 he was cleaned and relocated to the church steps in 1971. This choice was in part to accommodate calcio storico (historic soccer) which is played in this piazza in the end of June.

source: comune di firenze

Florence’s most notorious scarlet woman left an elegant mark on the city that loved to hate her.

Arttrav is pleased to host this innovative and well-researched article by US-based writer Joanne O’Sullivan.

Alessandro Allori, “Portrait of Bianca Cappello Second Wife of Francesco I de Medici,” Galleria degli Uffizi.

From her portrait on walls of the Uffizi gallery, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany stared out at me, begging to be reconsidered. Reviled in her time as a spy, witch, and even murderess, Bianca Capello’s life spans the middle years of the 16th century, swelling with every romantic element imaginable: doomed love, treachery, alchemy and poison. The reckless daughter of Venetian aristocracy who became first mistress, then wife to the dour Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici, Capello made few friends in her adopted city and died under mysterious circumstances in 1587, just a day after her husband. But while she may not have left a sterling legacy, she left her mark on Florence, and her presence can still be felt today. Retracing her footsteps provides a fascinating glimpse into an often-overlooked period in Florentine history.

Fugitive Days, San Marco

Francesco de Medici painted by Bronzino

In 1563, the ravishing fifteen-year-old Bianca (related to one of Venice’s oldest families through her mother) was promised in marriage to a Doge three times her age when she eloped under cover of darkness with a Florentine bank clerk she had spied from her window. Piero Bonaventuri, son of a once-prominent Florentine family, spirited Bianca away to his family home in Piazza San Marco (said to be Piazza San Marco, 1) and the two were declared outlaws in Venice.

Bianca soon found herself in greatly reduced circumstances, doing chores for her husband’s penniless parents. The story goes that while taking a break from her drudgery one day, she was seen at the window by Francesco de Medici, eldest son of Cosimo I, who was often in the area visiting his casino di delizie (little house of delights) now the Court of Appeals (via Cavour, 57). It was love at first sight for the odd, somber, future Grand Duke, whose hobbies included alchemy, making porcelain and fireworks, and from that moment on, pursuing the lovely, lonely Bianca.

A Kept Woman, Orti Orticellari

Once positioned as Francesco’s mistress, Bianca (along with the cuckolded Piero) was set up in the Palazzo Venturi-Ginori (via della Scala, 85) with its adjoining gardens the Orti Oricellari (via degli Orti Oricellari, 9). Built in the 1490s by Bernardo Rucellai (the brother-in-law of Lorenzo il Magnifico), the property was (ironically) once the seat of the Platonic Academy, host to Renaissance thought leaders such as the humanists Pico della Miradola and Marsilio Ficino, and Machiavelli.

Polyphemus in the Orti Orticellari, by Antonio Novelli (photo: author)

Under Bianca’s supervision, the gardens, which had fallen into disuse, were restored and became the scene of frequent amusing parties. For one event, Bianca is said to have had the garden fitted with a concealed trap door that, when triggered by unsuspecting guests, led to an underground pit occupied by servants in devil masks. Traumatized partygoers were later welcomed above ground by maidens wearing little more than body paint and strategically-placed jewels. Today, the giant statue of Polyphemus commissioned by Bianca and executed by Antonio Novelli still graces the garden.

High Society, Via Maggio

In 1565, Francesco entered a loveless political marriage to Joanna, the daughter of the Austrian emperor, and in 1574 commissioned the versatile artist Bernardo Buontalenti to build Bianca a house closer to the Medici’s Palazzo Pitti. Today, the Medici crest is still visible on the façade Casa Bianca Capello (via Maggio, 26) along with the etched-stone Capello family crest, a hat that looks rather like a pith helmet. The exterior decoration is by Berndardino Pocetti, in the black and white sgraffito technique of which he was considered the master. Pocetti used sea birds and dolphins in his designs to remind Capello of her native Venice.

Casa Bianca Capello, designed by Buontalenti, sgraffito by Pocetti (photo: author)

Florentines were not overly fond of Francesco, who had build the Vasari Corridor over the Ponte Vecchio so that he wouldn’t have to interact with commoners. But enemies of Venice that they were, they were even less fond of his mistress Bianca, who was said to have hired assassins to off Bonaventuri, who was ambushed and killed on the Ponte Santa Trinita. (In truth, he was murdered by the brothers of his mistress, whom they also killed for shaming the family).

Pleasure Gardens, Pratolino

Giambologna Appennino at Pratolino (photo: arttrav)

Among the numerous Medici country homes, none compared to the magnificent Pratolino, the villa and gardens just outside Florence (via Bolognese, Pratolino, about 12 km outside Florence) designed for Bianca by Buontalenti. In it’s day, Pratolino must have seemed magical, featuring water gardens with automated statues, secret grottos, twin waterfalls cascading down the front lawn, and benches that squirted water on unsuspecting sitters. Peacocks and exotic game roamed the grounds and the quiet was occasionally disturbed by rumbling explosions as Francesco experimented with fireworks in his lemonhouse.

While the original villa was abandoned and then destroyed in 1820, the property is now a public park (open May-September) featuring the original pageboy house, now called Villa Demidoff after the Russian prince who converted it into a home in the nineteenth century. The original chapel remains, as well as traces of the grottos, but the park’s real star attraction is the Appennino, the 33-foot-tall colossal statue by Giambologna, rising from the primordial ooze of a pond, representing the late Renaissance fascination with man’s attempts to dominate nature.

Art and Alchemy, Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti

When the Grand Duchess Joanna died in 1578, Francesco and Bianca were married, first secretly at Palazzo Pitti, then very publicly in a ceremony at the Duomo in 1579, to which Bianca arrived in a carriage drawn by lions. Now the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Bianca was forgiven by her family and the Venetian doges, who named her a “true and particular daughter of the Republic.” Settled into married life, Bianca invited her brother Vittorio to join her, making more enemies at court and further fueling the long-standing rumors of espionage for Venice. Francesco, in turn, solidified his eccentric reputation, conducting alchemical experiments in his secret studiolo (Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza Signoria). His fascination with the production of ceramics and porcelain in particular produced a collection of exquisite objects now on display at the Porcelain Museum at Palazzo Pitti. One small fragment of a piece of porcelain produced by his alchemical experiments is on display at the Bargello museum in the Majolica room.

Murder Most Foul, Poggio a Caino

Poggio a Caiano (photo: arttrav)

Lorenzo the Magnificent built the Villa Medicea di Poggio a Caiano (Piazza dei Medici, 12, Prato, about 20 km from Florence) as a hunting lodge. Bianca Capello is said to have hated the place, which wasn’t elegant enough for her taste, despite the graceful frescos by Pontoromo. Ironically, it was here that she spent the last night of her life.

What happened at the villa on a day in mid-October 1587 has long been a mystery, but while hunting with his arch-rival, brother Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici, Francesco fell ill, and within 48 hours both he and Bianca were dead. The newly ensconced Grand Duke Ferdinando cited malaria as the cause, but rumors spread that Bianca had baked a poison tart intended for her brother-in-law, and when her beloved husband mistakenly sampled it and fell ill, she committed suicide by eating it as well. While Francesco was remembered with a lavish civic funeral, Bianca’s body was never found, and the Capello crest was summarily chiseled off all Medici residences.

Eternal Slumber, Medici Chapels

In Michelangelo’s Medici Chapels (Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, Church of San Lorenzo), you can now find the Grand Dukes Francesco and Ferdinando, such bitter enemies in life, spending eternity side by side in matching marble tombs. In 2006, Francesco’s remains were exhumed and toxicologists conducted tests, concluding that his tissue contained evidence of arsenic poisoning. A 2010 study reversed that finding, suggesting the cause of death was malaria after all. We may never know what really happened to the couple, but there’s no question that even centuries after her death, bewitching traces of Bianca Capello’s larger-than-life story still linger in the city that loved to hate her.

Author bio: Joanne O’Sullivan lived and worked in Florence as an English teacher and educational travel programmer. She now writes about art, travel and culture from Asheville, North Carolina. You can read more of her writing about traveling with kids at The Wanderlists or download Joanne’s ebook “The Art Lover’s Guide to Traveling with Kids (North American edition)” at www.guidegecko.com.

Bibliography

Pozzana, Mariachiara, Gardens of Florence and Tuscany (Giunti Editore, 2001)
Pratolino, Villa Demidoff (Alinari, 1990)
Steegman, Mary G., Bianca Capello (Norman Remington and Company, 1913).
Vannucci, Marcello. Le Donne di Casa Medici (Newton and Compton, 1999)
Yriarte, Charles, Florence: Its History, The Medici, The Humanists, Letters, Arts (Henry T. Coates and Co., 1987).

Display at Palazzo Strozzi

The exhibit Angry Young Men: Picasso, Mirò, Dalì, the Birth of Modernity is on now through July at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence and my full review of it is available in the latest issue of The Florentine. It starts like this:

Have you ever met someone famous when he or she was still young and unknown? That’s how I felt coming out of Palazzo Strozzi’s latest exhibit, Picasso, Miró, Dalí. Angry Young Men: the Birth of Modernity. With a cinematographic yet scholarly approach, curators Christoph Vitali and Eugenio Carmona lead us through the youthful works of these three Catalan artists who grappled with nineteenth-century artistic conventions and developed a new form of vision that was to shape the modern world. (And it continues like this…)

What I didn’t have space to write about there was the beautiful display – in true PS tradition. At the press conference I met the architect responsible for the design and mounting of these exhibitions, Carlo Pellegrini, and he pointed out a few elements that I hadn’t noticed.

It is apparent from the start that this show is laid out in a particular way, with the whole large first room given to text, a projection, and two sculptural works not by the artists in question. The rest is an undulating and luminous path in which 90 degree angles are not present. Signage is printed to look like a book (although the concept is intended to parallel a movie, not a book – is this a form of differentiated learning?) while individual “labels” have become large tombstone-like wedges below the works – at times a bit too invasive. The childrens’ signs that always accompany a selection of the pieces at Palazzo Strozzi are placed next to these wedges but are upside-down.

As there are not a lot of actual paintings in this show, the display is all the more protagonist. Display also guides our view in ways we often don’t realize. Like Brunelleschi who balanced architectural elements across the naves of churches, the sculptural forms of the temporary walls as well as the layout of the rooms themselves are used to direct our viewpoint to generate key comparisons between the artists across the whole display that complement those set up intentionally by the curator in each room. My photos below are focused on showing you the display rather than the works of art.

As I mentioned in the article, Palazzo Strozzi offers a really great range of collateral activities. There are concerts for free on Thursday nights in April (performed by youth orchestras), there’s a film series on the theme of identity, there are drawing lessons in the galleries… Many of these are free, though those in the gallery require an entry ticket, making it a fine idea to purchase an annual membership right now in order to take full advantage!

There’s one activity that is not in their printed pamphlets but is an official Palazzo Strozzi activity, and that is Slow Art 2011 which I am co hosting (as The Florentine) with friends at Palazzo Strozzi. Sign up for Slow Art Florence 2011 or read about it on this blog. It’s a replay of slow art 2010 at Santa Croce, it costs only 8 euros and the museum is throwing in a special gift and an English High Tea catered by my friend Paula… what a steal!!

Photos of the display

Slow Art 2010 at Santa Croce was great, we had an interesting bilingual discussion at Brac and concluded that we ought to do this more often. Now for 2011 I wanted to do something a bit bigger, a bit more professional, a bit more organized. So I got a museum and the local English newspaper involved… Read on to find out what we have in store.

Slow Art 2011 is Saturday April 16th and the Florence event is going to be held at Palazzo Strozzi during the blockbuster exhibit “Angry Young Men: Picasso, Mirò, Dalì“. It is co-organized by Palazzo Strozzi and The Florentine.

How it works: You can visit the exhibit at any time during that day and look at the six works we’ve chosen for you (you’ll need 90 minutes to do so, and should not attempt to see the rest of the show at that time). Then you’ll join us at 5pm for English High Tea on the Loggiata (third floor open space – bring your jacket!) and we’ll divide up into groups speaking English, Italian, or Spanish – and talk about the experience. You don’t need to know anything about art to participate. You also don’t need to bring anything – you’ll get a “looking kit” when you arrive!

A bit about us: Devorah Block of Palazzo Strozzi’s education department is applying her expertise to the choice of works and is training a crew of us to moderate the discussion that will take place over the delicious English High Tea that the museum is sponsoring. We’ve developed a whole “slow art looking package” that you’ll receive after checking in at the ticket office, and other than the looking guide we’re working on for you, there’s also a special gift from the museum! The city’s English news-magazine The Florentine (where I work) is providing assistance with promotion and graphics (and allowing me time to organize the event).

What does it cost? This is a real steal: you pay only the 8 euro discounted entry ticket to the museum and the excellent High Tea and discussion is included – plus Palazzo Strozzi has put a really beautiful little gift into your looking kits!

Sign up now

We need you to sign up in advance so that we can prepare your tea and a group that speaks your language. Buy signing up on EventBrite you commit to attending and will pay for your ticket directly at the museum. We ask that you kindly cancel your online registration should you realize, even at the last minute, that you cannot attend.

I’ve integrated this handy signup form here; to read the full details and then sign up, go to the eventbrite website.

Spring buds on the trees!

Today was the perfect weather for a good urban hike – a good free activity, a way to get some exercise, and very pleasant too. Florence has the advantage of being surrounded by beautiful green hills and from certain areas it’s very easy to just walk out into the countryside. So if you’re sick of the city and dying for some fresh air and nature, here’s a two-hour walking itinerary that will take you from Campo di Marte through fields and up to Maiano, and back down towards Coverciano.

Google Map of this hike

View Urban Hike: Florence to Maiano in a larger map

Urban hike itinerary description

Start your itinerary at the end of via Lungo l’Affrico in Campo di Marte – you can take the number 17 ATAF bus to the capolinea (end of the line) to get here. You’ll see the newly restored Villa Salviatino looming large and yellow across the street. Head there and there’s a stream lining a street. Take that street and keep the stream on your left for as long as possible. You’ll take a right and start heading up hill until it looks like the street ends in someone’s driveway. Then take the unpaved path to your right. Beware of dogs (sometimes loose) behind the gate where the road dips down and is very uneven. You’ll find a wet area and a bridge in the woods, and then a path that goes through some fields, along another road, and continuing steeply up the hill, you end up in Maiano.

Where the road disappears.

When you come out of the path there is a beautiful little chapel on the road. You’re at the intersection between the streets down to Florence, one that goes towards Fiesole, and one that goes up a bit more to Maiano proper. The Fattoria di Maiano is at this corner and has a good self-serve restaurant which is a possible goal of this walk. Just around the corner from there is a cute Romanesque church, and if you continue another 300 meters uphill you get to the cave di Maiano which offers a climbing wall and hiking trails that go in the direction of Fiesole. There is a gelateria here and a big lawn on which we used to hang out, though last time we went it had been fenced off.

Continue the itinerary to head back down to Florence by taking the road that runs alongside the Fattoria’s property. Be careful as in this first part cars don’t slow much and it’s very narrow. At the end of this stretch there’s a 17th-century villa that is being renovated to make luxury residences; they’ve been at it for almost 10 years now and seem to make little progress. Here you can take either road but I like to veer right on this street that leads back to via Gabriele d’Annunzio. In the piazza at the end of this part of the street is a good bar-pasticceria (Cesare) should you need a rest. The number 10 or 17 busses stop nearby.

This walk is fine for anyone who is moderately fit – there’s a steep part but we just take it slowly. The circuit takes about 2 hours walking at a pretty moderate pace.

Photos

Here are photos of the itinerary in chronological order so you get a sense of what you’ll see. It’s beautiful isn’t it?!

After having been presented at such shows as the Salone del Mobile di Milano, London Design Festival and the Stockholm Furniture Fair, this is the first time that the objects are being shown (and made available for purchase at reasonable prices) for the Florentine public. You have just got to love the simple design and sense of humour behind these beautiful objects.

Mauro Lovi: Radura

The big window at via Maggio 43r – the antiquarian street – is covered in brown paper, awaiting the unveiling and official opening party of “OTTO, luogo d’arte” that will take place this Wednesday March 16 2011. Is this city and this street of mostly dark and closed galleries ready for a luminous dash of the contemporary? Olivia Toscani Rucellai certainly hopes so. I got to peek inside yesterday and have a chat with the new gallery’s owner.

Olivia has an artistic family background. Her father is photographer Oliviero Toscani. Her mother, Agneta Holst, is the creative spirit behind Megalopoli, the historic art and design studio which opened in Milan in 1978. She convinced a roster of THE most famous contemporary Italian artists – Ettore Sottsass, Enrico Castellani, Giò Pomodoro Michelangelo Pistoletto, Mimmo Paladino and others – to produce objects and furniture for everyday use. These pieces were exhibited at the Salone del Mobile in Milan for over ten years and are now collector’s items.

Megalopoli’s ethic is: keep art alive in everyday life. By opening this new space in Florence, Olivia would like to resume and continue the project begun by her mother, immersing it in the everyday life of our time, incorporating local handicrafts in the production of objects, experimenting with possible synergies between the artists’ projects and the creative capabilities and manual skills of master craftsmen, a unique treasure.

Olivia Toscani and Mauro Lovi

She teamed up with Mauro Lovi, one of the artists involved in the Megalopoli project, whose solo show inaugurates the space and who will also stay on as artistic director. Lovi’s exhibit Radura explores the personal significance of the poplar tree, a tree that he believes is at the root (pun intended) of all trees, and that played a role in his childhood experience. The Italian word “Radura” means “clearing”, that opening in the woods that is light-filled yet comfortably enclosed, and the gallery display is meant to evoke this.

Although the gallery space is small, visitors are absolutely welcome to enter, and the gallerist hopes to also involve school groups who could benefit from interaction with this work in particular (there’s even a pine house with a surprise inside!). An interesting line-up of contemporary artwork and design objects is planned through mid 2012.

Gallery display

Olivia Toscani’s OTTO luogo dell’arte intends to be a reference point and a metaphorical clearing where art lovers, collectors and curious travelers can gather; above all, a laboratory for the production of ideas, projects and objects in which the language of art meets everyday life. A setting for collaborations between artists and the master craftsmen who keep ancient experiences alive, both curious to try new things.

And new things are most welcome in this city that is experiencing a new kind of Renaissance (not the old kind – not a looking back but a step forward). I sincerely wish Olivia well in her activity and hope that it proves fruitful enough not only to be able to offer a wide range of experiences to the public in this space and beyond, but to contribute to this fecund moment of artistic production and creativity in our city.

Lovi: radura

Exhibition info: March 16  – May 8: Radura. (Clearing) Mauro Lovi

All images courtesy of OTTO luogo d’arte.

Lovi: radura

Leonardo da Vinci, Testa femminile con lo sguardo rivolto verso il basso 1468-1475 ca., GDSU

I don’t like the word stunning. The literal meaning of the verb to stun has been has been entirely diminished by its overapplication to everything from a nice dress to the Grand Canyon. Yet I must say: I was stunned by a Leonardo drawing yesterday at the Uffizi’s exhibit “Figures, Memory, Space. Drawings from Fra Angelico to Leonardo“.

To stun: knock senseless, reduce to insensibility or stupor, benumb, overwhelm (OED). Not many works of art have this effect on me, but the power of drawings, and particular of Leonardo drawings, is undeniable. No matter how many times I’ve seen them in reproduction, seeing them in the flesh – yes, flesh and paper – is an emotional experience. (The drawing in question, one of ten displayed here, is a sheet with mechanical studies and sketches for the Madonna and Child with St. John, catalogue number 56.)

Aside from the Leonardo, which sits at a symbolic heart of this exhibit at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, here are three reasons why this is an important show, and thus: you should go.

1) It’s free

You thought my first reason to go see this show might be something academic, right? Well hang on. Because being free doesn’t just mean that you don’t have to pay to get in. It’s part of the larger idea behind the exhibit, which is a 50/50 loan agreement between the British Museum and the Uffizi Gallery. This is my own interpretation, but the British approach is that art belongs to the people – to all of us – so entry to major museums is free. Not so in Italy where art is jealously guarded. With “Figures Memory Space”, the situation is (I believe consciously) inverted. The show in London had a 12£ entry fee but generated a record number of enthusiastic visitors. Here in Florence, the same works, displayed in the Reali Poste, can be seen for free (and hopefully lots of people, including you, will go see them).

These drawings from the beginning of the Renaissance to its highest manifestations in Leonardo and Michelangelo are finally back home: this is the British Museum’s gift to us. It’s also a gift from the Uffizi and from its sponsors, including the Ente Cassa di Risparmio, Enel, and Trenitalia. Thank you.

There is a complementary section of the show that is not free: in the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe on the Uffizi’s first floor, another 50 or so drawings and prints expand the discourse present in the traveling exhibition with works on paper too precious to leave the gallery. There exists a famous list of drawings that cannot be lent (and another that cannot be consulted, even by scholars), and some of these are shown here, so it’s a very special occasion. I get kinda emotional just thinking about it.

2) Drawing is the highest art

Why is this gift necessary, here in Florence? The director of the GDSU reminds us in her catalogue essay that Giorgio Vasari calls drawing “father of our three arts – architecture, sculpture, and painting”; drawing is the keystone of creativity, the first visible manifestation of the idea (as explained in Panofsky).

Andrea Mantegna (Padova, 1431 ca. – Mantova, 1506) Allegoria della caduta dell’umanità dominata dall’Ignoranza (Virtus Combusta) 1490-1506 ca, British Museum

In the Florentine Renaissance (not so much in the Venetian one), drawing is prioritized in the creative process as well as in the artist’s training. But, as we learn in this exhibit, drawing is not always a product of study or in preparation for something in another medium; it can be a means to an end. There are finished drawings (not presentation drawings) that were not intended to be turned into paintings, for example the iconographically rich and highly finished Allegory of the fall of humanity dominated by Ignorance (circa 1490-1506) by Mantegna.

If you venture beyond this show and into the rest of the Uffizi Gallery, signage designed for the occasion shows the importance of drawing as a preparatory process in direct relation to some of the works on display; the goal of these texts is to ask the public to reconsider the relation between paintings and drawings.

3) Drawing is intimate

Hugo Chapman, co-curator of the exhibit (from the British Museum), invites us to take a close look at these works that require us to diminish the distance between our noses and the gallery wall due to their size, detail, and technique. In the presentation to the press, he said something that I think makes clearer what I was saying in point #2 about reconsidering the role of drawing. Drawing can be an exercise or can be preparatory, or maybe… it can be more. Drawing is a window into the soul of the artist. As Chapman says:

[Through drawing] we understand the intimacy, the feeling of spontaneity behind these drawings; the feeling of pen on paper, which is not just about the final product but about the joy of creation.

It must be this joy that I feel coming through the yellowed brittle paper on which Leonardo energetically scribbled – he did scribble, really, with quite open loops. Some drawings (and aritsts) are less intense, but the personal, intimate connection is potentially there; we just have to get up close and look for it.

Museology stuff

I will go back to see the exhibit at the Reali Poste; it’s a great thing to do on a lunch break or while shopping downtown with a friend. And I hope to have time to properly read the catalogues (yes, two catalogues – there’s a separate supplement for the part in the GDSU!) and write a longer blog post about the individual works that I like best. But just in case I don’t have time, I wanted to put up my photos and I will comment briefly below on the layout and collateral materials of the show.

The Reali Poste at the Uffizi, display for Figure, Memorie, Spazio

In the small room of the GDSU, they’ve done away with the central panels that often hold works, which is a good thing to accomodate crowds and to make the space seem more welcoming. Unfortunately the old display cases are really dated; there’s not much to do about that though! In the Reali Poste, the space has been truly transformed from the pink, bright setup of the last exhibit in there. We are guided into a fascinating snail-shaped structure of metal and glass (I hope they can re-use these!), sent around the edges and spat out the center after a final hit of Leonardo. Panels that stand out into our space invite us to consider some of the most important works or those that are drawn on both sides.

Useful bilingual information is provided for every work with a fine effort to write in good English (I only found 3 errors). The traditional choice of printed signs over multimedia displays seems just fine, though there is no audioguide which might be useful for many visitors. I don’t see why the British Museum’s audio-guide could not be re-used. People aren’t that used to looking at drawings, and an audioguide really helps direct the untrained eye and makes people linger longer. The dedicated website by unannoadarte leaves much to be desired in comparison with the London counterpart (here), since it is only in Italian and has no audio-visual extras, let alone a behind-the-scenes blog written by the curator (Hugo Chapman is just so cool).

Overall, what makes this exhibit so great – aside from the content – is the fact that you can go back as many times as you want, which gives you the time and energy to really study each work for as long as you want.

Photos

Exhibition info

Figure, Memorie, Spazio. Disegni da Fra’Angelico a Leonardo
March 8 to June 12 2011
Galleria degli Uffizi – GDSU (first floor) and Reali Poste (across the courtyard from the museum’s main entrance)
Oepn Tues thru Sunday, 8:15 to 18:50
Ticket prices for the Uffizi at this time are 11 euros for adults; reduced to 10 euros after 4pm.

Clet poses with the original of his "Uomo Comune" sculpture

I recently interviewed Clet Abraham, Florence’s most popular street artist, for The Florentine. You can read the article “Clet: The man behind the stick figure”, but here I just wanted to give you a little behind the scenes material.

I’ve written about Clet’s two major interventions on Tuscany arts – the street signs and the sculpture on the bridge. Now, with the backing of a print newspaper, I felt comfortable asking for an interview in his studio. I also booked an appointment with Guiliano da Empoli, Superintendant of Culture (Assessore) for the city of Florence, to ask him what he thought of Clet and of street art in general. His, and the city’s, voice has been curiously absent in all the articles I’ve read about the artist, so I was pleased that he agreed to talk about this subject and release a statement for print.

People have been asking me what kind of a guy Clet is. The photos of him hamming it up with his own art pretty much speak for themselves. I can say he is very nice and down to earth, modest and rather embarrassed about all this attention. He’s not a young rebel nor in any way disrespectful to the city, nor does he have crazed ideologies or pretenses.

As my article in TF focused on the social aspects of this work and how we might resolve street art with preservation issues and administrative regulations (most of which are there for good reason), I didn’t get to expand much on the meaning of Clet’s work, something that we did talk about, and that he seems to have wanted me to write down. He later wrote me an email with some further reflections on what he’s doing, which I translate and publish here.

I do have something to say, and – being an artist – I can best say this through a work of art. But I’ll try (in words). The Common Man statue is intended as a stimulus to take an important and risky step. It represents one of those moments on one’s life in which one needs to make a decision even not knowing its consequences (the void below him is this unknowingness). So Uomo Comune decides to take this step, and invites everyone to do it. The irony lays in being part of this dangerous spectacle from the safe side of the railing. The act is permanently frozen in limbo, being a sculpture that doesn’t move and will never finish stepping out, and so will never know if his choice was the right one or not – the only way for us to know is if we were to try it ourselves.

The provocation here is having installed him without permission, which involves a choice: I, personally, do want to take a step. If you want to journey with me, leave up this symbol of intention; if you remove it, to me it means that you don’t have any intention of moving ahead because you don’t have the courage to take risks. So the real artistic act is composed of various intrinsically linked components: location, object, and intervention; it’s not a simple sculpture, the form of which might be up for discussion.

With thanks to Clet for his time, and wishing him best of luck for the future. I see great things.

A local buys oranges at the market

As a second time around study abroad student in Florence, I am grateful to have the rare chance to re-explore all the wonders that this city has to offer. My life here as an undergraduate five years ago was pretty standard: classes and sightseeing during the day, Monday nights at Yab, grabbing kebab or pizza with friends, and weeknights spent somewhere between the Shot Cafe and Lion’s Fountain surrounded by other English speaking twenty somethings. Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast and made lasting memories and friends during those hazy four months many moons ago. But having the opportunity to return to Florence has motivated me to explore new parts of the city that I never knew existed last time.

My most recent discovery is the Sant’Ambrogio Market located in Piazza Ghiberti, just a bit further out of the center than Piazza Santa Croce (and about a 12 minute walk from Piazza del Duomo). The market is open Mondays – Saturdays, 7 am – 2 pm. They also stay open all day on Wednesday and Friday, closing at 7 pm.

Even though I live closer to the famous Mercato Centrale, I prefer to head to the market in Sant’Ambrogio. The atmosphere is much more relaxed, there are no tour groups pushing through the aisles and it’s always a good sign when the locals outnumber the tourists as is the case in Sant’Ambrogio. The market offers a diverse selection of stands with vendors selling products ranging from fruits and veggies to breads and pastries, meats and fish, cheeses and dried legumes. There is an indoor and outdoor section of the market with most of the meat, fish and cheese vendors stationed permanently inside. Produce, housewares and some stalls selling clothes are located around the building. Also inside is a famous restaurant, Trattoria da Rocco that serves authentic Tuscan fare at cheap prices during lunchtime six days a week (Mondays – Saturdays, 11 am – 2:30 pm).

Gesture is an important part of communication at the market.

Ones primary purpose to venture to a market would probably be to pick up fresh produce, but other benefits include the great people watching opportunities that shopping among locals affords. Over the last weeks I’ve learned that Florentines take purchasing their produce very seriously. Oftentimes, I’ll catch snippets of heated debates over pricing or watch as cute little old Italian ladies try to bargain down vendors by shouting and flailing their arms about in that special way that Florentines communicate with one another. Even better is the fact that the customers and vendors usually end such intense encounters with a kiss on both cheeks, a wave, and a declaration that they’ll see each other soon. It is an amazing sight to watch people execute such pure emotion over the seemingly menial task of picking out their groceries.

While only a few vendors speak English, almost all that don’t are happy to take part in the song and dance involved in trying to communicate with foreigners. In my experience, this typically involves some sort of charades game where I use my hands and fingers to imply the number and amount of what I am trying to order. For example, if I want a small slice of pecorino cheese I’ll use my thumb and forefinger to imply the thickness of the piece I’m looking for. Or, if asking for cucumbers I simply point in their direction and hold up fingers to articulate the amount I’d like to purchase. Of course when possible I’ll try out my sheepish Italian as I’ve learned that the market is is a safe place to practice ones conversational skills with Florentines. In this pleasant and casual environment there’s no need to fret over conjugating your verbs perfectly or to think too hard about gender agreements when speaking. People just seem happy if you give it a try and in the end you can feel accomplished that even if you can’t exactly talk like a local, you can shop like one.

While I usually wait to see what vendors are offering before planning my weekly meals, for my most recent trip I had a few recipes in mind. I’ve been inspired by using grains and legumes lately as the chilly winter nights are a perfect reason to make a big pot of soup to last through the week. After strolling through the stalls I settled on purchasing both fresh and dried mushrooms with thoughts of a ragout and also picked up some parsley and chives as herbs are the perfect finishing touch to any hearty meal. I also have a personal affection for goat cheese and had a specific recipe in mind involving the wonderfully tart cheese smeared on crostini and topped with french lentils. After an hour or so of browsing, purchasing and people watching, I found everything I was looking for. I’ve included a few pictures of the food and people I encountered and also the finished products of meals I created using ingredients from my latest adventure through Mercato Sant’Ambrogio. For all you new students who just landed in Florence in the last weeks, I highly suggest taking a stroll through the market to explore the wonderful tastes, sites and sounds of a truly Florentine establishment.

Lauren’s photos and captions make for a photojournalism story in themselves, so check them out on flickr:

Read more by Lauren on her blog.

The English tour “Flowers in Art” is held Saturday Jan 22 at 3pm and Saturday Feb 12 at 9:45am. The other tours are all in Italian and are listed here.

It’s FREE, you just have to reserve Sezione Didattica, tel. 055 284272 fax 055 2388680; e – mail didattica@polomuseale.firenze.it

Stefano Amantini’s “White: Paesaggi invernali delle Dolomiti” are a technical challenge (it’s not easy to get the right exposure in the snow) and an interesting way to transport you from grey Florence to the white mountains (not far away).

The exhibit is at tethys gallery (via Maggio 58r, Florence) from Jan 13 to March 12 2011 – the inauguration is Thursday Jan 13th at 18:30. Here are some more beautiful photos.

Name this warrior saint snow queen!

Yesterday we had the biggest snowfall I’ve ever seen in Florence. 28 cm is the official figure in the city. By mid afternoon cars were abandoned in the streets, service vehicles and busses too, and people walked home many kilometers. Airports, highways, superstrade closed. I had the fortune of working at home so I avoided the brunt of it.

In the evening while my husband was attempting to drive home from work (with great success in only 1h50 thanks to my close monitoring of facebook for tips on streets to avoid) I shoveled our courtyard parking area and made a snow woman. She is still looking for a name, although Tuscany Arts facebook fans and friends have come up with: Mrs. Berlusconi, Boudica (brilliant Jason Helbig!), Penthesilea or Brunhilde (Charles Arcudi). Her breasts have been, of course, paragoned to the breasts of Michelangelo’s Night (Emiko Davies), which is what I was going for. I also had Joan of Arc in mind when I constructed her.

Below are some photos from The Florentine’s facebook page who really did some of the best coverage of the main piazze downtown and in particular the snow with churches! Which makes this perfect fodder for arttrav.

San Lorenzo - Photo: The Florentine

Ah, the Duomo! photo: The Florentine

Pusing it through piazza SMN. Photo: The Florentine

Via Panzani - Photo: The Florentine

See the whole TF snow album on facebook.

Lion in Piazza Signoria. Photo: Emiko Davies

This last one courtesy of Emiko Davies. Check out the mini snowman at his feet!

Now, the morning after, the snow is starting to pack down a bit and it stopped snowing last night. We’re bundling up and going for a walk to check it out. The great snowfall of December 17th 2010 will remain in our memories for a while!

Art: special exhibits

Almost all the major exhibits in Florence’s state museums are open until mid January, so if you haven’t had a chance to see Caravaggio at the Uffizi and Pitti (until Jan 9) or Bronzino at Palazzo Strozzi (closes Jan 23), I highly recommend those. Note that state museums are all closed on xmas and new years day.

A show dedicated to the Ghirlandaio family is an interesting way to convince you to visit Scandicci, and a not-too-expensive excuse to create an arts itinerary in Florence and its outskirts.

Contemporary Art

Billed as one of the coolest places to hang out in town, Palazzo Strozzi – other than the above-mentioned Bronzino – has two contemporary offerings right now. In the courtyard, step in to experience Michelangelo Pistoletto’s square meter cube of infinity, literally a metal box with mirrors on every surface inside. Personally I get nauseous if I stay in it for more than about thirty seconds at a time, but I still think it’s really cool. Pistoletto is one of Italy’s most famous contemporary artists and the major exponent of the arte povera movement.

Downstairs in the Strozzina is the exhibit Portraits and Power that I reviewed when it came out; it’s an interesting show that questions the way power is created and represented, and also pushes the limits of what might be considered “art”. Open til 11pm on Thursday nights (and free then too), this is a nice place to stop in during an evening out. Good to visit with friends with whom you can discuss what you see – and not too “impegnativo” (heavy) a show, easily digestible in an hour (with some aftertaste that lasts in your brain for a few days).

Over at the EX3 in Gavinana (Firenze Sud) area is a rather interesting show by Charles Avery, Onomatopoia Part I, which displays evidence gathered from an imaginary utopic island. A clever show, probably deeper than I can truly grasp, though in some cases execution and display could have been improved. This free gallery offers a bar and reading area with light lounge music in the rather comfy antechamber/front hall, but there is never anyone in it. Kinda a nice place to stop in for a little free art while parked under the excellent Coop next door…

And of course there’s the Damian Hirst For the Love of God diamond skull being shown in Francesco’s studiolo in Palazzo Vecchio (actually to be precise, it’s through the studiolo in a secret chamber that I’d never seen before). Palazzo Vecchio is open every night til Midnight (except thursdays), and is closed only Christmas day. Now there’s a better alternative to hanging out in a pub.

Christmas events

The “Heidelberger Weihnachtsmarkt” German-style Christmas market in Piazza Santa Croce is open until December 20th. In previous years there have been some very nice quality ornaments for sale but this year it looks pretty tacky. At night, if it’s not deadly cold (or even if it is), the piazza gets pleasantly crowded with people lining up to eat cheap wurstels and struedel – good if you’re tired of pasta, I guess. Mulled wine is also served to help with the cold.

There are Christmas trees all around Florence this year. The major tree is in Piazza Duomo for the first time – inaugurated December 8th. But there are smaller trees in Piazza Ss.ma Annunziata, all the way down via Roma, up at Piazzale Michelangelo, and even decorations in some of the city’s roundabouts further out towards the residential areas. The viali have very nice lights up on all the trees and downtown each street has different style lighting. They really do go all out. The Grinch in me says that’s a big expense and it consumes energy, but maybe that investment has a positive return in peoples’ spending on gifts.

The presepe is an Italian Christmas tradition that appears to have started in Naples (see the forthcoming article Christmas in Naples: presepe). Most churches have one of these manger scenes set up in a side chapel. There are various presepi viventi around Florence and Tuscany. And in Piazza Mino in Fiesole, in the spaces of the new city hall, until Jan 6th there’s a small exhibit of presepi from all over the world (free, open in the afternoon from 15-18).

On December 24th midnight mass is sung in the Duomo. If you want singing in the Duomo but don’t want to stay up late, on Holy days and feast days generally, at 5:15 Vespers is sung with Gregorian Chants (with thanks to arttrav reader Rosemary for this tip).

Ice Skating

Florentines are terrible ice skaters so if you grew up anywhere that had a decent skating or hockey program, go rent skates and kick their asses for a few bucks at the Parterre near Piazza Liberta’ (until Feb 28, 6 euros for ice time and skate rental) or in the piazza in front of the Gavinana Coop (hey you can combine this with the EX3 above). The ice at the latter is not synthetic and is open til Jan 16. Both rinks are ridiculously small… says this Canadian reporter…

That’s all I got. If you got more, add it in the comments !

Contemporary art bookshop in palazzo vecchio sends "new" message

If the display of Damian Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull called “The Love of God” is really a message by Palazzo Vecchio that the OLD palace is open to NEW ideas (and art), the presence of a contemporary art bookstore by Arthemisia Group on the ground floor of Florence’s seat of government is a supporting document. The shop almost makes you feel as if you’re in New York or some other modern country – with nice lighting, a great selection of books and affordable design objects – only the books are in Italian rather than in English.

The space is intended to complement the exhibition of Hirst’s work (until May 1 2011) but wouldn’t it be nice if it were here to stay? Maybe with an English section? Check out the luscious photos below.

This "secret garden" at Palazzo Te is the topic of one of the talks

In December 1999 I presented my masters thesis at Syracuse University in Florence’s Villa Rossa. And every year since then I have tried to attend the annual symposium that showcases the graduate students’ work. The 2010 crop struts its stuff this coming Friday December 3d from 3:30 pm onwards and it’s open to the public – the school likes to give back to the community this way.

The SUF MA program involves a semester in Syracuse NY and a year in Florence, and it culminates in this thematic symposium to which each student contributes a 20 minute paper that fits the theme. As you can imagine, picking the theme (a full 11 months before) is perhaps the hardest part. SUF offers excellent training in writing and presenting these papers, and graduates come out generally very able to give conference papers, a gift I’ve been using ever since.

The 24th annual symposium is on the theme of Renaissance Gardens: Rooted in the Renaissance: Italian Gardens and Their Legacy. The programme is as follows.

BRYAN C. KEENE Agony in the Garden: Locating Christ’s Prayer in Italian Renaissance Painting

CAITLIN ELIZABETH SWEENEY “A Garden of Singular Beauty”: The Design of Isabella d’Este’s giardino segreto

MELANIE C. HONOUR Cultivating Aesop: The giardino segreto at the Palazzo del Te [see photo above]

SARAH J. DZIAMBA The Gardens at the Casino di San Marco During the Reign of Francesco I de’ Medici

MARGARET ANN CONTOMPASIS A Cardinal Entertains: Theatrical Experience in the Aldobrandini Garden at Frascati

TOWNSEND ZIEGLER Modern Renaissance Design: Cecil Pinsent’s Gardens at Villa I Tatti

Villa Rossa, Piazza Savonarola, 15 Florence, Italy – 3:30pm, reception to follow.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, from 6.30 until 11.30 p.m., you may taste wine by the glass or bottle, and you’ll get a cutting board loaded with cheese and/or sliced cold meats of high quality, salads, “crostini”, “bruschette”, coming from our wonderful region! The first drink is 7 euros, the following ones only 4 euros, and you’ll be getting enough to eat to call it “dinner”.

Once you have spent 15,00 € in tastings, De Gustibus Association will give you the yearly membership card, that you might use to get discounts for every De Gustibus event or to buy products at from associated producers.

Where: Ristorante Il Boia, via dell’Oriuolo 20

When: Starting November 9th (and continuing until otherwise announced). 6:30pm onwards.

Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa

Piazza Duomo with a green lawn (a one-day event, today)

Folks, I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Has Florence just exploded with exciting cultural activities, or is it just me? I’ve been feeling this way for the past year, but I really think this week takes the cake. I cannot attend every one of these events so if you can give me a hand and show up and take a few pictures, please post them on the arttrav facebook fan page .

Here’s my run down of what’s on in November 2010 including Florens 2010, BTO, Firenze Insolita, and other stuff.

Florens 2010

Nov. 12-20: Florens 2010 is an art geek’s dream week. Unfortunately it wasn’t comunicated very well and you have to slog through a large book to figure out which events to attend, but it’s all FREE and there really is a lot to do, from concerts (okay some of those cost money) to lectures on a wide range of themes about art. I wrote on Tuscany Arts about English events at Florens 2010 but of course the most geeky stuff is in Italian.

I just got back from seeing piazza Duomo covered in grass as a reminder of the Miracle of San Zanobi – please don’t ask why they’re doing that on November 13th as his feast day is January 26th. It wouldn’t have been so much of a miracle had the tree not flowered in the “dead of winter” but in November when some things still do bloom around here.

There are literally hundreds of things to do this week. I’m considering the following:

• Nov. 18-20 is the three day Forum Internazionale dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali that are really the centrepiece of the Florens 2010 event; it’s really a conference that presents the results of a longer research project so it’s very much for people who work in the cultural sector. There will be conference acts distributed; this is serious stuff. There are exciting lectures on the arts for economic development (thursday pm), the use of technology for cultural promotion (I’m going!! – friday morning), global issues in museums, etc. There is simultaneous translation available in English and French.
• Wednesday November 17 2010, ore 18-19: Chris Bangle, Design is Difficult. Salone del 500, Palazzo Vecchio.
• Exhibits at the Oblate and Ferragamo. And one on fashion and art at Sant’Orsola.
• I’d kill to get into the concert led by Zubin Mehta on the 18th but have to go to an office dinner party (boo)…
• Palazzo Corsini is open with artistans’ work on display from Nov. 18-21 – that’s the home of Artigiano e Palazzo.

BTO

Nov. 18-19: Buy Tourism Online conference. Not culture per se, but a good trade conference at the Leopolda about digital promotion of tourism. Obviously this is a field of interest for me, but it’s going to be hard to reconcile this with the Beni Culturali Forum… There will be talks on social media for hotels, upcoming trends in mobile use in tourism, and driving tourism business amongst others. Representatives from Tripadvisor and Google will be talking.

Firenze Insolita

This is an initiative of the Quartiere 1 (central florence) to help citizens and tourists rediscover the city’s hidden treasures. Too bad their comunication strategy is also very hidden – the best I can do is point you to a PDF of the programme. Most of the events are free though some of the guided tours run by one particular tour company are not free, so check carefully. Some interesting stuff:

• Firenze dello Spirito: guided tours of little known religious centers like the church of Sant’Elisabetta (via dei Serragli, who knew?), the synagogue, the mosque, the English Cemetary in Piazza Donatello [Fri November 19th at ore 11, Sat November 27 at ore 15 - that will be cool!!] – booking required, see phone number in that pdf!
• December 7 is the Feast day of Sant’Ambrogio; in the homonymously named piazza from ore 15 onwards there will be activities and guided tours of the church.
• Firenze Artigiana - half-hour visits to botteghe of artisans and restorers (including to a clock repair shop… intruiging).
• Nov 20th there are concerts in the evening at Museo di Casa Martelli (via Zannetti – free starting at 19:30.
• Obscure group tours, the most promising of which might be a 2 hour tour on confraternities (Sat Nov 27), though on the same day competing with a tour of closed and no-longer-extant theatres which sounds like it would have to be presented in a very imaginative fashion. AND on the same day, Firenze Goliardica tour including wine and crostini, run by my buddies at De Gustibus (5 euro).

Is that all?

No. There’s also a lecture series at Palazzo Strozzi, an evening networking event about Design on Nov 22 run by ToscanaIN, Dinners with De Gustibus… Right! And somehow I have to find time to come home and blog about it!

Cheers. Enjoy. And let me know which of these things you attended and liked!

At the historic Giubbe Rosse caffe’ in Piazza Repubblica an exhibit of contemporary japanese art; in Piazza Santo Stefano gastronomic stands with Japanese food (yay!), Sake tasting in the same piazza, and on November 11th at the Teatro della Pergola, actor Kamui’s “Samurai Spirit Tour” for which you see the trailer here below.

The sinuous and curvy open-backed seat is billed as a “summa stilistica” of famous design classics: a space-age version that superimposes Jacobsen’s “7-series”, Saarinen’s “Tulip Armchair” and Eames’s “Eiffel Chair”.

I’d be curious to get a closer look at this seat – made of polypropylene (Kartell plastic), is it comfortable? I narrowly missed a mistaken purchase of 4 ghost victoria’s after they proved unstable and too narrow for my liking – this chair looks like it would be neither of those things… In fact it’s not a chair for the dining room or kitchen table but is intended for the “Living” area. I could see it as an “occasional” or accent chair in my living room, in fact – and it’s available in a range of warm or neutral colours (white, 2 greys, black, red, yellow). But how much does it cost? Guess we’ll just have to go to the launch and find out.

There will also be a display of other new products that were presented at the 2010 Salone del Mobile, like Laviani’s Bloom Lamp, other furniture by Starck, and a few smaller proposals for your Christmas list.

Event location: KARTELL FLAG FIRENZE  - Borgo Ognissanti, 50-52/r
Giovedì 5 novembre 2010  Cocktail dalle ore 18,30
Tel. +39 055-288921

At the same time (and obviously related), I’m really looking forward to Private Flat, an annual event that allows you to peek into peoples’ houses while ostensibly looking at the 70 artists’ work installed there. Over three days this weekend (October 8-9-10), follow the map provided on the private flat website to explore what your contemporaries are doing in Florence. Friday spaces will be available from 16-21, while saturday and sunday from 10-20. I’ll be trying to go to as many as possible while still working around other plans – namely a marvellous cheese-based dinner in the countryside from my friends at De Gustibus !

Sushi in Florence on a Map

View Sushi in Florence Italy in a larger map

Mini-reviews of the ones we’ve tried

Sushi Mania: Viale Filippo Strozzi, 10 and Via dei Servi, 79 – Best cheap takeout; lunch bento boxes even cheaper.

Wabisabi: Via dei Mille, 53 and Via Romana, 80 – Owned by same chain as Sushi Mania, higher quality nori and higher prices. However, the lunch menu is a steal (also on weekends).

Niwa: Via Ponte alle Mosse, 16 – I Like this place a lot – big space, modern decor, with booths and a colour-sensory room. They serve both Japanese and Thai cuisine, and the sushi is quite good quality (not as good as wabisabi, but also cheaper). Service can sometimes be a bit “confused” and liable to mix up orders for a large table, although a recent bachelorette party there was a success (with no mistakes in the service).

Porfirio Rubirosa (at aperitivo time): Viale Filippo Strozzi, 18 – La Nelli says this is the best sushi in Florence and i’m liable to believe her. This swank bar offers sushi at aperitivo time (which costs about 8 euros) with authentic japanese chef. Just step up to the bar and wait for him to hand you a little plateful. He will remember you though – don’t try to go twice!

Sushi Nami: Via Palmieri, 9 – Avoid the all you can eat lunch buffet despite the good price, as some friends got ill. However, their basic rolls or vegetarian sushi is okay for a lunchtime fix if you’re downtown.

Sakura: Via di Novoli 10 – Near the airport, not run by Japanese… and arttrav’s reviewer (my sister in law) once saw a cockroach run across the table beside her. Ah yes, and it was closed down twice by the health authorities. Although we don’t know if the ownership has changed, avoid this place.

Sushi/Japanese restaurants we haven’t tried yet

Rose’s Sushi Bar: Via del Parione, 26 – This place has been around since before Japanese food became cool worldwide, but i have never been there because the prices are high.

Koko: Piazza Ferrucci

Eito: Via dei Neri, 72 – Firenze

Hoseki: Porta a Prato

Kome: Via dei Benci, 41 – Firenze

Masa: Borgo Ognissanti, 1 – Firenze

Momoyama: Borgo San Frediano, 10 – Firenze

Sushi Aurora: Via Ghibellina, 61 – Firenze

Tomo Sushi: Via pratese 126,128 – Firenze

Totoya: Via del Campuccio, 12 – Firenze

Yagura: Via Pisana, 16 – I haven’t been there but it’s recommended by Nelli as decent sushi and good for other Japanese foods.

Final Note: If you are interested not just in sushi but in other Japanese food, every Friday night the LAILAC Japanese Cultural Association has theme dinners in which you’ll be introduced to elements on a well-priced set menu, and entertained with a quiz towards the end of the night. Reservation required, see website for details.

Exterior of Laurentian Library seen from courtyard of San Lorenzo

It’s high time I write something about the Laurentian Library as this post has been in my drafts folder for over a year! Perhaps it has remained there because Mannerist architecture is not exactly an easy topic, and it’s even more difficult when you’re not in situ (and when photos are prohibited in this location!). But for anyone who has had, or will have, the fortune of stumbling into the oddly silent courtyard beside the church of San Lorenzo, I think this information needs to be available… just for you.

The Laurentian Library was named in honor of Lorenzo de’ Medici (aka Il Magnifico), who was a great collector of ancient and modern texts and who greatly expanded Medici library at end of 15^th century. He had a famous collection of books that was seized during Medici exile in 1494; it was later recovered and moved to Rome under Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici.

The  idea for a library at San Lorenzo in Florence seems to go back to 1519 along with creation of the Medici Chapel by Michelangelo in the same complex, but the plan only really took off in 1523 when Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici became Pope Clement VII. As part of his plan to glorify the Medici in the area of Florence traditionally dominated by this family, he wished to bring the Medici book collection back to Florence and unite it under one roof.

Between 1524 and 1527, Michelangelo worked steadily on this wonderfully well-documented commission: letters between M and the Pope are about everything from lighting, site, cost, structural issues, design of doors, tabernacles, reading desks, ceiling decoration, etc. He was helped by a large workshop and the easy availability of local building materials (a rare moment that he was not using Carrara marble). Then in 1527 the Medici were exiled; work came to a halt and was finished after the artist moved to Rome, with the execution more or less to his plans and with some involvement via courier.

Surpassing Structural Challenges

At the Laurentian Library, Michelangelo had to surpass interesting structural challenges: the monastic complex already exisited (with monks’ dormitories and adjacent church) and the rest of the neighbourhood was already built up so there was only one place to put the library, and that was above the extant structure. For this reason he had to make it particularly light. The location on the third floor also accommodated certain other necessary aspects of library construction such as being high up in case of floods and being near the monks’ dormitories so that it could be easily accessed (think of the placement of the library at San Marco, for example).

In the photo above of the exterior, you see a long area on the left – that’s the “reading room” – and a taller space on the right, which is the “vestibule”. The latter is a kind of ante-chamber that contains a staircase (built by Ammannati in 1559) that leads into the other room.  Have you ever seen a room just for a stairwell before? Probably not.It’s a particularly tall and weird space! It’s also a little dark, since the pope didn’t agree with Michelangelo’s plan to install skylights here – he said you’d need two monks to work full-time just to clean the dust.

Mannerism in the Laurentian Library

Laurentian Library Vestibule stairway and entrance

This space is one of the most discussed architectural spaces of the Renaissance, and this discourse is focused on Michelangelo’s bold architectural innovations, in which he breaks with normal Renaissance usage. As John Shearman writes in his 1967 Mannerism: “The principal development here is an application of licence to all architectural members, major and minor. It is the first building that seems to have been turned outside in, for the massive treatment of the interior walls belongs by tradition to exteriors.”

One of the examples of this licence is the use of columns, which are in fact here in pairs. Contrary to logical usage, they are actually embedded into the wall (as are the pilasters in here, but that’s a bit more normal). For Shearman the resulting effect is that “it seems that the wall is squeezed forward by the order, or as if the architecture had become organic, capable of movement.”

Below these double columns are giant volutes (scrolls) that seem to hang there like tongues – they, too, serve no purpose. And in fact they are rather too large for the space, so that in the corners they, as James Ackerman says, “seem to mate rather than meet“.

The stairway itself is also particularly impractical and unusual. I have always felt that it looks like the flow of lava spilling down onto the terracotta floor. Did you know that Michelangelo wanted to make the stairwell in walnut wood like the reading desks in the room next door, but this idea was discarded… because the squeaks would have been distracting to the studious monks!

View of stairway from above (source: from a book)

In the current pietra serena version, if you walk up the central area, the curved fronts finish in curly cues that are extremely effective in catching shoes. There is a “hand rail” of sorts down the center, but there is no rail or protection at the sides – there is no way this would pass ANY building code nowadays! These dysfunctional elements are intentional because the staircase was conceived of as a freestanding work of sculpture rather than functional architecture.

Michelangelo was generally praised by contemporaries for his “good judgment” in breaking the rules of ancient architectural theory in this space, while other architects were heavily criticized for following his example. Vasari worried that misunderstanding Michelangelo’s example could lead to bad architecture and said: “Certain plebeian and presumptuous architects lacking in disegno have in our times produced all their monstrous things, worse than the German.”

Laurentian Library interior

By contrast, the adjacent reading room constitutes an independent architectural system that totally does not relate to the vestibule and has a much more calming, normal, and warm effect thanks to the traditional layout, regular windows, and beautifully designed walnut furniture.

How to visit the Laurentian Library

This space is not normally open to the public except when a special exhibit is curated in an adjacent space, which fortunately has been more and more often in recent years. At the moment there is an exhibit called “Díaita. Heath rules in the manuscripts of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana” – from Sept 6 2010 to Jan 5 2011.

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday: 9,30 am -1,30 pm; closed on the first Saturday of the month and on State holidays. See official website.

It is possible to travel in Italy, and in Florence, on a budget and still enjoy yourself. I realized today, looking over some old posts on arttrav, that over the years I’ve dropped various budget travel tips but never compiled them into a handy list that some happy traveler will surely find via google! So here it is. Five really obvious tips to save money in Florence without living like a student.

1) Stay in a short term apartment rental, especially for stays of longer than three nights. Apartments have more space to spread out and also have the advantage of a kitchen (see point #2). (For example, here are some Florence Apartments from this post’s sponsor.) You also can feel more at home which means you can pretend, if only for a little bit, that you’re living in Italy!

This kamut pasta with garden tomatoes and basil cost about 3 euros for 4 people!

2) Buy and cook your own food at least half the time. I’m not saying you have to cook your own meals during your whole holiday – for many people (especially women), a holiday means not having to touch a frying pan. But while in Italy you can enjoy some of the best food if you buy it yourself at a supermarket or better yet at a local farmers’ market, AND you’ll save money this way. For example, a colleague and I shared a rental apartment in Venice when we went for a conference; we spent 30 euros at the local coop when we arrived and we ate sandwiches for lunch and dinner at home for 3 days. I can happily say that I did not contribute a lira to the Venetian economy.

I made a map last year, updated today, of supermarkets and food shopping in Florence to help visitors find the right place to stock up in this way.

3) Museum entries add up, but there are things you can do in Florence for free or cheap, as I’ve written on Tuscany Arts (complete with google map). This includes the smaller churches and some funky museums, as well as certain special events or times. For example. on Thursday nights in the summer the Uffizi and Academia were open free; Thursday nights the Palazzo Strozzi are always free. While free day at the Vatican is always packed (it’s once a month), these openings in Florence are virtually unknown. No reservation required.

A few times a year, state museums are open free, including European Heritage Day (late September), Culture Week (Settimana della Cultura), Amico Museo and FAI days (each Spring).

4) If you’re really hooked on museums and planning to visit more than 4 state museums, or if you’re staying a while, consider getting a museum pass from the Amici degli Uffizi (see point #3 in this post about the Amici degli Uffizi museum pass). It lasts a calendar year and costs 60 euros per adult, 100 euros per family with 2 kids. However, this pass does not get you in to city-run museums or the large churches (SMN, Santa Croce) which are independently run. We are waiting for the city of Florence to provide a city-wide card that includes both; this was predicted for early this Fall but hasn’t happened yet.

Sigg Bottle - image from Amazon.com

5) Don’t buy bottled water in bars downtown, which will run you a euro or more. The tap water in Florence isn’t delicious but it IS safe to drink in a pinch. There are drinking water fountains around the city, though not as many as in Rome. Look behind the Neptune fountain, for example, at the side of Palazzo Vecchio – there’s one! In residential areas we’re now enjoying high quality filtered water for free at the new “fontanelli” (bring your own bottle) which Mayor Renzi has just announced will soon be present also downtown, including at the Uffizi! That’s GREAT news for tourists, and for our planet. As I have been saying over and over again, be a sustainable tourist in Florence, bring your own Nalgene or Sigg bottle and fill it up from other sources (including 2 liter bottles purchased at a supermarket, if you have too).

This post is sponsored by Only-Apartments.com whom I thank for supporting arttrav!

Rie Nakajima in Florence

Last night at Le Murate I witnessed what might be the first breath of contemporary things to come in Florence. The performance by Rie Nakajima inaugurates the use of the space that is to become the SUC, a contemporary art space in the ex-jail that is Le Murate.

It was raining cats and dogs, which is why no more than 40 people showed up to an event that ought to be of international proportions. (For anyone arriving from Piazza San Marco, the #31 bus stops rather nearby, though I admit I got soaked anyway.) After a glass of free wine or water as part of the final night of Aperto alle Murate, we moved into the adjacent room for the performance.

Japanese artist Rie Nakajima is, as many of her culture are, slight and shy, and incredibly modest for someone who… performs. The room had been set up with desk lamps and chairs, and I wondered how this arrangement would be made to look beautiful. No costume, no effects… just the artist (in jeans and a dark top), a silent crowd…

And then she started to add objects to the space, objects that made funny little noises. White static from a radio, nails on a string occasionally disturbed by an arm attached to a motor, a music box, tin foil. Did she time how long she waited before each addition, subtraction, adjustment? The beauty in the room came when I closed my eyes, just briefly because I didn’t want to miss anything; a discrete sound, but constant… until Nakajima removed just one element, and I realized how much noise it really made. You get a sense of this in the video I shot:

Much contemporary art is shocking; this is the complete opposite. It is discreet, intimate, surprising.

Speaking with the artist before the performance, I asked her about her stay in Florence and she said that her accommodation near the Duomo was a bit noisy. What must life be like to be so attuned to single sounds and rhythms?

Things to come?

Is the forthcoming SUC at Le Murate the answer to my hopes and dreams?

I’m not an expert in contemporary art. Up to a few years ago I can say that I didn’t much like it. But I do understand the need to promote it in order to make a city live and breathe a cultural atmosphere. While we anxiously await news of what will happen next at Le Murate (and I’ll let you know as soon as I hear), I’ve been reflecting on what has changed in the world of contemporary art in Florence in the past year, and what we have in store for us this Fall.

Truth be told, I haven’t noticed a miraculous appearance of great contemporary visual artists in the city since the start of the reign of Renzi. But we have to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I asked Giuliano da Empoli, culture superintendant, what Berlin has that we don’t (there’s more contemporary art in Berlin in a square meter than Italy has in a country) and he mentioned the lower rent. In fact, one of the most concentrated gallery areas in Berlin is full of ex-warehouses; I’ve seen a similar industrial area transform into artists’ studios, lofts, and galleries in my hometown of Toronto. Florence leaves little room for expansion, though the mayor’s latest plans for the city involve recuperating 100 spaces, hopefully in part for the arts. And Le Murate is one of them. I also don’t see why art centers can’t be opened in areas like Isolotto or Sesto Fiorentino, where rent is lower, although I think it’s harder to draw anything but a local crowd to these areas (something I’ve noticed at the Ex3).

Simon Roberts (c) Ex3

New spaces also grow; I’ve written both here and on Tuscany Arts about Ex3 in Gavinana and the Strozzina. This Fall I’m looking forward to the solo show by Simon Roberts, a 36-year-old English artist whose photographs “Motherland/Homeland” explore his (and our) relationship to countries, territories – a theme I’m seeing frequently in photography these days, but it’s good enough to go around (opening October 9th 2010 at Ex3). Last season the Strozzina brought in some remarkable young international artists at ASAP; opening October 1st, Portraits of Power promises to combine works from artists of different generations for a good exploration of the theme. In the courtyard of the Strozzi we’ll all get to stop in to admire an installation by the ubiquitous Michelangelo Pistoletto who also has a solo exhibit coming up in San Gimignano at the Galleria Continua (worth a day trip!).

Maybe the first step towards this growth is the infusion of good examples from abroad – like Rie Nakajima – and from the rest of Italy – like Pistoletto. They don’t have to be home grown Florentines, that will come in time. Now only if there were more places in which to put them. To make a mark, these artists need to have a longer presence in the city, a show of international appeal that is on for 2-3 months at least. (Performance is an exception – but Rie is staying in Florence for a month!) Florence, don’t rest on your laurels. Italians are willing to drive to Rovereto for a dose of contemporary art. Let’s bring it home.

Bar area (indoor and outdoor)

KeBuono cultural association proposes dinners from Renaissance recipes, complete with amusing names like Castrato in salsa di melangole e mele appie, two saturdays in the month of September: 10th and 25th. The location is the Caffetteria delle Oblate (via dell’Oriuolo 26) which has a great view of the Duomo not to mention excellent proximity to books .

If you want to eat something surely “different”, reservation is required at 055 2639685 and the cost is… I’m not sure but I imagine it’s reasonable.

Here are the menus!

Sabato 10 settembre

* Marzolino di Lucardo (antico pecorino con caglio di fiori di cardo)

* Per far minestra di cipolle e porri mescolati insieme (sec XVI)

* Per friggere molignane in giorno quadrigesimale (melanzane fritte con agliata di noci e salsa verde, sec XVI)

* Per cuocere il pesce orata in pottaggio (filetti di pesce alle mandorle e prugne, sec XVI)

* Frictelle de fichi piene (fichi ripieni glassati, sec XV)

Sabato 25 settembre

* Marzolino di Lucardo (antico pecorino con caglio di fiori di cardo)

* Brodetto de polpe (brodetto di polipo sec XV)

* Frictelle de salvia (frittelle di salvia con zafferano e cannella, sec XV)

* Castrato in salsa di melangole e mele appie (costolette di agnello con salsa di mele e arance amare, sec XVI)

* Cannoncini d’uova fresche (crespelline dolci all’arancia, sec XVI)