florence news & events march 2014

Politics, Leopard-Style

PiPPo Russo

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Mass grave unearthed Below the uffizi

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LauRen Boyd

Former Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi captured the attention of the country in February when he became the youngest Italian Prime Minister in the post-war era. On February 17, Italian President Gi-orgio Napolitano asked Renzi to form a new gov-ernment, which was proposed on February 21. Renzi assumed office on February 22. The new Premier replaced Enrico Letta, whom Renzi forced out of office by convincing the Dem-ocratic Party to withdraw its support from the

10-month-old government and back a new one, according to the BBC. Critics are unhappy with the way Renzi was appointed, believing that he reverted to old Italian tactics in taking over the country without election. Now the third prime minister in three years to be appointed without an election, Renzi says he wants to change how politicians are voted for in hopes that Italian citizens will have a say in who their next prime minister is. Italians wanted the right to vote on their future governing body, but President Napolitano said that new elections

wouldn’t be possible until Parliament creates a new law to ensure the election of more stable majorities. Reactions among Florentines have been divid-ed. Criticisms leveled at the leader include his relatively youthful age. Now 39, Renzi’s political career began just ten years ago when he held the Presidency of the Florence Province (2004-2009), after which he was elected mayor of Florence (2009-2014).

A new development has departed from Florence that we would have rather avoided. It is that of an extra-parliamentary crisis that suddenly erupted, for no reason other than that of person-al ambition. Everything happened with lightning speed. The explanations given to justify the events continue to be few and barely plausible. The fact remains that what happened breaks the mold in a way that is perhaps definitive, and its consequences on the Italian political system and its rules have yet to be measured. For some, this is the sign of new politics. A turn-ing point, comparable to Nicolas Sarkozy’s can-didacy for the presidency of the French Republic. In that case, the value of this discontinuity was exalted as something that renewed French politics by breaking the pattern. But then things went in a different direction, and Sarkozy’s inglorious end demonstrates that breaking the pattern is in itself not enough if a political project is unable to deliver more than just political com-munication. The fact remains that with the nomination of Matteo Renzi as prime minister a fracture has occurred in Italian politics as well: a discontinui-ty that is generally greeted as positive because it breaks patterns that needed to be broken.

Celebrating Women’s day on March 8

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From March 8 to July 20 Palazzo Strozzi will host a major exhibition entitled Pontormo and Rosso Fioren-tino, Diverging Paths of Mannerism. The exhibit will feature the works of painters Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino, who were considered un-conventional and open-minded in understanding art in the 16th centu-ry, which Giorgio Vasari called the

“modern manner”. Pontormo and Rosso trained under Andrea del Sarto, but continued to maintain an independent approach and freedom of expression to their art. Pontormo was known for being open to stylistic variety and to a new idea of the traditional method of art, while Rosso didn’t stray too far from tradi-tion but was still adept in working in

Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino: Diverging Paths of Mannerism

Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino: Diverging Paths of Mannerism

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his own originality and innovation. This unique exhibition brings togeth-er for the first time the masterpieces of the two artists in Italian and for-eign collections, and many of the pieces have been restored especially for the exhibition.

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The Galleria dell’Accademia and Fratelli Alinari present Getting Reac-quainted with Michelangelo, an exhi-bition to mark the 450th anniversary of the death of Michelangelo Buonar-roti. The show explores Michelange-lo’s influence on photography and painting as well as the theme of re-newed interest and admiration for Michelangelo starting in the 19th cen-tury.The photography on display strives to demonstrate the role the medium has played in fusing the critical and iconographic successes of Michel-angelo, therefore allowing others to celebrate his myth. Michelangelo’s sculptures are examined through multiple viewpoints and uses of pho-tography as the means to document and present new points of view and analysis of his work. The exhibit features works of art-

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ists such as Medardo Rosso, Henri Matisse, Carlo Mollino, Emmanuel Sougez, Herbert List, Horst P. Horst, Tano Festa, Paolo Monti, Antonia Mu-las, Helmut Newton, Gabriele Basili-co, and many more. Michelangelo’s influence can be seen through these works of art in their photographic studies of personalities, the expres-sions of contemporaneity, and the theme of the copy and reproducibility.

Exhibit Dedicated to the Great Master’s Influence Runs Through May 18

3Florence news & events MArcH 2014 no. 5

neWS

Work on expanding the Uffizi Gal-lery’s exhibition space has unearthed a mass grave just below the reading room of the library. The 5-month ar-chaeological excavation led by the Polo Museale Fiorentino (organiza-tion of Florentine Museums), the De-partment for Architectural Heritage, and the Department for Archaeolog-ical Heritage revealed 60 well-pre-served skeletons. Coins found in the graves dating to the 4th and early 5th centuries have provided a time frame for the burials.The graves suggest a period of de-cline in Florence, possibly due to a plague. “The position of the cemetery at this elevation so close to the Arno River and in an area prone to flood-ing, along with the location of the decomposed bodies, which are lined

up head-to-foot, with children placed in spaces between one body and an-other, are clear indications of burials carried out quickly and probably in conjunction with an epidemic,” said Superintendent for Architectural Her-itage Alessandra Marino. The skeletons show no obvious signs of death, such as injury or malnutri-tion.Given the location, an area regular-ly covered with water as river levels rose, experts believe that the grave was made during a “dry” period, so likely during the hot season. For now, only a small portion of the greater necropolis has been excavated, but ongoing anthropological investiga-tions should reveal much more about the Florentine population of the late Roman-early medieval period, along

Following a 10-day trial period over the Christmas holiday, in which visi-tors to the Accademia Museum were allowed to snap pictures of David and other works with their smart devices, the Superintendent of Florence’s Mu-seums is proposing a change to the law prohibiting photographs within museums. With the ever-growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, technolo-gy has forced a review of the former legislation that makes taking pictures in museums a violation. Tourists equipped with devices are becoming more difficult to supervise, and many ignore the signs posted and continue to take pictures freely despite ongoing reminders, at times resulting in dis-putes between museum employees and visitors.

The law prohibiting videos and pho-tographs in museums dates back to 1993. Known as Ronchey’s Law–after Alberto Ronchey, the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage from 1992-1994–the legislation permits amateur pho-tographs only by express authoriza-tion from the head of the institution, while professional photographers must acquire the same authorization plus pay a license fee. The proposal sent by the Superinten-dent of Florence Museums to the Min-istry of Cultural Heritage proposes loosening the restrictions, noting that some regulations will still apply: pho-tos must be for personal use, visitors must exercise due caution inside the museum while taking their pictures, and no flash photography will be per-mitted.

Law Prohibiting Photos in Museums Under

Review

Mass Grave Unearthed Below the Uffizi

Evidence Suggests a Plague Struck Late Roman-Era Florence with the environmental and social aspects of life in Florence at that time. The excavation project is being docu-mented in 3-D, and the materials will be available for consultation in the museum. The director of Florence’s National Archaeological Museum, Carlotta Cianferoni, told Discovery News, “It appears they all died at the same time. Multiple graves contain up to 10 bodies, certainly buried in a hurry. Within the graves we also found some coins, all dating between the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century A.D.” Cianferoni added, “The coins provide a rather accurate temporal reference, but of course we need to wait for the results of the anthropological analy-sis and radiocarbon dating.”

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Uffizi Gallery Opens Two New Rooms

The Palazzo Strozzi Museum is host-ing a contemporary exhibition that explores the definition of family in the modern world. Opening March 4, Family Matters: Portraits and Ex-periences of Family Today displays the works of eleven international art-ists: Guy Ben-Ner, Sophie Calle, Jim Campbell, John Clang, Nan Goldin, Courtney Kessel, Ottonella Mocellin and Nicola Pellegrini, Trish Morrissey, Hans Op de Beeck, Chrischa Oswald and Thomas Struth.The videos, photographs and instal-lations by the artists featured in this exhibit encourage viewers to ques-tion two different aspects of the con-temporary family: the representation of the family and its relational dy-namics, and the image of the family versus what truly exists behind the

image. This show challenges the no-tion that individuals each experience family differently, while attempting to provide a shared definition of fam-ily even as the concept has changed over the centuries. Family Matters reflects on the sociological idea that family is the primary place for so-cialization and education as well as a place of inequality, and explores the cultural, moral, ethical and biolog-ical ties that societies use to define and characterize a family. A bilingual catalog in English and Italian published by Mandragora ac-companies the exhibition, with crit-ical texts by the historian Paul Gins-borg (University of Florence) and the sociologist Chiara Saraceno (Honor-ary Fellow at the Collegio Carlo Alber-to in Turin, formerly a professor at the

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Family Matters: Portraits and Experiences of Family Today

Two new rooms have been opened up at the Uffizi Gallery as part of the cele-brations to mark the 450th anniversa-ry of Michelangelo Buonarotti’s death. Rooms 33 and 34, titled ‘Greek Por-traits and Antiquity’ and ‘The Garden of San Marco’ respectively, have been under renovation for the last year as part of the New Uffizi project and are located right before room 35, which houses Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo.Room 33 is devoted to a selection of Greek portraits, while Room 34 dis-plays works from the San Marco gar-den owned by Lorenzo De’ Medici, where Michelangelo studied classical sculpture. Both rooms have changed dramatically since the restoration, as they previously housed works by 16th century Tuscan and Lombard paint-ers.The walls of the two new rooms are green, inspired by the green back-grounds often used in Paolo Uccello’s work in the 15th century, but also to create a sharp contrast against the white marble sculptures. The back-ground grants viewers the opportuni-ty to carefully study the intricate fea-tures of the people and scenes shown, and as there are no ropes preventing observers from approaching the

sculptures in Room 33, museum-go-ers can walk right up and observe them from various angles. The classical works displayed in these new rooms inspired artists to create works similar to those from the Renaissance, which were models of perfection and character in the Neo-classical era. Lorenzo De’ Medici created the Gar-den of San Marco and filled it with statues, portraits, and tombstones in order to inspire the sculptors of the time to replicate the skill of the an-cient Greeks.Room 34 houses the work that in-spired Michelangelo’s great sculp-tural masterpieces, which today can be admired around Florence at the Galleria dell’Accademia (David, Pris-oners, and St. Matthew), the Bargello (Bacchus), and his renowned sculp-tures in the New Sacristy within the Medici Chapels.The project was funded by the Friends of the Uffizi Association, with a con-tribution of close to 200 thousand euro, according to The Florentine. The rooms were opened to the public on February 15, just three days shy of the 450th anniversary of Michelange-lo’s death.

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Critics also cite an overly ambitious agenda. Renzi plans to stabilize Italy’s politics and economy, revise the tax system and bring down unemployment, promising changes that will boost job prospects as early as March. But within the DP members on the political left are thought likely to oppose the key structural re-forms, which would delay passing such chang-es through Parliament by years, according to The Independent. And the declining economy is believed to require four years to recover. While many are concerned about the new PM’s young age, others are simply alarmed by his lack of political experience. Renzi came to power without ever holding a nationally elect-ed office, and according to Liberty Voice he is considered one of the least experienced prime ministers in Italy’s history. He has never been a member of Parliament, and was asked by the president to form Italy’s new government with-in weeks of being elected as leader of the cen-ter-left Democratic Party. Questions have also been raised about how Renzi was able to finance his recent political rise, a reminder to some Italians of the previous year of political controversy and corruption. In the past five years he was able to support four election campaigns, two in 2009, one in 2012 and one in 2013, all without any financial sup-port from the DP, electoral reimbursements or public funds, according to Il Fatto Cronaca. Ornella De Zordo, a Florence opposition politi-cian, is among one of Renzi’s critics. She claims that Renzi is much better at making promises than keeping them, and that he is a very good self-publicist. De Zordo has said, “We will re-member him for excessive ambition, Italy is likely to be remembered for the end of democ-racy.” De Zordo named Renzi the most absen-tee mayor Italy has ever seen, and reminds Ital-ians of statements he has made over the years against pursuing the role of Prime Minister.

Such statements include: “The candidate for prime minister? I hope we can find a better name than mine” in 2011 and “I have no in-tention of unseating Letta. I intend to remain mayor. Mayors, unlike leaders in Rome, stay among the people” in January 2014.Renzi’s supporters, however, have praised him for lowering taxes, boosting recycling and en-couraging innovation during his time as mayor of Florence. He is often viewed as represent-ing a much needed generational shift, as he is from a generation that came after the standoff between the Christian Democratic party and the Italian Communist party that held its stakes over Italian politics for decades, according to Agence France-Presse. The Italian people are also happy with his push for more cuts in spending on Italy’s bureaucra-cy, a possible salve to widespread anger over high salaries of public officials during the pain-ful recession, as well as his plan to put a greater focus on education and to combat the epidemic of youth unemployment. Renzi’s popularity is strong among younger voters. Throughout his campaign, Renzi uti-lized social media and has been seen around Florence sporting jeans and a leather jacket rather than the more formal attire ordinarily worn by politicians. He is consid-ered a skilled communicator and uses his youthful style to relate to a younger demographic.Renzi supporters include U.S. Pres-ident Barack Obama. Obama was among the first world leaders to congratulate Renzi on his new po-sition and expressed his support for the reform agenda Renzi had proposed, particularly on the two leaders’ shared goal of promoting growth and job creation. Renzi has been labeled in the Ital-ian press as “Italy’s Tony Blair” by his supporters, and “Little Berlus-coni” by his critics. Like Blair, Ren-

zi aims to draw his party towards the political center, and even wants to reach out to voters on the political right. Even his critics credit him with an ability to reach beyond the usual strongholds of the DP. While many Italians are unsure of his choice of cabinet members—the average age of the new members is 48, making it the youngest govern-ment in the history of the country—others are pleased about Renzi’s appointment of eight women members in the 16-member cabinet.Renzi presents himself as a break from corrupt Italian politics of the past. Nicknamed “The Scrapper” he plans to demolish the Italian political establishment—considered by many an establishment tainted by corruption that has failed Italian citizens—and start anew. A poll published in the Italian daily Corriere del-la Sera in February showed that 64 percent of Italians oppose the change of leadership, but 52 percent of those surveyed believe Renzi’s new government can push through needed reforms, according to The Telegraph.Many Italians, frustrated by the consequences of the deep recession and disillusioned by broken politi-cal promises from former prime ministers, are hopeful that Matteo Renzi will turn the country around and bring solutions to Italy’s problems.

Reactions to Renzi’s Appointment Range from Skeptical to Optimistic

LauRen Boyd

continued FRoM page 1

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neWSFLoRence neWS & eVentS MaRcH 2014 no. 5

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On the contrary, it seems to us that what happened goesbeyond the worst traditional political habits, including those of the so-called ‘First Republic’, in which infighting within different factions of a politi-cal party could decide the fate of a government. But the First Republic was also a period of republi-can virtues that today we regret, especially because that sense of State has been progressively lost at the expense of private interests and increasing person-alism. It is sad to note that only the negative aspects remain of that political period, and the positive ones have disappeared. We live in the era of the ‘new leopards’: those who change everything to leave everything as it was, if not to make it worse. And where does Florence find itself in the midst of this? The city has found itself at the center of political processes that have somehow affected it. For some this has even been a positive thing, as now more than ever the city has come to national and even international attention. An opinion that is bizarre, to say the least. Because Florence does not need any external reason to be in the spotlight, apart from its history and beauty – even when someone uses it for his personal ambition. Contrary to prevailing opin-ion, Florence has never been particularly involved in the ventures of those who have intended to use it, nor has it been happy to be subordinate to some-one’s personal choices. But at least now it glimpses an advantage: perhaps in forthcoming months it will once again be governed as it deserves.

Politics, Leopard-StylePiPPo Russo

continued FRoM page 1

pippo Russo teaches Sociology at the university of Florence and

writes and has written forseveral italian newspapers,

including L’unità, il Messaggero, il Fatto Quotidiano, La Repubblica and

il corriere della Sera.


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‘Noi Per Firenze’

Cascine Park Joins Florence’s Free Wi-Fi

Noi Per Firenze is a volunteer asso-ciation comprised of residents and business owners in Florence’s his-toric city center working to preserve the city’s culture and way of life. The group aims to monitor and protect Florence’s cultural heritage from acts of vandalism, with a strong focus on prevention. They do not patrol the streets in the way of police officers, nor do they substitute for the police force in any way. They are simply concerned citizens—more than 200 in Florence—who want to develop a

Eighty new hotspots throughout the Cascine Park will join the 530 current-ly accessible in 200 areas of the city this spring. The network will extend from Piazza Vittorio Veneto, along the Arno River to Viale dell’Indiano and include communal meeting plac-es such as the Pavoniere, the Querci-one and Amphitheater lawns, and the New Opera House and garden piazza. Access points installed above the

conservation plan for the city.Last month Noi Per Firenze put into place an accord with the Civil Protec-tion Office of the State Police to pro-vide a headquarters and allow volun-teers to monitor the city. Volunteers, many of whom are ex-military or re-tired persons, must first pass courses in traffic and road laws and first aid. Michele Turini, President of Noi Per Firenze, has said, “This is a model already tried in other cities, one that received approval and could bring benefits to Florence as well.”

park’s lights mean that even if the wi-fi signal drops out in other parts of Florence it will continue uninterrupt-ed in the park. Florence was one of the first cities in Italy to provide free wi-fi network coverage and remove the need for user identification before navigation.The €50,000 initiative was developed as part of the city’s integrated urban plan for sustainable development.

Association Protects the City

In early February seven people were arrested in New York and 17 others in Italy on charges that included narcot-ics trafficking and money laundering, following a two-year undercover in-vestigation, according to the FBI.Many were surprised to learn that those arrested are connected to ‘Ndrangheta, the Calabria-based crime organization notorious for kid-nappings and cocaine importation to Europe, rather than Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia organization with long-

Florence’s City Council has moved to close Piazzale Michelangelo to ve-hicles. As of March 8, the over 200 parking places currently available in the Piazzale will be removed, parking access for tourist buses will be signifi-cantly cut to just four spots, and the piazza will become completely pedes-trianized.The decision is in part motivated by a desire to make the world-famous outdoor landmark and lookout-point more accessible to Florentines cut

time presence in the U.S. It is thought this recent trafficking activity rep-resents ‘Ndrangheta’s attempt to gain a foothold in the Cosa Nostra territory in America. Cosa Nostra was active in heroin and cocaine dealing in the U.S. in the early 1980s. The over $1 billion crime ring was brought down in the 1985-87 Pizza Connection Trial, so-called due to Cosa Nostra’s use of New York pizzerias to traffic heroin from Italy to the U.S. and for laundering money be-

off from the site given the perennial hordes of tourists, tourist buses, and limousines (the Piazzale is a popular stop for wedding-day photos) filling the space. But nearby business own-ers have already expressed concern that the decrease in traffic flow will surely mean a decline in customers.Pedestrianizing the historic center of Florence has been a hallmark of Mat-teo Renzi’s mayorship, with this plan coming after several other pedestri-anization projects in recent years. In

Arrests Expose Link Between U.S., Neapolitan and Calabrian Mafia

Piazzale Michelangelo May Be Closed to Traffic

fore sending it back to Sicily. February’s arrests are the culmina-tion of a joint U.S.-Italian police oper-ation known as “New Bridge,” which had been targeting ties between the two countries’ ‘Ndrangheta Mafia families. Coordinated on multiple continents, “New Bridge” has re-vealed that organized crime families in the U.S. still rely on Italy for sup-port and has thwarted a potential rebirth of Mafia drug trafficking into America.

2011, Piazza Pitti, Via Tornabuoni and Por Santa Maria were closed to au-tomobile traffic, followed by Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Firenze. The projects have required rerouting of street traffic and long periods of closed streets and detours. With the cars removed, the city of Florence is planning a new urban design for the piazza. There’s talk of a competition for architects from around the world to work on the new space and deco-rative works along the balusters in-spired by the five characters in film Amici Miei, set in Florence.Construction on Piazzale Michelan-gelo started in 1865, on a design by Giuseppe Poggi, an architect com-missioned to carry out several urban renewal projects when Florence be-came capital of Italy (1865-1870). The renovation included the creation of the long boulevard that leads to the Piazzale. According to accounts of the time, Florentines were annoyed by excessive construction costs asso-ciated with the Piazzale Michelangelo project.

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NEWSFlorENcE NEWS & EvENtS MArcH 2014 No. 5

The annual Rome Marathon is set to take place this year on Sunday, March 23. The race passes by the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and many other sites of Rome, and runners are greet-ed by Legionaries and Praetorians in traditional garb. Registration for the race includes perks like access to the Marathon Village, free public trans-portation in Rome the day of the race, a New Balance technical t-shirt and backpack, and an after-party at the club Gilda. During the race, event or-ganizers provide refreshment breaks every 5 kilometers as well as food and refreshments at the finish line. If you’re not up for a full 42K run but would still like to participate and see the sights, a 5K ‘fun run’ is also being organized. This more relaxed event is geared towards children and fam-

Rome Marathon Set for March 23

ilies and starts after the competitive race. A superb sightseeing route and abundant registration perks make the Rome Marathon a unique athlet-ic event that can be shared by locals and foreigners alike.Registration is available on the mar-athon’s website, which also includes information on hotels and other practical matters in Rome. The race starts early on the morning of Sunday, March 23, so interested participants coming from Florence will want to make lodging arrangements.

President Obama to Visit Pope Francis on March 27

President Barack Obama and Pope Francis will meet for the first time at the Vatican on March 27 to discuss their shared commitment to fight-ing poverty and growing inequality. Obama’s visit will be part of a larger European trip that he will take this month, including meeting Italy’s president and prime minister and at-tending two summits in the Nether-lands and Brussels.Obama recently delivered a speech on the decline of social mobility in America, and has since said that confronting inequality will be the concentration of his presidency for the remainder of his time in office. Francis has established a reputation of compassion, in caring for the poor in Buenos Aires, Argentina and his focus on ending the suffering in those in the poorest parts of the world. Although Obama’s presidency has ex-perienced prominent clashes with the

Catholic Church, including on issues of abortion and contraception, com-mon ground between the two leaders is seen in their shared belief in the importance of world economic issues. The March visit will be the president’s second to the Vatican since he was elected into office (In 2009 President Obama met Pope Benedict).

American Student Found Dead in Rome

John Durkin, a junior at Bates Col-lege, was found dead in a Rome train tunnel in the early hours of February 20. Durkin, 21, went missing in Rome after going out with friends. His body was found in the Pamphili tunnel be-tween the Trastevere and St. Peter’s stations. He was reported missing that same day and the following day was identified.The Rome District Attorney’s office is investigating the details surround-ing Durkin’s death, trying to piece together the events of the night he was killed. He started walking on the train tracks at the St. Peter’s sta-

tion, where images of Durkin alone and staggering were captured by a video surveillance camera before he entered the Pamphili tunnel. At that hour, no trains were running. Train service started up again at 5:00 a.m. and Durkin was found in the tunnel at 6:30 a.m. The cause of death is pre-sumed to be accidental. An autopsy report should tell authorities if alco-hol or drugs played a part in Durkin’s decision to walk into a train tunnel. Durkin had been attending Trinity College’s study abroad program in Rome, where he had been for little more than a month, according to a

Rome MarathonSunday, March 23

registration online at: www.maratonadiroma.it

In an MSNBC interview last year, Obama described Francis as an “ex-traordinarily thoughtful and soulful messenger of peace and justice.” “Everything that I’ve read, everything that I’ve seen from him, indicates the degree to which he is trying to remind us of those core obligations,” Obama said.

family spokesman. After his disap-pearance, friends and family mem-bers of Durkin’s launched a Facebook page to help locate him. Since his death, Durkin’s former professors, ad-ministrators at Bates College, and po-litical representatives from his home state of New Hampshire have praised his academic performance and char-acter. According to the news site Roma To-day, the Durkin family spokesperson said they do not believe suicide to be a possibility. Durkin’s father will re-main in Italy until authorities release his son’s body.

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cuLtuRe

Everybody knows (or at least assumes) that Ital-ians are a warm, friendly people. But beneath the surface of this easy, genteel exterior lays a refined undertone of rigid customs and eti-quette in Italy that might not be apparent to the foreigner at first glance.I’ve talked previously about the concept of fare una bella figura (making a beautiful figure). I had tried to emphasize that while clothing is the most visible sign of this practice, it might not be the most important. Indeed, your behav-ior says more about you than your couture, even if the subtleties can be lost on foreigners. Take off your sunglasses when you address someone, and remove your gloves when you shake hands. Don’t wear a hat indoors. Cover yourself prop-erly when entering a church. Get your elbows off the table! And always respect your elders. Yes, manners matter.Courtesies and FormalitiesItalian society as a whole is really fond of cour-tesy forms and recognition of titles given by job positions, level of education, age, or—even more difficult for a foreigner to understand—the grade of acquaintance with a specific person. Let’s start from that last point. In English, we address anyone and everyone in the second per-son (singular and plural) with “you.” It could be your best friend, your teacher, your priest, or

Recognizing Customs and Etiquettes in Italy

President Obama; but the fact is, that’s the only form available. In Italian, instead, when you bump into a stranger while walking down the street and you want to apologize—or when you want to thank the restaurant owner for the com-plimentary shot of limoncello, you would use the third person “Lei” instead of “tu” (you). It’s a form of respect and deference that maintains a certain social distance between people not fa-miliar with each other.The same use of this courtesy form occurs when speaking to somebody older than you, or when you are approaching a professional person that you are working with. Often you might ad-dress them with the third person “Lei” form of the verb plus the title that the person has (Dot-tor, Maestro, Avvocato, etc.) Funny how such a (supposedly) warm population likes to keep this type of formality, right?If the use of “Lei” and other titles might per-sist in certain formal occasions, once you have introduced yourself to a person you might ask politely if he or she is comfortable with the friendlier and more direct “tu,” corresponding to the English “you.” (“Possiamo darci del tu?”) In almost every case, the person will agree with your request.This is actually an opportunity to warm up quickly to a person that you’ve just met. If you like the person, you’ll invite him/her to give you the “tu” right away. Note that the one who’s in

charge of suggesting such a switch is the one of the higher social standing (i.e. your boss can tell you to use the “tu,” but you cannot suggest it to him). And even if he/she addresses you in the

“tu,” you should still use the “Lei” with them un-til asked to do otherwise.The reasoning for this linguistic eccentricity is best explained by Luigi Barzini in his seminal book, The Italians. He says: “This form of ad-dress, the third person singular, is left over from the Spanish rulers. It is a conventional way of talking not directly to a man, but to his aura, so to speak, to a shadowy persona, la sua signoria, his lordship.”Don’t worry too much about this; I merely want to point out the existence of this phenomenon, which permeates social graces as well as the language. Just understand that Italians are big on for-malities, politeness, and respect for age, social status, and titles. But being a foreigner, they realize that you’re not acquainted with this practice and they will usually give you plenty of leeway in your man-ner of speaking. Also, in Rome the “Lei” is less used than anywhere else in Italy. This is due to the Latin inheritance, since Latin does not have such a form. So relax and just do as the Romans do.Perhaps more impor-tantly for the visitor to It-aly would be to abandon the idea of “getting right to the point,” whether you’re speaking in Italian or English. Italians don’t like this way of conversing, and in fact are a bit put off by a person who forgets to say

“good day” or “how are you?” before launching into his or her series of questions and demands. It’s a good practice to slow down a bit and let the conversation warm up more naturally instead of reducing it to merely an exchange of informa-tion. And don’t forget to say “grazie” at the end.

RiCk ZuLLo

“...slow down a bit and let the

conversation warm up more naturally

instead of reducing it to merely an exchange of

information...”

A History of Proper DecorumI came across an excellent article recently on the Italy Magazine website that addressed this exact topic and traced the historical evolution of these customs. The author reminds us of the Italian authority on such social graces, “Il Galateo overo de’ costume,” a treatise of polite behavior written by Giovanni Della Casa in 1558 for the benefit of his nephew, a young Florentine destined for greatness. Some of these things are still held in esteem today in Italy, even if other countries have found reason to abandon such

“rigorous” decorum. Here are a few examples:“To offer your advice without being asked is nothing else but a way of saying that you are wiser than those you are giving advice to, and even a reproof for their ignorance and lack of knowledge.” “It is a barbarous habit to chal-lenge someone to a drinking bout. This is not one of our Italian customs and so we give it a

foreign name, that is, far brindisi.”

“We do not have the power to change cus-toms as we see fit, for it is time that creates them and likewise time con-sumes them. Everyone, however, may adapt the current fashion to his own personal style.”Good Manners are Al-ways in FashionThere might be a time in the future when the etiquette of behavior and the courtesy forms of speech will be extin-guished from Italian so-

ciety—but not in your lifetime. Until then, try to be aware of who you’re talking to and what stra-ta of society that they belong to. Overdosing on courtesy forms and titles can still be very flat-tering to many Italians, whether it’s your boss or a beautiful woman (or her mother, if you get that far). Show some understanding of the local rules. It’s always a good thing.

Read more from Rick at: www.rickzullo.com

9FLoRence neWS & eVentS MaRcH 2014 no. 5

cuLtuRe

You can speak Italian very well, very accurately, and still not sound Italian. Why is that? Here are 5 tips to help your Italian sound more Italian.1. “Piantala” (knock it off) with the personal pronouns. Italian very rarely uses personal pronouns io, tu, lui, lei, noi, voi, and loro, other than to reinforce a point. It is much more common to hear “sono andata al mer-cato ieri” (no pronoun) rather than

“io sono andata al mercato ieri” (with pronoun), unless the person is try-ing to reinforce that they specifically were the one who went. “Io” at the beginning of every sentence sounds strange to Italian ears. Then how do we know who we’re re-ferring to? Well, Italian verbs carry with them the idea of who they refer to with their conjugation. “Parlo” can only refer to “io” because the other pronouns have their own conjuga-tions: parli / parla / parliamo / par-late / parlano. Why is this hard for English speakers? Because we need our personal pronouns to know who is doing what.2. Learn Italian word-whis-kers. What are they? Those little

Make Your Italian Sound More Italian

mean-nothing words that we all put into our speech when we’re trying to search for what we really want to say, or to get attention, or to make a point. Why is this important? Well, um isn’t um in Italian. It’s more like

“ehhh”. So gets replaced by “allora” or “quindi” or “dunque” and I mean can be translated as “cioè”. “Beh” is also a good one to use if you’re stalling for time and “ehhhhh” is also widely used. “Capito?”, “giusto?” and “no?” are tacked onto the ends of sentences to make sure the listener understands, while “boh!” the Italian equivalent of our “dunno!” Examples: “Beh, è proprio una bella giornata, no?” and “Voglio partire dopo il 15 aprile, capito?”3. Talk fast. People can always tell when I’ve been in Italy, because I end up speaking English like a machine gun. I don’t know why, but Italians (in my experience) seem to be faster talkers and maybe leave less space between words. Everything runs to-gether.4. Use all the suffixes you can. Whereas in English we’d describe something as a “little house“, Ital-ians might say “una casa piccola” or they might break out the suffixes and

saRaH MastRoianni call it “una casetta” or “una casina”. I would ask a little boy about his “am-ichetti” (little friends, amico + the suffix etti) at school, and describe someone as having a nasone (naso + the suffix one) if their face is unfortu-nately adorned with a big shnoz. This type of talk might sound “cutesy” to we anglophones, but I can assure you that even grown Italian men go around exclaiming that things are

“bellissima” (bella + issima, the most beautiful) and hope to introduce you to their “carissimo” (caro + issimo, dearest) friend. When I asked a friend where he was spending Christmas he replied, “a casina.” At home.5. Exclaim! Coo. Whine. Yell. Gen-erally be theatrical in your speech. The Italian language is melodic in its own right, but Italian speakers are generally pretty theatrical. Don’t just say “ti prego” (I beg you), say, “ti preeeeeeeggggoooooooo” in a beg-ging voice. And when you’ve had enough, it’s a strong “BASTA!” loud and clear. You’re trying to convince someone? Use the long, drawn-out

“daaaaaaiiiiiii” (come on) and whine a bit. Everybody’s doing it. I promise.

Read more from Sarah at notjustanotherdolcevita.com

Getting a Visa. Compared to other countries, it’s fairly easy to get a visa for Italy if you’re from a developed country. There are different visa options and what you choose will probably come down to what you can afford. Anything up to three months doesn’t require a visa at all and that’s great if you want to come and do some tourism or a summer program.After three months you’ll need ei-ther a student visa or an extended tourist visa. Getting a work visa is nearly impossible so I wouldn’t even bother. Getting a student visa is a pretty straight shot. If you choose to do some kind of study program here you are allowed to work 20 hours per week, although keep in mind that the average hourly pay here is like seven eu-ros. The easiest way to come here is if you’re already attend-ing an Ameri-can Uni with connections to an Ital-ian Uni. Money is the biggest problem to tackle because getting a visa re-quires you have $1,000 in the bank for every month you ask to be in Italy. (You should try to have at least a cou-ple grand saved before you move here just in case you don’t find a job right away.)Permit of Stay. After you get your visa, when you arrive in Italy you must go to the Police station within eight days and apply for a residence permit or a permesso di soggiorno. You’ll be in line for hours, so plan on having a horrible day because it’s

Moving to Florence: The Initial Steps

Misty evans

“the easiest way to come here is if you’re already attending an american

university with connections to an italian university”

part of immigrating here. The permes-so is nice to have because once your student visa runs out, as long as your permesso is up-to-date you can stay. My old roommate originally came on a student visa, but then she found a job as a tour guide and stayed on her permesso alone. Make sure you have it and keep it current. Schools. Going to an Italian school is a good deal cheaper than going to an American school. Well, basically going to school anywhere on earth is cheaper than an American school but Italy is really cheap. As far as grants and loans are concerned, there are a number of cultural grants that one can apply for from most countries, but not many in the United States. Finding the right school can make

all the differ-ence. If you study before you come to Italy you can go to an Ital-ian school, which is cheaper, but ever y thing

will be taught in Italian. Or you can find schools that are affordable and cater to English-speaking humans. Make sure the school is reputable, and that the degrees, certifications, etc. transfer to your home-country. More than anything just make sure you compare schools so you’re not getting ripped off. And do not do housing through the school! They always jack up the prices on student apartments and many schools make a large profit on the apartments. I know from experience.

Read more from Misty at www.survivinginitaly.com

10 FLoRence neWS & eVentS MaRcH 2014 no. 5

cuLtuRe

As you stroll the streets of Florence Saturday, March 8, you will no doubt notice the presence of yellow, fluffy mimosa flowers everywhere–pinned to lapels, carried in bouquets, deco-rating table-tops. The mimosa flower has become the symbolic gift to offer to Italian women on this day, Interna-tional Women’s Day, known to Ital-ians as Festa della Donne. A holiday that today would appear to be about light-hearted socializing with female friends, the Festa della Donne is ac-tually a day of commemoration, one with a politically-charged history tied to the international Socialist move-ment for fair labor practices. In the early 1900s, oppressive, un-safe work conditions and inequality in the workforce were at their height, while Socialist Party movements for change, such as campaigns for equality, suffrage, and better working conditions, were thriving. In these ear-ly years of the 20th century, against a backdrop of the fight for equal rights, Inter-national Women’s Day was commemorated on various spring days, but never on March 8. It wasn’t until 1910, during the International So-cialist meeting in Copenha-gen, that an International Women’s Day was officially established. The proposal was met with unanimous approval by representatives of over 100 women from 17 countries, on the grounds that it would be a day to cel-ebrate the progress made by women over the years.The movement for fair and safe labor practices gained

On March 7, 2014, the Advancing Women Artists Foundation, with the support of Syracuse University in Florence and the U.S. Consulate Gen-eral in Florence, will commemorate International Women’s Day with a unique event called, “Women Artists and Wikipedia,” an Editing Marathon whose purpose is to bring together scholars, writers, art historians and art lovers to generate Wikipedia en-tries spotlighting the achievements of women artists, both historical and contemporary.According to a 2010 survey, less than 13 percent of the 20,572,652 editors who contribute to the world’s most well-known online encyclopedia are women. This lack of female editor-ship may be one of the causes behind the dearth of information on women of historic significance online. Wiki-pedia, with its 470 million users per month, is a fundamental repository of shared knowledge–yet innumerable women artists have been either omit-ted entirely or do not have substantial pages appropriate to their standing. Florence’s upcoming Editing Mara-thon is inspired by a recent worldwide effort on February 1 which saw the participation of the Advancing Wom-en Artists Foundation in Florence as one of 31 satellite events organized at universities, museums, art libraries and cultural centers in Italy, the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. and the Netherlands. Over 100 new entries on women artists were generated, including pages submitted by the Advancing Women Artists Founda-tion for several women artists whose

Celebrating Women’s Day Female Artists and Wikipedia

momentum after the event known as the Triangle Waistcoat Factory fire on March 25, 1911, in which 146 employees of Triangle died, the ma-jority of them women and including many young immigrants from Europe. Some workers died in the fire and oth-ers from jumping out of windows to escape. Later testimony revealed the insuffi-cient escape routes for workers and rumors spread that doors to the fac-tory had been intentionally locked. After the Triangle fire, groups like the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which had in the two years prior to the fire been organizing with New York City garment workers, grew in number and influence. In dis-cussions of the Festa della Donne, the Triangle fire represents the culmina-tion of the women’s rights movements

works populate Florence’s museums. “Our last event’s success has encour-aged us to organize another Editing Marathon, so that a vaster public may participate. It’s another step in a journey whose final goal is to value the lives and works of international women artists who have significant-ly contributed to Florence’s cultural wealth,” says Dr. Jane Fortune, found-er of the Advancing Women Artists Foundation. “The city is a treasure trove for art by women. It’s time this fact became common knowledge.”The event will be held on Friday, March 7 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at Syr-acuse University in Florence, Piazza Savonarola, 15, Florence. Volunteers can receive a list of suggested art-ists or sign up to “adopt an artist” by writing to [email protected]. Wikipedia entries or ed-its spotlighting each artist’s life and works can be written on site at the

”Women Artists and Wikipedia” event or sent to the above e-mail address by March 7. Entries can be written in English or Italian. No prior Wikipedia experience needed. Attendees should bring their own laptops, tablets and power cords. Admission is free but participants must confirm their atten-dance in advance.

around the world, and is one of the specific events remembered on this day.In Italy, the tradition of giving a mi-mosa flower on March 8 began during the WWII years. On March 8, 1945, Women’s Day was celebrated to hon-or freedom in liberated Italy, and the following year throughout Italy the mimosa appeared as a symbol of this day, most likely because the mimosa blooms in early March. In addition to celebrating with female friends, Ital-ians might observe March 8 by serv-ing a torta mimosa, a yellow cake very similar in appearance to the flower. Restaurants, bars, and nightclubs will offer Women’s Day specials, and many museums and galleries offer free entrance to women. Political rallies and protests may take place around town on March 8, too.

Writers ‘Marathon’ to Commemorate Women’s Day

The Historical Roots of an Italian Tradition

Women Artists and Wikipedia

March 7 from 2-5 p.m. Syracuse university in Florenceto participate, contact: linda@

advancingwomenartists.org

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San giMignano

According to legend, San Gimignano was founded by two young patrician brothers who escaped from Rome and built the town’s first two castles in 63 B.C.: the Castle of Mucchio and the Castle of Silvia would later become the groundwork of San Gimignano. The town grew principally in the first three centuries of the Millennium, with a geographical position com-prised of hills, valleys, and streams that was extremely advantageous to inhabitants. Like many medieval towns, San Gimignano developed around the pilgrimage route from France to Rome, known as the Via

The City of Towers

Francigena. The town is famous for its towers, once numbering 72, of which today only 13 remain. Around the first half of the 14th century, the commune of San Gimignano ceded to Florence and experienced a drastic depopula-tion and economic decline. Towers fell down or were torn down, pal-aces damaged, and subsequently San Gimignano fell into a period of historical inactivity. The historical center therefore remained virtually untouched during the period of goth-ic renovation. Since the 15th century, a few modern renovations have taken

place, including the Rocca di Monte-staffoli, a fortress built by the Floren-tines for defense against Siena. San Gimignano benefited from reforms in the 18th century. Agriculture expand-ed, the population began to rise, and the historical center experienced an incredible revival in the rediscovery of the Middle Ages. Several build-ings were repaired and renovated, followed by exponential growth in cultural tourism. Today the “town of towers” attracts millions of visitors yearly, is home to 8,000 inhabitants, and enjoys prosperous agricultural and agro-touristic activities.

Discover theMuseum of Sacred ArtThe Museum of Sacred Art in San Gimignano was established in 1915 and includes works of art from con-vents, the Duomo and area church-es, including paintings, sculptures, earthenware, funerary monuments, bas-reliefs, textiles and silverware. Wooden sculptures dating from the 14th century include The Announcing Angel and The Madonna (with only the head and shoulders extant), and the illuminated psalm books and an-tiphonaries (books containing verses which precede psalms) of Niccolò di Ser Sozzo and Lippo Vanni. A favor-ite of San Gimignano residents is The Madonna of the Rose, part of a trip-tych by Bartolo di Fredi. The Sacred Furniture room displays finely-worked examples of gold-smith’s art, including a precious enameled early 14th-century cross. Embossed and engraved work can also be admired. The Vestment room

piazza Luigi pecori, 1-2Monday to Saturday: 10 a.m. -

4:40 p.m.; Sundays and holidays: 12:30 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.

opening times can change ac-cording to extraordinary church

servicesFull price ticket: € 3

groups: € 2,50children 6 to 17 years old: € 1,50children up to 6 years old: free

admission

contains a variety of pieces from the best craftsmanship of the 17th and 18th century, including the Paliotto delle Colombe d’Oro, a rare exam-ple of the exceptional textile crafts-manship of the 15th century. The Vestment room also displays a note-worthy polychrome wooden statue representing Sant’Antonio Abate from the beginning of the 14th centu-ry, by Francesco da Valdambrino.

SAN GIMIGNANO

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1°

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Rocca di MonteStaFFoLiclimb the remains of an ancient fortress turret for stunning views of the areaFree (outdoors)

piaZZa deLLa ciSteRnaSan gimignano’s medieval water well gives its name to this piazzaFree (outdoors)

ancient citY WaLLS Walk along the 13th-century walls with 15th-century Medicean bastionsFree (outdoors)

oRnitHoLogicaL MuSeuMLocated inside the church of San Francesco on Via Quercecchiotel. 0577 941 388; email: [email protected] after april 1: 11 a.m.-5:30p.m.entrance €1.50

cHuRcH oF Sant’agoStinonear porta St. Matteo on Via cel-loleseuntil april 1: Mon 4 p.m.– 6 p.m.; tues-Sun 10a.m.-12p.m./3 p.m.-6 p.m.

HouSe oF St. FinaVia del castello

FoRMeR podeSta’S paLace and RognoSa toWeRpiazza del duomo


San giMignano

Located just inside porta San giovan-ni, bar and gelateria caffé combattenti and partner enoteca corsi serve arti-san-quality, homemade tuscan prod-ucts. try the award-winning gelato ‘Ric-ciarello di Siena’, saffron gelato, or the lively wine-flavored gelatos. Bar com-battenti serves traditionally prepared bruschetta, pizza, panini, and pasta, alongside tuscan salami and pecorino cheeses. also available are classic tus-can treats like ricciarelli and cantucci, grappa, extra virgin olive oil, and local truffle products, as well as gluten-free products, including gelato. enoteca cor-si offers a selection of more than 600 wines.

tHe BaR StaRted BY a WWi FigHteR

Via San giovanni, 124San gimignano

057 79 40 391328 06 07 267

[email protected]

the Museum of torture at San gimi-gnano sheds light on the terrifying his-tory of torture and its gruesome de-vices. established in 1983, the museum documents the history of human cruelty from medieval times to the present, dis-playing 700sqm worth of instruments traditionally used for causing pain and death.

open daily with special prices

for groups and students.

a HiStoRY oF HuMan cRueLtY FRoM MedieVaL

tiMeS to tHe pReSent

Via del castello, 1/3piazza della cisterna, San gimignano


VIA DEL CASTELLO 4 - SAN GIMIGNANO (SI)+39 0577 941626WWW.GALLERIA-J.COM

UNIQUE JEWELRY CREATIONSANTIQUES & ETHNIC ITEMSSCULPTURES & PAINTINGSFASHION ACCESSORIESDESIGN & CERAMICS

GALLERIAGALLERIAGALLERIA

SAN GIMIGNANO

GALLERIA

GALLERIA

GALLERIA

GALLERIA

A.T.W.

A Guide to Select Sites of San Gimignanoinformation courtesy of the pro Loco association of San gimignano – tourist information officewww.sangimignano.com

podeSta’S paLace, toWeR, and aRt coLLectionpiazza duomo, 2; tel: 0577 990 312entrance: €5; children between 6 and 17 €5; free entrance to children under 6; combined ticket good for all civic museums €7.50 March: daily 11 a.m.- 5:30: after april 1: 9:30 a.m. -7 p.m. tHe coLLegiate cHuRcH oF Santa MaRia aSSunta (duoMo) piazza del duomo; tel: 0577 940 152; email: [email protected] entrance: €4; combined ticket with the Sacred art Museum: €6March: Mon to Sat: 10 a.m.-4:40 p.m.; Sun/Holidays: 12:30 p.m.-4:40 p.m.(apr-oct) Mon to Fri: 10 a.m-7:00 p.m.; Sat: 10 a.m - 5 p.m.; Sun/Holidays: 12:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

San giMignano MuSeuM 1300centro per le arti, Via San giovanni, 50/Via Berignano, 23tel: 327 43 95 165; email: [email protected] €3; children under 10 freedaily 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

aRcHeoLogicaL MuSeuM - Santa Fina HeRBaRiuM - ModeRn and conteMpoRaRY aRt gaLLeRYVia Folgore, 1; tel: 0577 940348; [email protected] March: 11 a.m.-5:30p.m.after april 1: 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m.entrance € 3.50; € 2.50 for children between 6 and 17; children under 6 free; combined ticket with all civic museums €7.50

toRtuRe inStRuMentS MuSeuMpiazza della cisterna; tel: 0577 942 243; email: [email protected]

ENOTECA CORSI

The ancient road known as Via Francigena was used throughout the Middle Ages by pilgrims headed to Rome from the North, particularly from France. Nearly 400 kilometers of the Via pass through Tuscany, ac-counting in part for the development of a number of the region’s historic settlements and trade and religious centers.First documented as the Lombard Way and then the Frankish Route in 725, according to the travel records of Willibald, Bishop of Eich-stätt in Bavaria, the route was named Via Francigena in 876, given its cross-ing with French territories (Francia, in Italian) at the Abbey of San Salva-tore al Monte Amiata in Tuscany.

The Via Francigena

Today, tourists and history buffs can enjoy the cultural mecca that is Via Francigena by following one or all of the 15 Tuscan legs, beginning with the journey from Passo della Cisa to Pontremoli and ending with another from Radicofani to Acquapendente.In addition to the natural beauty of the countryside, along each trail centu-ries-old churches and fortresses give visitors a feel for what the pilgrimage of centuries past was really like. The Via passes through San Gimignano and its Fortress of Montestaffoli. Orig-inally a castle for the Lombard As-tolfo and later a Dominican Convent, the fortress took on a defensive role in the 14th century against the threat of attack from Siena. The Via Franci-gena’s appeal to modern “pilgrims”

extends beyond scenic Tuscany. Next year, the Council of Europe’s Cultur-al Routes, St. Olav Ways and the Via Francigena network will bring to-gether today’s pilgrims who wish to walk along the famous roads. The initiative is set to begin at the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway and continue for over 3,000 kilometers to Rome before moving on to Jerusalem. To get to Rome, at a pace of 20 kilome-ters per day, participants will need about five months; however, the pro-gram’s aim is focused less on the long journey and more on the gathering of pilgrims from different countries. Walkers from countries such as Nor-way, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and Italy are expected to join.

www.viefrancigene.org

Ancient Route Attracts Modern “Pilgrims”avani kaPuR


Food & Wine

The fair dedicated to gastronomic excellence returns to Florence this month. Hosted by the Pitti Immagine group and the brainchild of gastro-naut David Paolini, Taste grows more popular each year, attracting food enthusiasts, industry experts, restau-rateurs and ‘foodies’ from all over the world. Last year’s fair drew over 13 thousand visitors to the event.Taste features tasting itineraries, talks and meetings with industry fig-ures, shops, and spaces dedicated to the craft of cooking.The Taste Tour takes visitors on a sampling voyage of products, to learn about Italian delicacies such as sala-mi from Chianti, pecorino cheese in-

Pitti Taste Returns to Florence March 8-10

fused with saffron, chocolate-infused with balsamic vinegar, and taggiasca olive jam. The Taste Shop is open to visitors wishing to take any of the delicacies home with them, while Taste Tools provides a close look at kitchen tools used by elite food professionals in food. Taste Ring allows visitors the opportunity to hear professionals discuss current and upcoming food trends. Finally, Taste Press presents magazine and book-publishing proj-ects dedicated to food and wine top-ics.If you can’t make the fair, be on the lookout around Florence for ‘Fuori di Taste’ participants. These are restau-

Pitti TasteMarch 8-10 at Stazione Leopolda

March 8 & 9 hours: from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for professionals and from 1:30p.m. to 7:30p.m. for the

public; March 10 hours: 9:30 a.m.to 4:30 p.m.

tickets: €15 daily ticket for the general public, €10 for profes-

sionals (valid for the 3-day event); children under 10 years enter free.

www.pittimmagine.com

Can you taste the difference between good and bad olive oil? The Chianti Classico DOP Olive Oil Consortium is giving American students the inside scoop on how to recognize good and bad olive oil. The Chianti Classico DOP–DOP stands for denominazione di origine protetta, or protected des-ignation of origin–has been working since 1975 to ensure that extra virgin olive oil meets DOP status through stringent technical criteria. The Consortium gave a presentation in March to Richmond University that served to inform students about olive

Olive Oil Consortium Meets Richmond

Universityoil and the role it plays in Italy. The presentation included a 40-minute video followed by a Q&A session, and concluded with an olive oil tasting.

“It is good to be able to distinguish the good and the bad olive oil,” said Devon Arageona, a journalism major from Middleburry, Indiana. “I can smell the difference and now know the differences between the two.”Chianti Classico gives many presenta-tions such as these in an effort to ed-ucate the public about Italian olive oil heritage. For more information about the organization or to enquire about a presentation, visit www.chianticlas-sico.com/en.

dyLan nikoLetoPouLos

rants and shops throughout town that will hold Taste-related events. A list of Fuori di Taste participants is avail-able on the Pitti website.

Dine with Dante Named after Dante Alighieri’s most famous work, The Divine Comedy, this homely, rustic restaurant fitting-ly lies on Via dei Cimatori, only a few meters away from Dante’s House.The venue prides itself on its inno-vative and creative idea of preparing solely traditional dishes based on medieval recipes. Some are adapted and revisited for the modern age but in a way that one maintains the om-nipresent feeling of Florentine history and tradition – so much so that Dante himself could walk in and dine next to you. As a matter of fact, this is a regular oc-currence at Taverna La Divina Com-media, as the venue regularly hosts recitals from Dante’s great work by professional costumed performers. Traditional medieval-style dishes in-clude home-made ribbon pasta with wild boar and mushroom sauce, roast

Taverna la Divina Commedia

Via dei cimatori, 7/r055 21 53 69

open daily: 11.30 a.m.–12.30 a.m.

shin of pork with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables, risotto inspired by medieval Tuscan flavors, and tasting plates of assorted cheeses ac-companied with fresh fruit and jams, including the taverna’s specialty hot red pepper jam.Also serving as a wine bar and pizze-ria, the restaurant offers an eclectic selection of wines from its cellar, an outdoor summer terrace, and is fit-tingly decorated in a medieval style with armour and banners – and, of course, a mandatory bust of Dante himself.

SpeciaLtieS: Vegan & VegetaRian

Step into Stuzzicheria Letizia for a mouth-watering panino con porchet-ta: whole suckling pig slow-roasted in a wood-fired oven for at least six hours and served on a fresh bread roll. named for its range of light meals and freshly made snacks (stuzzichini), such as sand-wiches, pasta, omelets and rice-filled arancini, Stuzzicheria Letizia also offers traditional Florentine dishes that change daily, where you can enjoy a starter or main with a glass of wine for only €4.90.

Via de’ neri, 18055 26 70 481

[email protected]

STUZZICHERIA LETIZIA


Food & Wine

To the seasoned student in Florence, Pino is a man who needs no intro-duction. He is the proud owner of Salumeria Verdi on Via Giuseppe Ver-di, a deli and cafe that happily opens its doors to tourists, students and locals. He has attained something of a cult status, particularly among stu-dents visiting from America. Some of Pino’s panini are even named after students who left a particular impression, such as ‘Mister Talk,’ and ‘Emily’. Another option on the menu is ‘The Best,’ so-named by Pino in response

In a Family-Friendly Place

to the many tourists and students al-ways asking, ‘’Which one’s the best?’’Pino will proudly tell you that it is not uncommon for students returning to Florence to show up at his business with spouses wives and children. In fact, Pino fondly recalls serving a sandwich to a former customer 11 years after he had left Florence.Pino is somewhat humbled by his rec-ognition, and attributes his populari-ty to treating anybody in his cafe “as if they were family”, and to his three pillars of service – “qualitá, prezzo, accoglienza” – quality, price and hos-pitality.Born of a desire by Pino and his wife

JaMes tayLoR & ivana sCatoLa Antonella to go one step ahead of sim-ilar vendors by modernising the stan-dard panino and studying flavors that go well together, Salumeria Verdi has grown in both size and success since its inauguration in the late 1980s. It employs ingredients from all over It-aly, a factor that is extremely import-ant for its owners, who aim to provide tourists with more than just a taste of Florence, with such produce as pes-to from Liguria and cheese from the south.This is an element consciously influ-enced by Pino’s background. Born in Naples, an Italian region known for quality ingredients, Pino moved to

Turin with his family at the age of six. Like many Italian migrants who travelled north in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the family’s move was propelled by a search of work and opportunities. Pino settled permanently in Florence after meeting Antonella here, and thus this second permanent move was made for love.Today Salumeria Verdi resembles a veritable ‘Tardis’ (for non-fans of Doctor Who, that’s a space that seems small from the exterior yet is gigan-tic inside): stretching to the length of three shops, the original delicatessen has expanded into a panini shop with abundant choices to create your own

fillings (much like most American equivalents), and boasts space with some 20 tables and chairs.The Salumeria is quite frankly a feast for the eyes (as well as the hungry stomach); the colors and smells em-anating from the place are an irre-sistible mélange that regularly see queues out the door.Whether drawn by hunger pangs, the itch to get creative with panini fill-ings or simply the desire to drop into a Florentine institution and share a few words of wisdom with the great man himself, Salumeria Verdi is well worth a visit. Who knows? Maybe Pino will name a sandwich after you.

Salumeria Verdi is a prime spot for qual-ity food. this gastronomia has been serving the Florentine public since 1900, and offers a range of fresh pasta, bread, meat, cheese and more. it’s an ideal spot to stop by for a quick and satisfying lunch, and also offers catering services. Salumeria Verdi is also the sister compa-ny of nearby enoteca pozzo divino and therefore offers a cornucopia of quality wine selections.

Mon. to Sat.: 8 a.m.–8p.m.

gaStRonoMia neaR Santa cRoce

Via Verdi, 36/r055 24 45 17

[email protected]

there are few places more apt to sam-ple tuscan wine than pozzo divino (‘the Wine Well’), where wine-tastings take place in a spectacular cellar dating back to 1312. the cellar features an ancient pozzo (well), while the quality of the niche wine hand-picked by owner pino easily justifies an interpretation of ‘divine’ in this cosy enoteca’s title. pozzo divino also arranges chianti classico wine tours and sells olive oil and a superb range of balsamic vinegar aged up to 45 years.

Via ghibellina, 144/r055 246 69 07

[email protected]

ceLLaR Wine-taSting neaR Santa cRoce

Mon. to Sat.: 9.30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; & 2–6:30 p.m.

Sun.: Wine-tasting by appointment

Meet Pino of Salumeria Verdi and Pozzodivino


Tourist InformationFirenze turismo ......... 055 29 08 32 // 055 29 08 33Via cavour, 1/rMon–Sat: 8:30a.m.–6:30p.m.(closed on Sundays and public holidays; see commune info points below for Sunday hours.)[email protected] airport ............................ 055 31 58 74Via del termine, 1daily: 8:30a.m.–8:[email protected] ..................................... 055 21 22 45piazza Stazione, 4Mon–Sat: 8:30a.m.–7p.m.Sundays & public holidays: 8:30a.m.–[email protected] loggia ................................ 055 28 84 96piazza San giovanniMon–Sat: 9a.m.–7p.m.Sundays & public holidays: 9a.m.–[email protected]

Emergency Servicespolice – emergency ........................................ 113police – carabinieri ......................................... 112police – municipal ...................... 055 32 83 333ambulance ........................................................ 118Fire department .............................................. 115tourist medical service .................. 055 21 22 21poison center ................................ 055 79 47 819pharmacies (open) ...................... 800 42 07 07Vehicle breakdown (aci) ................................ 116obstruction& towed vehicle ....... 055 42 24 142civil protection services .................. 800 01 5 161child abuse hotline .......................................... 114emergency vet services ............. 055 72 23 683environmental emergency response ........ 1515Lost & Found (Florence office) ... 055 33 48 02

TransportBuS & coacHataF (www.ataf.net) .................. 800 42 45 00BluBlus (www.blubus.it) ............. 800 27 78 25Sita nord (www.fsbusitalia.it) ... 800 37 37 60cap (www.capautolinee.it) ......... 055 21 46 37Vaibus (www.vaibus.com) ....... 058 35 87 897tRaintrenitalia (www.trenitalia.com) ......... 89 20 21italo (www.italotreno.it/en) ............... 06 07 08taXi Radio taxi Firenze .............................. 055 42 42

(*) included in the FiRenZe caRd. See www.firenzecard.it for more information.

Key SitesForte Belvederegiotto’s bell tower (campanile)*piazza della Repubblicapiazza della Signoriapiazzale Michelangelopiazza San giovanniponte VecchioS.M.n. train station

Markets antiQueSBorgo allegri, Via dell’agnolo, piazza dei ciompi, Via Martiri del popoloLast Sunday of each month (except July): 8:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

centRaL MaRKetFresh produce, local and italian food products. Via dell’arientoMonday–Friday: 7 a.m.– 2 p.m. ; Sat: 7 a.m.–5 p.m.July and august: Monday–Saturday: 7 a.m.–2 p.m.

caScine paRKFood products, clothing, antiques and homewares.Viale Lincoln, Viale Lecci, piazzale J. F. Kennedyevery tuesday: 8 a.m.–2 p.m. FLea MaRKetpiazza dei ciompidaily: 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

FLoWeRS & pLantS Via pellicceria (under the loggia)every thursday (except public holidays): 8 a.m.–2 p.m. poRceLLinoclothing, textiles, Florentine straw products, leather and souvenirs. piazza del Mercato nuovo, Via porta Rossadaily: 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

San LoRenZoLeather goods (bags, shoes, clothing) and souvenirs.piazza San Lorenzo and neighboring streets daily: 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

Sant’aMBRogioFresh produce, flowers, clothes and homewares.piazza ghibertiindoor market: Monday, tuesday & thursday: 7:30 a.m.–2 p.m.; Wednesday & Friday: 7:30 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday: 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.outdoor market: Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–2 p.m.

Santo SpiRitopiazza Santo Spirito Fresh produce: Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–2 p.m.Handicrafts & antiques: 2nd Sunday of each month (except July & august): 9 a.m.–7 p.m.organic produce: 3rd Sun of each month (except august): 9 a.m.–7 p.m.

Shuttle Service - Florence AirportFrom Florence S.M.n. train station to Florence airport (peretola): every hour and half-hour from 5:30 a.m. till 11 p.m. Bus stop located outside train station near taxi stand.

From Florence airport to Florence S.M.n train station: every hour and half-hour from 6a.m. till 11.30p.m.

‘Vola in Bus’ ataF/Sita service .... 800 42 45 00www.ataf.net

Florence airport ............................ 055 30 61 300(peretola)www.aeroporto.firenze.it/en

pisa international airport ............. 050 84 93 00 (galileo galilei)www.pisa-airport.com

citY inFo

Museums & Galleriesaccademia gallery*alinari national photography Museum*Bargello national Museum*Bigallo Museum*cathedral Museum (Museo dell’opera di Santa Maria del Fiore)*costume gallery (palazzo pitti)*dante House Museum*galileo Museum *Horne Foundation Museum *Jewish Museum*Michelangelo’s House (casa Buonarroti)*Mudi children’s Museum Museum & Florentine institute of prehistory Museum of natural History sections:anthropology & ethnology*geology & paleontology*Minerology & Lithology*Zoology ‘La Specola’*national archaeological Museum*orsanmichele*palatine gallery (palazzo pitti)*palazzo davanzati*palazzo Medici-Riccardi*palazzo pitti*palazzo Strozzi* palazzo Vecchio*porcelain Museum*Science & technical Foundation*uffizi gallery*Vasari corridor

Religious SitesBaptistry of San giovanni*Brancacci chapel*cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (duomo)‘dante’s church’ (Santa Margherita de’ cerchi)Jewish Synagogue*Medici chapel*ognissanti San LorenzoSan Marco*Santa croce*Santa FelicitàSanta Maria novella*Santissima annunziataSanto Spirito

GardensBoboli gardens*Botanic gardens*Rose gardens

Taxi discount for womenFlorence’s taxi service offers a 10 per-

cent discount for women travelling home alone from the city center. the discount is valid between 9 p.m.–2 a.m. but you must

remember to ask for it! call a taxi on one of the following numbers:055 42 42 // 055 43 90055 47 98 // 055 44 99

piazza Madonna della neve, 3055 24 79 327

[email protected]

Le carceri is located in the old carcere delle Murate, which was a cloistered convent until the 19th century when it became Florence’s city prison. Le carceri is located in the prison’s former registry offices, where the site’s eclectic history can be traced via original prison graffiti and frescoed ceilings from the 17th century. the restaurant offers tuscan and italian specialties, wood-fired pizza, an extensive wine list and a choice of artisan beer. ideal for intimate eve-nings in beautiful surroundings throughout the year, summer also sees the introduction of an aperitivo buffet accompanied by music each Wednesday.

open daiLY FoR LuncH and dinneR.

ReStauRant, piZZeRia and Wine BaR neaR Sant’aMBRogio

Le CaRCeRi


citY inFoOpening TimesBaptiStRY oF San gioVanni* piazza San giovanni055 23 02 885Mon–Sat: 11:15 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sun and 1st Sat of every month: 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m. July 4– Sept 28: thurs–Sat: 11:15 a.m.–11 p.m.easter Week (thurs, Fri, Sat before easter & easter Mon), april 25 & May 1: 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. closed Jan 1, easter Sunday, Sept 8, dec 24 & 25.

BoBoLi gaRdenS* 055 23 88 786March daily: 8:15 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. with daylight saving)april–May & Sept–oct daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. with stan-dard time)June–aug daily: 8:15 a.m.–7:30 p.m.nov–Feb daily: 8:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m.closed 1st and last Mon of each month; Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

catHedRaL cupoLa* piazza del duomo055 23 02 885Mon–Fri: 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sat: 8:30 a.m.–5:40 p.m.closed Sun; Jan 1; Jan 6; thurs–Fri–Sat before easter; easter; June 24; aug 15; Sept 8; nov 1; dec 8; Mon & tues of the first week of advent; dec 25 & 26. note: 463 stairs by foot only, no lift.

giotto’S BeLL toWeR* piazza del duomo055 23 02 885daily: 8:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; January 6: 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m. closed Jan 1, easter, Sept 8 & dec 25. note: 414 stairs by foot only, no lift

VaSaRi coRRidoRpiazzale degli uffizi, 6 055 29 48 83available to private groups only: con-tact uffizi gallery for information.

MuSeuMS accadeMia gaLLeRY* Via Ricasoli, 58/60 055 23 88 612tues–Sun: 8:15 a.m.–6:50 p.m.closed Mon, Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

paLaZZo Medici-RiccaRdi*

Via cavour, 3055 27 60 340Mon–tues & thurs–Sun: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. closed Wed.

BaRgeLLo nationaL MuSeuM*Via del proconsolo, 4 055 23 88 606daily: 8:15 a.m.–1.50 p.m.closed 1st, 3rd & 5th Sun and 2nd & 4th Mon of each month; Jan 1 & dec 25.

catHedRaL MuSeuM (Museo dell’opera di Santa Maria del Fiore)* piazza del duomo, 9055 23 02 885Mon–Sat: 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Sun: 9 a.m.–1:45 p.m.closed Jan 1, easter, Sept 8 & dec 25.

dante HouSe MuSeuM * Via Santa Margherita, 1 055 21 94 16april–Sept daily: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. oct–March tues–Sun: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.closed Mon (oct 1–March 31), dec 24 & 25.

gaLiLeo MuSeuM * piazza dei giudici, 1 055 26 53 11Mon & Wed–Sun: 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; tues: 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m. closed Jan 1 & dec 25.

JeWiSH MuSeuM * Via Farini, 6 055 23 46 654June–Sept: Mon–thurs & Sun: 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m.; Fri: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. oct–May: Mon–thurs & Sun: 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Fri: 10 a.m.–3 p.m. closed Sat, Jan 1, dec 25 & Jewish holidays.

MicHeLangeLo’S HouSe (casa Buonarroti)* Via ghibellina, 70 055 24 17 52Mon & Wed–Sun: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. closed tues, Jan 1, easter & dec 25.

nationaL aRcHaeoLogicaL MuSeuM* piazza Santissima annunziata, 9b055 23 57 720 / 23 575tues–Fri: 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m.Sat–Mon: 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.

closed Jan 1 & dec 25.

paLaZZo daVanZati * Via porta Rossa, 13055 23 88 610daily: 8:15–1:30 p.m.closed 2nd & 4th Sun, and 1st, 3rd & 5th Mon of the month; Jan 1, May 1, dec 25.

paLaZZo pitti* piazza pitti, 1palatine gallery055 23 88 614tues–Sun: 8:15 a.m.–6:50 p.m. Royal apartments closed every year during Jan for maintenance. closed Mon, Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

coStuMe gaLLeRY055 23 88 801 / 23 88 713March daily: 8:15 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. with daylight saving)april–May & Sept–oct daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. with stan-dard time)June–aug daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:30 p.m.nov–Feb daily: 8:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m.closed 1st and last Mon of each month; Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

gaLLeRY oF ModeRn aRt055 2388601tues–Sun: 8:15 a.m.–6:50 p.m. closed Mon, Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

SiLVeRWaRe MuSeuM (Museo degli argenti)piazza pitti, 1055 2388709March daily: 8:15 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. with daylight saving)april–May & Sept–oct daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. with stan-dard time)June–aug daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:30 p.m.nov–Feb daily: 8:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m.closed 1st and last Mon of each month; Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

poRceLain MuSeuM055 2388709March daily: 8:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m. (6:15 p.m. with daylight saving)april–May & Sept–oct daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. with stan-dard time)June–aug daily: 8:15 a.m.–6:15 p.m.nov–Feb daily: 8:15 a.m.–4:15 p.m.closed 1st and last Mon of each month; Jan 1, May 1 & dec 25.

The Firenze Card is your one-stop pass to the museums, churches and gardens of Florence. For €72 it offers:• 72 hours of free access to 60 of

Florence’s most popular and im-portant museums, churches and gardens, including current exhi-bitions, permanent collections and museum activities;

• Free use of public transport with-in Florence;

• Immediate access to busy mu-seums – skip long queues and pre-booking;

• Your choice of start date: the clock doesn’t start ticking until you enter your first museum;

• Dedicated smartphone applica-tion to help find the museums, access free wi-fi and give you updated information on exhibits and events;

• Though the card can only be used once in each museum by one per-son, it also allows free entrance for EU citizens under 18 who are members of the same family unit of the cardholder.

See the website for full details: www.firenzecard.it

Sixty museums in 72 hours with the Firenze Card

Become a Friend of the Uffizi For €40 for youth under 25, €60

for an adult and €100 for a family (two adults and two children), the

card offers a calendar year’s worth of free privileged entrance to the

following museums: uffizi gallery

accademia gallerythe pitti palace

the palatine gallery & Royal apart-ments

the gallery of Modern artthe costume gallerythe Medici treasury

the porcelain Museumthe Boboli gardensthe Bardini gardens

Bargello national MuseumMuseum of the Medici chapelsMuseum of palazzo davanzati

Museum of San Marcogarden of the Medici Villa of cas-

telloMedici Villa of petraia

Medici Villa of poggio a caianoMedici Villa of cerreto guidi &

Historical Hunting and territorial Museum

cenacolo of ognissanti cenacolo of andrea del Sarto

cenacolo of Fuligno cenacolo of Sant’apollonia

cloister of the Scalzo

www.amicidegliuffizi.it


WHen in FLoRence

Discover Santo Spirito, the ‘Artistic’ Side of the City

The ‘Village’ of Florence

It is no coincidence that celebrities such as Sting and Madonna own an apartment in this neighborhood: San-to Spirito is in fact to Florence what Greenwich Village is to New York and Shoreditch is to London. Less frequented by tourists than the center, the chic yet laid-back Santo Spirito neighborhood is a seeming-ly tranquil area, whose narrow side streets with their tiny vintage stores, boutiques, and low-priced taverns recall a bygone Florence. Locals can often be seen descending the stairs of their apartments early in the morning to open their shops either below or in the next street along, no doubt in the manner they have done for many years. At the same time Santo Spirito

exudes multiculturalism. It’s where true, contemporary Florentine life unfolds.The area’s charm is enriched by local industry, such as artisan workshops, art and jewelry schools, restaurants and corner bakeries, ancient church-es and vibrant nightlife spots in its central piazza. Besides the little trea-sures found in basement shops or open studios, a successful culinary alliance in Santo Spirito between prestigious restaurants and familial trattorias means a wide range of Ital-ian specialties. Beautiful gardens and cozy cafés offer the perfect surround-ing to relax mind and body and to experience the pulse of an authentic neighborhood.Given its alliance with creativity, San-to Spirito has encouraged a more alter-

native, bohemian scene in Florence. In addition to Piazza del Carmine, Piazza Santo Spirito is a densely con-centrated social hotspot, especially in the evening. Here, students, musi-cians and street artists mix with the neighborhood’s inhabitants to create a vibrant atmosphere.Piazza Santo Spirito hosts daily mar-kets as well as an antique and flea market selling vintage items, typical handicrafts and regional food prod-ucts on every second Sunday of the month. Although smaller than the markets in the city center, these offer low-priced specialties and individ-ual items. Furthermore, during the summer, the square frequently trans-forms into a stage for various events and open-air concerts.At all hours, people gather on the

steps of the church of Santo Spirito, the backdrop to the animated piaz-za. Although at first sight the façade may seem unimposing, the church is a classic example of Renaissance architecture. The linear interior was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1435, who applied a new architectural vision to his work. It was completed after his death in the late 15th cen-tury, but it was not until later in the 18th century that the unfinished fa-cade was added. The building hous-es important frescoes, paintings and sculptures by major artists such as Michelangelo, Orcagna and Sansovi-no.Just a few minutes’ walk away from the piazza is Palazzo Pitti. Originally designed for banker Luca Pitti, whose determination to surpass the Medici by flaunting his prosperity is discern-able in this opulent construction. Lat-er, the Medici bought the palace when Pitti’s heirs went bankrupt. In 1550 the powerful family chose the palace as their principal residence, and sov-ereigns of Florence resided there in subsequent centuries.Today, inestimable treasures from the collection of the Medici are housed inside Palazzo Pitti’s walls. In 1549 the Boboli Gardens were designed to the Medici’s elaborate desires, and situated just behind the palace. This fine example of a Renaissance garden art has been open to the public since 1776.Although the streetscape has changed over the years, as sandwich bars and souvenir shops have increasingly found their way into the neighbor-hood, Santo Spirito has maintained its authentic atmosphere. A great number of shops and restaurants have managed to exist for decades, playing a vital role in maintaining the genuine neighbourhood quality for which the district is widely admired.

CLaudia nieMann and ivana sCatoLa

When In Florence is the city’s first and only services company designed exclusively for students, tourists and expats. The company uses its experi-ence and contacts within the city to assist newcomers in finding apart-ment rental for the duration of their stay in Florence. It also offers car rent-al and a variety of short- and long-term cell phone rentals, so there’s no need to worry about spending ex-cessive amounts of money on giving your phone from home international access. When you want to cheer on Fiorentina, purchasing tickets is as simple as stopping by the office with a copy of your passport to reserve a spot. Tickets are available two to three days before the game. The company also provides information on luggage storage and shipping all of your new goods back home, and is available to assist with events planning. Con-ceived in 2011 as a means of bridging the gap between life at home and in an unfamiliar country, When In Flor-ence offers a range of tailor-made services that have been crafted from personal experience, market research and feedback by staff members that include former study abroad students.

When in Florence055 38 60 864

[email protected] www.wheninflorence.comVia giuseppe Verdi, 46/r.

OPEN DAILY: 12-3 P.M. DINNER: 7-11 P.M.PIAZZA SANTO SPIRITO, 8-9/R

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aRt

Florence is well-known for its collec-tion of famous and beautiful artwork from throughout the ages that in-spires onlookers. But for artist Marco Fallani, creative inspiration comes not only from the pieces on display throughout the city but also from the unique textures, colors and light Flor-ence offers that can’t be found in any-where else. Fallani, a sculptor and a painter, was born in New York but grew up in Flor-ence, and returned to America for a

Meet Sculptor and Painter Marco Fallani

few years to complete a graduate pro-gram in San Francisco. He shows his art at exhibitions in Europe, Ameri-ca and Canada, and his most recent show was in New York. Although a Florence resident, Fallani continues to travel back and forth from America and Italy and won’t spend more than a year in Florence without living in America for at least a month.For as long as Fallani can remember he had wanted to be an artist, and he has been creating art his whole life. Growing up, his parents brought him

LauRen Boyd to museums all over the world, and one day when he stopped to draw a piece of art in a museum, he re-membered feeling the joy of drawing something seriously for the first time and knew that creating art was what he wanted to do in life. Fallani enjoys sculpting and painting equally, and both for different rea-sons. When sculpting he appreciates the medium and the physicality of the material, and he creates mostly figu-rative work. When painting, he is interested in the poetic side of the art, and attempts to

reach it through the image but mostly through the textures. Fallani paints places as containers for the objects that are within the space, and he al-ways makes sure to create a sense of space in his pieces. One piece of art cannot be claimed as Fallani’s favorite, because once he’s finished one sculpture or painting he’s hoping that the next will become his new favorite. He always wants to challenge himself to do better, to continue his research, and become a stronger artist. “You discover your-self through artwork, and you always

want to know more about yourself with the next piece,” Fallani said.The message Fallani strives to convey is to try to vibrate something within the viewer, a new feeling triggered by existing feelings, and from memories mixed with new experience. It is his belief that artists make the world a better place, and inspiring new artists is his contribution toward that utopi-an goal. “My goal is to be able to create until my very last day of life, which I hope will be when I’m very old. The dream is to live with and create my artwork.”

Some of Fallani’s works will be on display at cioccolateria Vivaldi in april

Via Ghibellina, 80/r055 23 45 452

www.salamanca.it

Spanish RestaurantMexican Grill

Latin Disco BarTues.: Latin Disco

Wed.: Live music with Mambokids Latin band

Thurs.: International Student NightFri. & Sat.: Latin Disco Bar


LiteRatuRe

‘English Speaking’ Writers in Florence Gather at St. Mark’s

Dante’s Commedia: Misconceived by Dan Brown

The theme of the Book of Revela-tions, like the Old Testament Book of Daniel upon which it was based, is thlipsis—a Greek word meaning trib-ulations. Consequently, our whole Judeo-Christian concept of God’s judgment in the afterlife stems from how we morally react to life’s tribu-lations. Since Revelations recounts mostly the retributions meted out to the enemies of Christianity and other evildoers at the end of time, a lacuna of early Christian theology was the knowledge of what happens to the souls of the faithful in the interim be-tween death and the last judgment. Into this gap stepped the Vision of St. Paul, an apocryphal biblical text that spawned a considerable but little-read medieval genre of visions recounting journeys into a moralized Christian land of the dead—there are about 100 such texts written in Europe between the 2nd and 14th centuries and it is from them that we take most of our

common modern images of hell and heaven, as well as the entire concept of Purgatory.Dante Alighieri’s tripartite epic poem, The Commedia (“Divine” was added to the title later, by Giovanni Boccaccio), is one such encyclopedic, late-medi-eval account of how the unrepentant are punished in Hell, how the repen-tant are cleansed in Purgatory, and how the blessed celebrate their salva-tion in Heaven. It is the last of the me-dieval visionary tradition—a text too exhaustive, poetic, and influential to top. As alluring as a descent into the infernal regions at first sounds, how-ever, the poem has nothing at all to do with any medieval plagues, nor with the threat to anyone’s life, and its vil-lain is a chained-up, non-speaking, and totally ineffectual Satan. Neither the poem’s focus on morality, nor its lack of an active villain, is compatible with the modern thriller genre. We saw it in the film Se7en’s weak Dan-tesque references, we saw it in the over-romanticized video game Dan-

te’s Inferno, and we see it yet again in Dan Brown’s mostly pointless at-tempt to exploit Dante’s poem in his recent thriller, Inferno.Just as modern-day romance plays no part whatsoever in the poet’s spiri-tual salvation as granted him by the figure of an allegorical, unknown woman who is called “Beatrice” be-cause the name signifies that she is a miracle from heaven, “a blessing,” (as I discussed in last month’s article) so the episodic and poetic invocation of divine justice after death presented in the Commedia has no secular stakes—no ticking bombs or terrorist plots. It just doesn’t fit the thriller mold, and that’s why Dan Brown’s Inferno, for me, fails by choosing Dante’s epic as a platform—it grafts two incom-patible species of tree together too haphazardly. The basic plot—a mad genius biologist cooking up a virus to save the world from human over-population—is interesting enough, but all of the half-baked information regarding the Commedia, Dante’s life, and his love for Beatrice, is needless, awkward, and often just plain wrong. Without it, the novel might also have clocked in at a more readable 250 pages instead of its tedious 462. For a really interesting take on Dante’s epic poem—and some awesome God-father, Goodfellas, and Sopranos-style gangster shenanigans—try Nick Tosches’s In the Hand of Dante (No Exit Press, 2002). Tosches’s novel jux-taposes the medieval poet’s struggle to complete his poetic vision of Para-dise with the bloodbath produced by modern-day gangsters fighting over the newly discovered original manu-script of the Commedia in the poet’s own hand. Now that would be a find worth fighting over!

Lee foust

Lee foust

The Florence Writers group and its reading series continue to go strong. February’s reader was accomplished international poet Elisa Biagini. She presented and read from the English translations of her works in The Guest in the Woods—A Selection of poems 2004-7 (Chelsea Editions, 2013). The engaging Florentine spoke of her poetic inspirations and writing pro-cess, her accomplishments also as a translator of American poetry, and as a teacher—as well as her many trav-els as a kind of ambassador of poetry in the international community. For more info visit www.elisabiagini.it.Next up on the Florence Writers calen-dar author Kamin Mohammadi will present her historical family memoir The Cypress Tree: A Love Letter to Iran (Bloomsbury, 2011) on March 3 at 6:30 p.m. Mohammadi is an Iranian-born

woman who has lived in exile in En-gland since the Iranian revolution of 1979. The Cypress Tree interweaves her family’s history and her own truncated experience with her na-tive country and its culture through the political turmoil of the revolution in the eyes of an expat. (Visit www.bloomsbury.com/uk/)Also gaining momentum is a new pan-disciplinary international group of fine artists, photographers, writers, and artisans called Creative People in Florence. Brainchild of artist and jewelry designer Sara Amrhein and photographer Birgitte Brønsted (later joined by visual artist Anna Rose), the Creatives, begun as a Craiglist ad, became a facebook page (370 mem-bers and growing), and have recent-ly spawned a lovely and informative blog: http://creativepeopleinflorence.wordpress.com. I was flattered to be the first member to be featured writ-ing about their creative process—hopefully there will be many more to come! The blog also contains oth-er features about the various artistic exploits of the group’s members, a directory for networking, as well as a calendar of upcoming artistic events. Soon the site will go bilingual in order to better welcome native Florentine creative types as well. We all met for a get-to-know-each-other aperitivo back in January and the camaraderie was amazing: spon-taneous and heartwarming. Creative people: check out the blog and join the group!

Read more from Lee at www.leefoust.com

a semi-circular counter, wooden furni-ture and a guinness mug make dublin pub an irish haven in the middle of cen-tral Florence. the historic bar opens at 5 p.m. every evening and offers quality beer, fresh cocktails, sandwiches and snacks amidst a traditional irish pub at-mosphere. Located on Via Faenza, just a short walk from the duomo, the pub also offers various promotions and contests with many exciting prizes. the genuine atmosphere together with the helpful and inviting staff make dublin pub an ideal place to spend fun nights in good company or enjoy a beer any time while listening to great background music.

open daily from 5 p.m.

tHe iRiSH puB in San LoRenZo

Via Faenza, 27055 27 41 571

[email protected]

• adapters• converters • Headphones• Hair Straighteners • Hair dryers• Boilers• Kettles• coffee Machines• electricity emergency

Service

Borgo degli albizi, 91/r055 24 69 318

[email protected]

aLL tHat You need FRoM HoMe

centRo Luce

FLoRence neWS & eVentS MaRcH 2014 no. 5 21

FaSHion

Oroarte

Oroarte opened in 1884, making it Tuscany’s oldest watch shop. Locat-ed on Via Giuseppe Verdi 71/r, Oro-arte offers jewelry and watch resto-rations, certified diamonds, jewelry and watch restorations, repairs and resizing, guaranteed watch repairs of any brand, second-hand jewelry and watches available to buy, and watch-strap and battery-changing services.Oroarte is a family business run by Francesco Biagi, his son Leonardo, daughter Lara, and wife Mirella. And it truly is a family business: Fran-cesco’s grandfather opened the first shop, and Francesco had learned about the industry by attending his uncle’s shop when he was only 15 years old. Both Leonardo and Lara

have completed specialization cours-es in goldsmithing and watch-making and have diplomas in those topics. Francesco has taken various cours-es in gemology, has been part of the Board of Florentine Goldsmiths for many years, and was the President of a Consortium of Jewelers for six years. Mirella strings the pearl necklaces they sell and sometimes helps out in the shop. The Biagi family prides itself in its honesty and respect, both in the ser-vices they provide and in the relation-ships they hold with their customers. They understand that their customers must be confident in their work, and this goldsmithing and watch-making family is able to please their custom-ers with the deep love of their craft and knowledge of their clientele.

It is easy to get distracted by design-er window shopping on the streets of Florence. Located on Via dei Servi 13/r, just steps away from the Duo-mo, is an affordable bigiotteria that stands out from the rest.L’oro Fuggia, owned by husband and wife Leonardo and Eleonora, is full of unique pieces of jewelry that can’t be found in any other city in the world. Necklaces, rings, and earrings made from semi-precious stones and brass, silver, bronze, wool and ribbon are all hand-made by the pair.The shop opened in July 2013 and caters to consumers looking to stray

After last year’s overwhelming suc-cess, Ceri Vintage Atelier will begin another intensive antique tailoring techniques workshop in March. Lo-cated near Santo Spirito square at Via Dei Serragli, 26/r, Ceri Vintage will of-fer lessons held in English and Italian and taught by Professor Ulrika Wen-nerstrom. Wennerstrom, a professor of fashion and design at the Italian

The Art of Hand-Made Jewels

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and body • cellulite firming • Lymphatic drainage • permanent hair removal • Waxing • pedicure • Makeup • Radio frequency treatment• Spa jet

Monday to Saturday:9:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Via de’ ginori, 21055 28 44 24

[email protected]

BeautY, MaSSage & Spa tReatMent

Hito

www.salonecontrasto.it

LIFESTYLE SALON & SPA

Via de' Neri 53-55/r 055 23 98 553

CONCEPT SALON - without appointment

Via de' Neri 49/r 055 28 28 41

CONCEPT SALONVia dei Benci 5/r

055 21 92 27

LauRen Boyd

LauRen Boyd

Ceri Vintage Atelier Offers Antique Tailoring Workshop

Academy of Fashion in Florence, is an expert in the tailoring technique of the 16th and 17th centuries through the 19th century, as well as one of the most creative designers in the field of theater costume. The lessons will take place in a historic atmosphere, and students will learn about making corsets, quilting, ruffs, and embroi-dery with original materials such as

In addition to Italian excellence in things like soccer, food and Vespas, Italy has a well-established foothold in the fashion world, with leather products a particularly valued craft. Twice a year in Bologna, the Linea-pelle event takes place, a festival and international exhibition of leather ac-cessories, components, synthetics for footwear, garments, and furniture. This spring the event is being held

Lineapelle Leather Exhibit in Bologna from March 11-13

March 11-13 in Bologna’s fair district and will showcase the upcoming year’s Spring and Summer season. Lineapelle is characterized by lead-ership in quality and style innova-tion, which makes it indispensable to the worldwide business of leather demand. The exhibition hosts more than 1,050 companies and is the cen-terpiece event to the $100 billion in-dustry. Lineapelle started out in 1981

a Florentine vintage store with heart and soul, ceri is home to a beautiful collec-tion of classic fashion pieces. Here one can find delicate Victorian lace dresses, vintage French workwear, WWii British and u.S. military wear and all sorts of rare goodies from the 1800s to the 1980s. owner danilo ceri travels throughout europe selecting the best pieces for this unique shop: a premier stop for vintage enthusiasts in Florence.

Monday: 3:30–7 p.m.tuesday to Saturday:

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; 3:30–7 p.m.

HiStoRic Vintage BoutiQue in oLtRaRno

Via dei Serragli, 26/r055 21 79 78

A Tradition of Watches and Jewels

from industrial, big-brand jewelry, customers who would rather build a collection with one-of-a-kind pieces. It was Eleonora’s dream to open a jewelry shop such as L’oro Fuggia, as she really loves embroidery and also creating earrings and bracelets. Leonardo can also be found in the shop crafting rings that will be sold. The most popular item is their hand-made bracelets. When tourists visit the L’oro Fuggia, Eleonora says, they take one look around and say, “Wow, it’s so different!”

in Milan and was inspired by the Pre-selezione Italiana Moda shows held in Florence since 1981. Since 1986 Lineapelle has been held in Bologna, hosted by the Milan-based company Lineapelle S.p.A. With over 40,000 leather companies around the world, Lineapelle is a not-to-miss event for anyone interested in fashion.

For more information go to www.lineapelle-fair.it/en/index.

gold and silver thread, leather, ivory buttons, and precious lace and beads. Ceri Vintage & Factory is a point of reference for stylists, costume design-ers and for those who, like its own-er Danilo Ceri, love to wear unique clothing.

For information contact Professor Ul-rika Wennerstom at rikinaw@gmail.

com or [email protected].


MuSic

Porto di Mare – Eskimo

Eskimo: the club for traditional Italian music

Bridging cultures through live music at the club where all musicians meet

As with any port, Porto di Mare – Es-kimo is synonymous with exchange, correspondence, and coming and go-ing. Anyone is welcomed through the doors of this club, which also hosts a pizzeria and cafè. Its focus on live music and cultural exchange is one that the man who started the club, Francesco Cofone, holds close to his heart: “We never play anything recorded here,” he says with a smile. The method of bridging cultures at Porto di Mare is just get-ting out an instrument and beginning to play. “I’d be keen to talk to anyone who is interested in playing and shar-ing their music with us,” Francesco says. The club has also created its own big band, the Eskimo Jazz Orchestra. An

Born from the fusion of two former jazz venues, Eskimo and Jazz Club, Eskimo is a club-cafè that during the day is lived as a bookstore – the perfect place to find second-hand books – as well as a library where people meet to hang out in the afternoon.At night, the club becomes the stage where young Italian musician perform, often jamming together. The traditional Italian music that is played in this club ranges from songwriters to typical musical expressions from southern Italy such as the tarantella and others. Occasionally live jazz is played too.Eskimo is the perfect club where non-Italian musicians or non-Italian music aficionados can meet their Italian counterpart. It gives artists from all over the world the opportunity to take the stage in a familiar environment, where they can blend ideas and showcase their talents.

all-star Tuscan jazz band born under the initiative of Francesco, it includes some of the biggest and respected names on the jazz scene amongst its members. These include trumpeter and band conductor Fabio Morgera, who played under legendary Amer-ican jazz cornetist, composer and conductor Butch Morris for 30 years in New York; Dario Cecchini, sax and leader of Italian marching band Funk Off; trumpeter Luca Marianini; trombone player Stefano Scalzi and guitarist Riccardo Onori, who both played alongside renowned Italian singer-songwriter and rapper Jova-notti; percussionists Walter Paoli, ex-member of 1970s Italian jazz, pro-gressive rock and electronic group Area, and Piero Borri; clarinet player Nico Gori; and guitarists Paolo Conte, Ivano Fossati and Riccardo Galardini

This is indeed the place where Italian songwrit-ers typically perform in a very relaxed and wel-coming atmosphere, which is not always easy to find in the foreign-dominated venues of Flor-ence’s city center. Manager Sara Bonomo hopes that Eskimo will become “a theatrical workshop and a venue open to other types of arts, not just music – and focusing on bringing together a foreign audi-ence, tourists, apericena [aperitivo dinner] and jazz.” In the small stage of this club some of the most famous Italian singers and musicians have ap-peared when looking for a more intimate ap-proach with the public, far from the sports hall where they usually perform. This is why Eskimo is not just a bar but rather an ‘atmosphere’ per-fect to chill out in, far from the formality of the city center’s nightlife.

– to name just (a little more than) a few.The band’s genre has evolved from classical music to a looser, impro-vised style:

“Morris’s idea was to dissolve any sort of ‘formation’ in the orchestra, and for this reason, conducting isn’t un-dertaken in one style but acts more like a tool for endless different styles,” Fabio Morgera explains. “I conduct a group of musicians but they have complete freedom of the choice of notes; it’s an exchange between us. There’s no rigid music score to follow

… In this way, it’s possible to create music together that has an organic quality.” The band performs live at the venue every month, and has already had many requests from specialized mag-azines to festival directors. Porto di Mare – Eskimo therefore not

Contact Francescoporto di Mare – eskimo

Via pisana, 128055 71 20 34

[email protected]

Eskimo

Monday – Friday: 12 p.m.–2 a.m.Saturday & Sunday: 5 p.m.–2 a.m.

Via deʼ Canacci, 12/r055 23 82 425

[email protected]

LIBRARY & BOOKSTORE CAFE VINTAGE SHOP & PUB

Art Director: Francesco [email protected]

ivana sCatoLa

Weekly Live Music Calendartuesday:

Jazz open Mic & WorkshopWednesday:

Bog & Kate Live (Ft. guests)thursday: Rock night

Friday: italian Southen Music Live

Saturday:Francesco cofone (Ft. guests)

Sunday: Folk, Rock & Blues

only offers locals and outsiders the opportunity to immerse themselves in and contribute to the local music scene, but also to witness the emer-gence of Florence as host to a new style of jazz.

23

nigHtLiFe

On February 15, Florence’s Space Electronic reopened its doors for an extremely successful grand opening night after a short renovation project to revamp the inside of the club. Hun-dreds of fun-seekers gathered at the club to enjoy an exciting night out in the new and improved club. Technological changes include new equipment, laser lights, giant screens, and one of the most sophisti-cated and powerful sound systems to be found locally. The interior of the club has been redesigned with new fittings, design solutions and an en-tirely new style. With all of the new changes the club has undergone, it is easy to forget its roots. The legacy of Space began in February 1969, in the midst of the electrifying “underground” music

phase. Carlo Caldini, Mario Bologne-si and Fabrizio Fiume had a vision: to create a place in the heart of Florence where showcasing music would be the main focus. Caldini is said to have got the idea from a place he visited in New York in 1968 called the Electric Circus. In the early days of Space, the music groups were primarily rock bands, and they mainly covered British and American songs, but bands such as Le Madri Superiori had their own songs to perform. Foreign bands came most-ly from London and, because they lacked management, Space was able to contact them directly, offer them a place to stay and give them a regular slot to play in Florence. Some exam-ples of big names that played there include Rory Gallager, Van Der Graaf

The New Space Club

Generator, Atomic Rooster, and nota-ble Italian rock band Premiata Forne-ria Marconi. Space continued in this way until 1975, since which time the live music scene has died down and Space has become a more modern nightclub. In recent years, several famous DJs have taken the stage there, including Chingy, DJ UNK, Chris Willis and Pit-bull. What has remained the same since the late ‘60s is the clientele: from the time the club doors open until clos-ing, Florentines and international students come together for an unfor-gettable music experience. Downstairs hosts a karaoke party un-til midnight, and has a particularly unique installment – an aquarium. Marshall McLuhan’s theory about me-

dia in his famous work Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964) was the inspiration for the club’s in-terior when it opened. His view was that media could be used to ma-nipulate environ-ments and create a social effect. As a result of his ideas, clubbers at Space these days find themselves caught up in ex-citing laser effects that accompany the pumping mu-sic vibrating from wall to wall in the upstairs room. A spaceship feel permeates the club, enhanced by the

mirrored walls, smoke machines and snazzy white furniture that line the dance floor. The smart VIP lounge sits above the dance floor, giving

those inside a superior view of the dancing tal-ent below.People still fill the club today, although the pull factor is dif-ferent from that of the late ‘60s. Never t heless, Space Electron-ic continues to entertain Flo-rentines and the

international crowd alike, seven days a week.

Space Electronic Gets Restyled

owner andrea Bolognesi

and manager Selim de Filipps have designed the new look

Markets & Fairs

iL MeRcataLe di FiRenZe. QuaLitY pRoductS MaRKet

March 1-2piazza della Repubblica

055 26 25 314www.comune.fi.it

pitti taSte - tRaVeLing tHRougH tHe diVeRSitY oF taSte

March 8-10Stazione leopolda

055 36 931www.pittimmagine.com/corporate/

fairs/taste.html

LungoungioRno and FieRucoLaMarch 9

SaM Space for arts and crafts, Vecchio conventino, via giano della

Bella, 20/1055 23 22 269 / 055 53 84 964www.fondazioneartigianato.it

FoRteZZa antiQuaRia - antiQue MaRKet

March 15-16gardens of Fortezza da Basso

055 32 83 515 / 055 27 051www.vetrina-toscana.it/commercio/

comuni

FLoRence FuRnituRe tRade SHoWMarch 15-23

Fortezza da Basso055 49 72 1

[email protected]

SS. annunZiata FaiRMarch 25

piazza SS.annunziata055 27 052 33 / 055 32 83 506

www.anva.it

cioMpi MontHLY antiQue FaiRMarch 30

piazza dei ciompi and surrounding streets

055 32 83 515www.comune.fi.it

Lenten outdooR March 30

Viale Lincoln - piazzale Kennedy055 32 83 518 / 055 32 83 544

www.vetrina-toscana.it

Special Events

Bi ci Fi 2014 - FLoRence BiKe FeStiVaL

March 28-30cascine park055 89 53 651www.bicifi.it

tHe FeaSt oF tHe annunciation and tHe FLoRentine neW YeaR

- HiStoRicaL paRadeMarch 25

Basilica SS.annunziata055 26 16 056

www.comune.fi.it

tHe RooMS oF tHe MuSeS.BaRoQue paintingS FRoM tHe FRanceSco MoLinaRi pRadeLLi

coLLectionuntil May 11

uffizi gallery055 29 48 83

www.unannoadarte.it

HatS BetWeen aRt and eXtRaVaganZa

until May 18pitti palace, costume gallery

055 29 48 83www.uffizi.firenze.it

getting ReacQuainted WitH MicHeLangeLo

Sculpture by Buonarroti in photographs and paintings from the

19th century to the presentuntil May 18

accademia gallery055 29 08 32

www.unannoadarte.it

FaMiLY MatteRS. poRtRaitS and eXpeRienceS oF FaMiLY todaY

until July 20Strozzina, palazzo Strozzi

055 26 45 155 / 055 39 17 11www.strozzina.org

coRtona: tHe daWn oF tHe etRuScan pRinceS

until July 31national archaeological Museum of

Florence055 23 57 720

www.firenzeturismo.it/en


MicHeLangeLo. tHe poWeR oF tHe gaZe

until March 15Medici chapels Museum

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en

FoLco cHiti BateLLi. SouL and citY SignS

until March 25Medici Riccardi palace

055 27 60 340 / 055 91 08 [email protected]

Boccaccio autHoR and copYiStuntil March 29

Laurentian Library055 21 07 60

www.bmlonline.it

tHe aMaZing SHoeMaKeR. Fairy taLeS aBout SHoeS and

SHoeMaKeRS.until March 31

Salvatore Ferragamo Museum055 33 60 456 / 055 33 60 455

www.museoferragamo.com

gioRgio caSteLFRanco FRoM LeonaRdo to de cHiRico. tHe

papeRS oF an inteLLectuaL JeW in itaLY duRing FaSciSM.

until March 31Museo casa Siviero

055 23 45 219 / 055 43 82 652www.museocasasiviero.it

HoRne and FRiendS. FLoRence, a dReaM to Be SaVed

until april 4Horne Museum, Via de Benci

055 24 46 61www.museohorne.it

once in a LiFetiMe. tReaSuReS FRoM tHe aRcHiVeS and LiBRaRieS

oF FLoRenceuntil april 27

pitti palace, palatine gallery055 23 88 616

eVentS

pontoRMo and HiS FoLLoWeRS in tHe LandS oF eMpoLi

until March 2pontorme venues: Via pontorme,

97; San Michele church; piazza San Michele arcangelo; compagnia di

San Michele.057 19 94 346

www.firenzeturismo.it/en

aLdo FaLLai. FRoM gioRgio aRMani to tHe RenaiSSance.

pHotogRapHS 1978-2013until March 3Villa Bardini

055 20 06 6206www.bardinipeyron.it

tHe WaRM StatueS: ScuLptuRe, BodY, action 1945–2013

until March 8Marino Marini Museum

055 21 94 32www.museomarinomarini.it

KauLonia, tHe citY oF tHe aMaZon cLete

until March 9national archaeological Museum

055 23 57 720

ScuLptuRe eXHiBition BY MauRo StaccioLi

until March 10Medici Riccardi palace

055 91 08 274 / 055 27 60 [email protected]

pHotogRapHic eXHiBition BY Luca teSconiuntil March 12

Medici Riccardi palace055 91 08 274 / 055 27 60 340

[email protected]

Exhibitions


enteRtainMent

diRectoR: Steve McQueengenRe: Biography | drama | HistoryStaRS: chiwetel ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad pitt, Michael K. WilliamspLot: the true story of Solomon northrup, once a freeman, abducted off the streets of Washing-ton in 1841 and sold into a brutal servitude on a Louisiana plantation. a gruelling epic of en-durance and fortitude in the face of seemingly insurmountable oppression. “a document that is raw, eloquent, horrifying and essential” (time). “Stark, visceral and unrelenting, 12 Years a Slave is not just a great film but a necessary on” (the guardian)

dateS/HouRS:Saturday, March 1: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Sunday, March 2: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Monday, March 3: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.tuesday, March 4: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Wednesday, March 5: 4 p.m.thusday, March 6: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Friday, March 7: 3 – 8 – 10:30 p.m.Saturday, March 8: 3 – 5:30 p.m.Sunday, March 9: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Monday, March 10: 3:15 – 5:40 p.m.

9 oScaR noMinationS

(WitH engLiSH SuBtitLeS)diRectoR: paolo SorrentinogenRe: dramaStaRS: toni Servillo, carlo Verdone, Sabrina FerillipLot: paolo Sorrentino’s great international success. amidst the glories and follies of ancient and contemporary Rome, disenchanted writer Jep observes the vacuousness and decadence of the debauched demimonde.

dateS/HouRS:tuesday, March 11: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Wednesday, March 12: 4 p.m.thursday, March 13: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.

1 oScaR Win

12 YeaRS a SLaVe

La gRande BeLLeZZa

odeon FiRenZepiazza Strozzi, Firenze055 214 068office: 055 295 051www.odeonfirenze.com

tickets: Regular: €7.50; Reduced: €6**every Wednesday; students from Mon. to Fri. and selected partnerships.club odeon classic: €3

The Great Beauty brought home the Academy Award for best foreign film. It was Italy’s 11th Academy Award in history, and represents the most wins in this category for any country. The film competed for the Oscar alongside Den-mark’s highly praised The Suspect, Belgium’s The Broken Circle Breakdown, Palestine’s Omar, and The Missing Picture from Cambodia. A portrayal of Roman high society in all its sub-limity and decay from the perspective of disen-chanted socialite Jep Gambardella, The Great Beauty has already drawn parallels with Felli-ni’s La Dolce Vita.The New York Times said, “With The Great Beau-ty, Mr. Sorrentino has not only returned to Italy, he has also taken on its past and how it weighs on the present and future.”

“I have long been thinking about a film which probes the contradictions, the beauties, the scenes I have witnessed and the people I’ve met in Rome,” said Sorrentino in a director’s state-ment. “It’s a wonderful city, soothing yet at the same time full of hidden dangers. By dangers, I mean intellectual adventures which lead no-where.”An Italian film has not won an Oscar since Ro-

Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty Wins

Academy Award

LuCy david berto Benigni’s 1999 Life Is Beautiful, and Italian hopes were riding high that Sorrentino’s film could be the next, having already won wide-spread national and international acclaim. The film won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Lan-guage Film, Italy’s first since Giuseppe Torna-tore’s Cinema Paradiso in 1989, and it swept the European Film Awards at Berlin in December, taking home top prizes for film, director, actor (Toni Servillo) and editor (Cristiano Travaglioli).It was also nominated for Best Foreign-Lan-guage Film at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards in the US, and is in the running for a Spirit Award and British Independent Film Award. The film has also broken through the ‘foreign language’ mold to be nominated for best film and best film-maker by the London Critics’ Cir-cle Film Awards, the only film not in English to be nominated in these categories, as well as be-ing a contender in the Foreign Language Film of the Year category. Closer to home, the film garnered five awards at Italy’s Nastri d’Argento (Silver Ribbon) and won best cinematography at the country’s Globi d’Oro (Golden Globes).The Great Beauty has already earned more than $11 million in box-office takings since its release in November last year.

diRectoR: Spike JonzegenRe: drama | Romance | Sci-FiStaRS: Joaquin phoenix, amy adams, Scarlett JohanssonpLot: a lonely writer develops an unlikely re-lationship with his newly purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need.

dateS/HouRS:Friday, March 14: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Saturday, March 15: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Sunday, March 16: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Monday, March 17: 4 – 6:30 p.m.tuesday, March 18: 4 – 6:30 – 9 p.m.Wednesday, March 19: 4 p.m.thursday, March 20: 4 p.m.

5 oScaR noMinationS

HeR

Italy’s first win since 1999 Benigni’s Life is Beautiful

On Wednesday, March 5, Florence’s Hard Rock Cafe hosted one of the most promising bands on the current European rock scene. The Carnabys, spokespersons for Hard Rock Cafe’s “Street to Sanctuary” campaign, fuse an early ‘70s English sound with a dose of soul in the front-man’s voice, evoking for many a sound not un-like early Rolling Stones.The campaign has been raising funds through-out February and March for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization dedicated to sup-porting women and children victims of sexual slavery in the red light district of Mumbai, In-dia. Limited edition bracelets are also on sale to generate funds for projects such as shelters for children of Mumbai’s red light district, Jubilee Homes for orphaned children with AIDS, and a medical center for HIV treatment in the red light district.

The band was the global winner of Hard Rock’s HARD ROCK RISING contest, a triumph over 12,000 competing groups that earned them the opening performance at the Bruce Springsteen concert at the Hard Rock Calling festival in Lon-don, as well as a world tour with stops in Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo, Honolulu, and Chicago. Jury member Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music said of the young London band: “I saw the fu-ture, and the future are the Carnabys.”Today the Carnabys are finishing up their long-awaited debut album, mastered in Abbey Road studios in London. With their highly anticipated March 5th show, The Carnabys - Ben, Jack, Jamie, Mike, and Alex - brought the sound of a new wave of British rock to Florence, a sound still conquering the world some 50 years after the start of the British In-vasion.

Hard Rock Cafe Hosts The Carnabys from London


FeStiVitieS

Ring in the New Year, ‘Florentine Style’

Until 1750, Florentines marked the start of the New Year not on January 1, but rather on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. While in other Ital-ian states the Gregorian calendar had been followed since 1582, it wasn’t un-til 1749, when Grand Duke Francesco II decreed a change to the modern temporal calculations, that Florence started marking the New Year on Jan-uary 1.Celebrations of March 25 were strong-ly linked to the worship of the Virgin Mary, and included a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santissima Annunzi-ata to venerate a 13th-century fres-co depicting the Annunciation. The work is said to have been completed by miraculous intervention: the com-missioned artist, unable to complete the face of Mary despite several at-tempts, fell into a sleep and when he

awoke discovered the image of Mary’s face had been completed. From this a legend arose that the fresco had been finished by angels. Thus on March 25, devotees would make a pilgrimage to the basilica, and out of this a tradition arose, too, a yearly fair held in the piazza. Via dei Servi, the road that connects this church to the Duomo, is named for the religious order that founded San-tissima Annunziata, the Servi di Ma-ria. In recent years, the Florentine gov-ernment has revived this traditional celebration, organizing with free con-certs at the basilica as well as histor-ical re-enactments of the procession from Palazzo Vecchio to Santissima Annunziata. Be on the lookout that day for the procession and live con-certs in piazzas throughout Florence.

A Florentine St. Patrick’s Day

Do Italians celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Not really. At least not in the manner Irish and Irish-Americans are familiar with. Yet Florence is one of few Italian cities that sees celebra-tions and festivities come alive on March 17, thanks in large part to the high number of Americans visiting this city every year.On St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Catholics commemorate their patron saint, who converted to Catholicism in 5th-cen-tury Ireland and who is associated with the color green given his prac-tice of using the shamrock to explain the concept of the holy trinity. He died on this day in 461. Due to Irish immigration and the subsequent ‘re-

location’ of St. Patrick celebrations to other countries, today March 17 is a popular feast day outside of Ireland. Italians do not, as a rule, celebrate this particular saint. But for those in Florence this March 17 and throughout the weekend, local Irish pubs and restaurants will host events for those who wish to partic-ipate celebrations. Concerts, games, special events and Irish food and drinks will be available from March 17-21, courtesy of Irlanda in Festa, the Italian festival honoring St. Patrick’s Day. Celtic music and dance performances will also be held as part of the festi-val at the ObiHall Theatre. Irish Pubs

sponsoring St. Patrick’s Day related events are Finnegan’s Irish Pub in Via San Gallo, Joshua Tree in Via del-la Scala, Dublin Pub in Via Faenza, English pub Kikuya in Via dei Benci, and many more.On March 17, The Fiddler’s Elbow will host a St. Patrick’s Night event featur-ing The Elbow Band, with members of two internationally-acclaimed bands who combine various song styles from Anglo-Saxon, country rock, Irish ballad traditions. Kikuya’s traditional party is scheduled for March 21, while on the same day The Fiddler’s Elbow has organized a Irish Dance Spring Festival, followed by an open mic night.

Finnegan irish pub is the only irish-owned pub in Florence and hosts live music ev-ery weekend, regular quiz nights and student discounts on tuesdays. patrons can enjoy outdoor seating nine months of the year, while sports fans are spoilt for choice with dedicated coverage of en-glish and Scottish premiership football, irish and english internationals, as well as rugby, Formula one and american foot-ball. Friendly expat staff ensure a warm and relaxed atmosphere in which to gather, sip guinness and “have the craic.”

Mon. to Fri.: 4 p.m.–1 a.m.Sat. to Sun.: 1 p.m.–1 a.m.

tRaditionaL iRiSH puB neaR San MaRco

Via San gallo, 123/r055 49 07 94

www.finneganpub.com

the newly reopened Jack is ready to rock ‘n’ roll! come by for lunch or dinner and try the revamped menu featuring tradi-tional italian food and american staples. enjoy live music, dJ sets and the costume parties that Jack has become famous for, as well as two Hd screens showcasing special sporting events. if all that italian espresso just isn’t hitting the mark, drop by one-eyed Jack’s to enjoy american coffee with a free refill between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Free wifi is also available.

open daily:11–2 a.m.

tHe BaR YouR MoM WaRned You aBout

piazza nazario Sauro, 2/r055 09 44 561

www.thejackpub.com

Bring your bottle to be filled for less than €1.50, straight from the barrels of il Santo Vino. Here patrons can choose from a wide range of italian wine in bottles or barrels sourced throughout tuscany and italy, as well as spirits and digestives. il Santo Vino also provides a home-delivery service alongside selected local specialty and organic products, such as truffled goods, honey, jam, coffee and a variety of Sicilian spreads.

Monday: 5–9 p.m.tues. to Sun.:

10 a.m.–2 p.m.; 5–9 p.m.

Borgo tegolaio, 46/r055 53 87 122 // 345 90 93 425

[email protected]

Skype: ilsantovino

HoMe deLiVeRed and pouRed Wine in S. SpiRito

American students this semester will find out just what the all the hype is about by competing in the F.C. FIORENZA – INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL CUP. The tournament will host two different groups of teams, Group Uncle J’s and Group Lion’s, with the following teams playing in each.The entire tournament will be played at Centro Sportivo Arche on Via Gusti. The short 5v5 games will be adjudicat-ed by federal referees and must be co-ed for the entirety of the match. Teams will compete throughout the month of March and into the beginning of April for seeding in the playoffs, which begin on Monday April 7th in a single elimination fashion. See below for a full detail on the schedule of the tournament and be sure to come out and see how American’s compete in the Italian sport! Check the Florence News & Events facebook page for pic-tures and results.



Student LiFe

Soccer may dominate Italian sports culture, yet there are several other sports one can engage in while in Florence. Whether you are looking to cheer on horses, catch a foul ball or see a sport that you have never even heard of, Florence has many sporting events to offer.

The ‘Other’ Sports in the CitydyLan nikoLetoPouLos

Horse RacingSiena is not the only place in

tuscany that offers horse rac-ing. there are multiple styles of

racing including chariot rac-ing. a large venue is open to spectators that offers gam-

bling, restaurants and lounges. Located only 20 minutes from the SMn train station, this is a perfect event for a sunny

weekend afternoon.

For more information go to www.visarno.it/index.php or send an email to visarno@

hid.it. the track and office is located at Viale del Visarno, 14

Firenze 50144.

Basketballalthough not the same status as the Los angeles Lakers, Fioren-tina does have its own profes-

sional basketball team. the team is called enegan Firenze and is part of the italia-dna Silver league. the team plays

other local cities such as Lucca, Roseto and Bari, to name a

few. despite being in second to last place with an 8-14 record,

the team would love to see some international support. it would also be fun to see how italian basketball compares to american basketball with March Madness coming up!

For more information go to www.affricobasketfirenze.

com/abf/ or call +39 055 53 85 922. the office is located at Viale paoli, 20 Florence 50137 in close proximity to the Fiorenti-

na Soccer stadium.

BaseballMLB spring training won’t be

starting for a while so why not take the time to visit another

team. the Fiorentina Baseball field is located a couple of

blocks from the Fiorentina soc-cer stadium and is great sport to go watch on an afternoon. the team is currently in Series c but has had success in the

past in Series a.

For more information go to www.fiorentinabaseball.it or

email [email protected].

Rugbyalthough seen as the evil

step-brother to both american football and soccer, rugby does

have a presence in Florence. the organization has multiple

teams for people of all ages so there is no telling who you will

see playing when you go to the practice pitch. the senior team is called aeroporto Firenze and still has a number of games to play before the season ends in May. even though they aren’t professional it would be fun to

see a rugby game in italy!

For more information go to www.firenzerugby1931.it

American footballYes! american football exists outside of the borders of the uSa! Just because we are the

only ones who watch it, doesn’t mean we are the only ones who play it! guelfi Firenze is

the american Football team in Florence and currently plays in the second league under the

Federazione italiana di ameri-can Football. although the sea-son is over the team would love to play with americans. Spend

an afternoon with the team running up and down the field, catching footballs or showing them how good you are at the

american sport.

For more information go to www.guelfifirenze.it/ or call

3397012020. Group Uncle J’scaLiFoRnia 1SYRacuSe 1gonZaga 1

LdM 1iSiapiaeF

capaeSeJMu

Group Lion’scalifornia aSyracuse agonzaga a

LgM aFloridaaccentalfiericeacet

Richmond

The Soccer Cup of American Universities

Lorenzo de’ MediciRESTAURANT & PIZZERIA

Lorenzo de’ Medici Restaurant and Pizzeria is an elegant yet reasonably priced spot situated right in the heart of Florence, just a few steps away from the Medici Chapel, the church of Santa Maria Novella and San Lorenzo market, and no more than 200m from the Fortezza da Basso. It is the ideal restaurant to try traditional Florentine dishes or pizza cooked in the wood-fired oven. The perfect restaurant for tourist groups, business dinners, meetings or private dining.

LIVE SPORTS

GET 20% OFF WITH YOUR STUDENT DISCOUNT CARD

Via del Giglio, 49 // 055 21 29 32www.lorenzodemediciristorante.com


SpoRt & LeiSuRe

American sport culture relies on a playoff bracket system, but this is not the only way to determine a winner, especially in soccer. In Italian soccer

“the best team” is determined differ-ently. Besides the different format of league play, there are also multiple leagues and tournaments that take place at the same time. All of this can seem confusing to Americans trying to follow Italian or European soccer. To help sports fans get better acquaint-ed with Italian and European soccer and understand the different leagues across Italy and how each is format-ted, here is a list of the important points.

FORMATS FOR SOCCER LEAGUES AND TOURNAMENTSRound Robin:• Every team plays each other once• Points are awarded depending

on the outcome of the game. • Win = 3 points • Tie = 1 point • Loss = 0 points• Top teams advanceDouble Round Robin:• Same format as Round Robin,

but every team plays each other twice.

AGGREGATE• Used in determining the better of

two teams.• Each team gets a home and away

game.• The score is combined between

the two games.• If there is a tie in total goals, away

goals are used as the decider. Ex: • Real Madrid (H) vs. Bayern

Munich (A)- Real wins 3-2 • Bayern Munich (H) vs. Real

Madrid (A)- Bayern wins 2-1 • Combined score 4-4, Away

Get to Know Italian SoccerdyLan nikoLetoPouLos

Fiorentina home game schedule

MaRcH 28:45 p.m.

Fiorentina vs. Lazio

MaRcH 16 8:45 p.m.

Fiorentina vs. chievo Verona

MaRcH 20 7 p.m.

Fiorentina vs. Juventus

MaRcH 26 8:45 p.m.

Fiorentina vs. ac Milan

tickets can be bought through When in Florence, online at

it.violachannel.tv, at the stadium and at Fiorentina point on Viale

Manfredo Fanti 85/a.

get your Fiorentina shirt with a 15% discount

when you show this paper at the FLoRence

cuRioSitY SHop next to pizzeria o’Vesuvio in Via de’ cimatori, 23/r.

goals in favor of Bayern Munich 2-1

• Bayern Munich would win or advance

• This format ensures that there is not a home or away favoritism to-ward any team.

BRACKETS OR KNOCK OUT• What most American’s are famil-

iar with.• One game played between two

teams.• Winner advances.LEAGUES IN ITALY AND EUROPECHAMPIONS LEAGUE• Top Tournament in Europe• Starts in July and finishes in May• Starts with teams entering the

contest depending on how they qualified. Total of 76 teams are eligible to play.

• Four play off rounds that use aggregate styles of play to deter-mine the winners.

• Double round robin elimination is used once there are only 32 teams left forming eight groups of four.

• Top two teams from each group advance and use aggregate bracket elimination to see who reaches the final.

• The final is only one game held at a pre-determined neutral loca-tion.

EUROPA LEAGUE• This tournament is secondary

only to the Champions League• Starts in July and finishes in May• Open to 195 teams from around

Europe.• The League has four rounds of

play-offs where additional teams enter the event at every level depending on how they qualify. These games played in a knock-out fashion.

• Once down to 48 teams, the teams are divided into twelve groups of four and play a round robin format. The top two teams from each group advance.

• Once down to 24 teams, twelve more teams are added to the tournament and a knockout ag-gregate fashion tournament com-mences.

• The final will be a single game format.

SERIES A (AND B)• Made up of the top twenty profes-

sional teams in Italy• Season runs from mid August

until mid May.

• League uses a double round rob-in format.

• The top two teams at the end of the season automatically qualify for the Champions League.

• The third place team gets to com-pete in a knock-out round for a spot to enter the Champions League.

• The fourth and fifth place teams qualify for the Europa League Tournament.

• The team with the most points at the end of the season the champi-on is awarded the Coppa Campi-oni d’Italia trophy. Additionally, the following year the returning champions will wear a small coat of arms with the Italian colors stripe on their jerseys.

• At the end of the season the three lowest teams are moved down to the lower league, Series B, while the top three teams of Series B are moved up to Series A.

COPPA ITALIA• Played by all 78 professional

teams in Italy from all series. (Series A, Series B, Series D, and Lega Pro).

• Begins in August and finishes in May.

• Starts with the lower level teams playing knockout games to ad-vance.

• Once down to eight teams, the highest ranked eight teams from the previous year join the compe-tition, which creates a knockout bracket for sixteen teams.

• All games except for the semi fi-nals are played in single knock-out fashion.

• The semi final is played in a two legged aggregate scoring manner

• The final is played in a single game every year in Rome.

• The winner of the Coppa Italia qualifies for the Europa League.

Mostodolce craft brewery was the first of its kind to open in prato and now supplies twin pubs in prato and Florence with its award-winning artisan beer. From pitch-black stout to honey beer and a seasonal christmas variety made from chestnuts, Mostodolce’s range appeals to the most earthy and subtle of palates. Match your choice with complementary dishes cre-ated in the pub kitchen: from the hefty flavours of smoked ribs and tortelloni with wild boar ragout to light snacks and the intriguingly named ‘birramisu’.

open daily:11–2 a.m.

Via nazionale, 114/r(near the train station)

055 23 02 928www.mostodolce.it

HaMBuRgeRS and aWaRd-Winning aRtiSan

BeeR

Staying Connected to College Hoops


SpoRt & LeiSuRe

Fiorentina has been without Ameri-can-born striker Giuseppe Rossi since early January when the Serie A lead-ing-scorer injured his knee. Despite Rossi’s absence, Fiorentina landed a spot in the Italian Cup final. Schedul-ing is still being determined for Euro-pa League commitments, but Fioren-tina is expected to play Napoli on May 3 or 7.Rossi is currently undergoing rehab for a collateral ligament injury in New York, under the treatment of the same

Fiorentina Headed to Italian Cup FinaldyLan nikoLetoPouLos

Brand new gym in the heart of Florence is now open.• Fully outfitted with the latest cardio

& strength equipment from techno-gym

• offering a wide array of classes ranging from Zumba to pilates, ev-ery week

• all-inclusive memberships with no sign-up fees

• Special pricing for students • Friendly english-speaking staff • Free wi-fi

Mon. to Fri.: 8 a.m.-10 p.m, Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m, Sunday: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

neW gYM neaR Santa MaRia noVeLLa

Via dei Fossi, 56/r055 23 96 497

Vintage VinYL and neW ReLeaSeS

Via de’ neri, 15/r055 287 592

www.superecords.com

tucked away on Via de’ neri, data Re-cords 93 is the perfect spot for music afi-cionados and those looking for a differ-ent take on current music or a nostalgic throwback to decades past. Born in 1977 as contempo Records, it holds a vast collection of music, from new releases to rare pressings, and even includes recent releases on vinyl. data Records 93’s eclectic and valuable collection regularly attracts international dJs and it also ships all over the world.

Mon–Sat: 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m; Sunday: 3:30–7:30 p.m.

If you are an avid college hoops fan, sometimes studying abroad can get in the way of staying connected with your team back home. However, even while in Italy you don’t have to miss out as your favorite teams make their way to the final four. As the regular college basketball season is coming to an end, the Big Dance picture is a little bit clearer and closer.Florence hosts over 5,000 American students every semester, and local restaurants and bars, realizing that Americans love their sports, offer op-portunities for you to watch your fa-vorites. Whether you are a hard-core college hoops fanatic or have no idea why people call it March Madness,

Viewing March Madness Livewhy not go out and enjoy the college hoops atmosphere around town? Just as you see Italian soccer fans yelling and cheering in front of TV screens in bars around town, you too can show your support for our American teams.This year especially is a year not to miss. With Kansas winning ten straight conference titles, Texas be-ing ranked again for the first time since 2009 and Syracuse coaches going ballistic over last minute calls, there is no shortage of madness going into this year’s March. This March is a calling to everyone from those who don’t know what the Big Dance means, to those who can list every top 25 team’s field goal percentage. Create your bracket, choice your team and see how long your March mad-


ScheduleSeLection SundaY

March 16FiRSt Round March 18-19

Second and tHiRd RoundS March 20-23

SoutH and WeSt RegionaL March 27, 29

eaSt and MidWeSt RegionaL March 28, 30

nationaL SeMiFinaLS april 5

cHaMpionSHip gaMe april 7

Big Day in Rome on May 3rdspecialists who helped him recover from similar knee injuries in the past. Originally his injury was diagnosed as serious enough to possibly keep him from attending the World Cup this summer in Brazil. However, with the news that he had not suffered an-other ACL injury, Rossi is optimistic about his recovery. He is aiming to return to the field in May.After the Italian Cup final, Fiorentina will have 3 more games in which Ros-si can prove his eligibility for the 2014 World Cup and earn a spot on the Ital-ian National team’s roster.

ness lasts! Here is a list of places that plan on screening College Basketball NCAA March Madness.

LIVE SPORTMON.: SPONSORED

BY BUS2ALPSTHU.: LADIES’ NIGHT

HAPPY HOUR TILL 11 P.M.

Via dell'Anguillara, 54/r347 19 41 013

[email protected]

NAIMA

this trip is designed to meet in Ljubljana on thursday after 4 p.m. and depart from prague the following Sunday. You also have the option to depart from Florence or Rome and end in prague. See www.bus2alps.com/en/ for full information.

While you’re in Italy, take advantage of the opportunity to not only visit the rest of this beautiful country, but also surrounding European countries that are right at your doorstep. Make the most of your time here and see as much as you can – who knows when you’ll next be over in this part of the world? After all, travel broadens the mind.The west of Europe holds some in-credible sights, but how about the other side? Europe’s east has emerged as one of the most chosen holiday and travelling destinations in recent years; rich in culture and stunning landscapes, it is far less populated by tourists – and what’s more, it is definitely easier on the wallet than its western counterpart. Prague, Lju-

Take the Eastern Loop through Europe

bljana, Budapest and Krakow are the forerunners in this new-wave Europe-an tourist destination, yet reaching them all and travelling from one to the other can be hard to organise and navigate yourself.For this reason, Bus2Alps has organ-ised a 10-day trip through six coun-tries, with day stops in four of the biggest cities, and accommodation and travel arranged for you. Visit Lake Bled and Bled Castle in Slovenia, thermal baths and caves in Budapest, experience Krakow nightlife, and go on a walking tour and discover John Paul II’s home, as well as Europe’s largest market square.In Prague you can explore the Old Town, New Town and the Jewish Quarter, John Lennon Wall, and an

infamous beer hall where you can also try a three-course traditional Czech meal. Your tour guide will take you on the Clocktower Bar Crawl which ends at one of Prague’s biggest underground clubs, open until dawn! Take a sobering moment to reflect on modern history at the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps. There are also opportunities to have days and af-ternoons to yourself, where you can shop, collect souvenirs to take home, rent a bike or simply wander around beautiful streets.With the benefit of a Bus2Alps guide to accompany you on your trip, you won’t have to worry about organising anything yourself or, more important-ly, missing anything! Your guide can provide helpful recommendations for

Included:• Round-trip transportation

by private luxury coach with dVd, a/c and bathroom;

• top-rated accommodation with your friends;

• Breakfast;• Walking tours in prague,

Budapest, Krakow, and Ljubljana;

• exclusive Bus2alps dis-counts on additional tours and pub crawls;

• Bus2alps trip leader;• Bus2alps destination guide.

food or nightlife and help you really make the most of local culture. Simul-taneously, you are given the chance to explore the cities independently as well. You have the option of departing on buses leaving from either Florence or Rome, or even making your own way and meeting the rest of the group in Ljubljana, if you prefer.


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florence news & events march 2014

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