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Medici villas #3: Medicean villa di Castello – Accademia della Crusca
Medici Traces

Medici villas #3: Medicean villa di Castello – Accademia della Crusca

1 abril, 2018 / By:
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Like the villa of La Petraia, the villa medicea di Castello is in the hills of Castello, a few kilometres from Florence. Built in the 14th century and completely rebuilt in the 16th century, it is mostly famous for its gardens, which compete in splendour with those of Boboli. Also known as Villa Reale, L’Olmo or Il Vivaio, di Castello serves currently as the headquarters of the Accademia della Crusca, Italy’s most prestigious linguistic institution, so the visits are restricted and always subject to prior request. The gardens under management of the Polo Museale di Firenze, the institution in charge of the public museums of the province of Florence, are however more accessible. In addition to the gardens, another must-see is its library, the largest in the country regarding linguistics and history of the Italian language.
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Salvatore Ferragamo and twentieth-century visual culture
Art & Culture

Salvatore Ferragamo and twentieth-century visual culture

15 marzo, 2018 / By:
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Salvatore Ferragamo returned to Italy in 1927 after twelve years in the United States. In 2017, to mark the ninetieth anniversary of his homecoming, the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo presented this exhibition offering an overview of the 1920s, a decade now recognized as an authentic forge of open-minded ideas and experimentation free of ideological constraints and prejudices. Ferragamo chose to settle in Florence in virtue of its acknowledged centrality in the geography of Italian taste and style at a time in which the word “return” was especially meaningful: the return to order in the arts, the return to professional skill and to the great national tradition. Developed in chapters like a coming-of-age story, the exhibition focuses precisely on this trend in the culture of the period. Curated by Carlo Sisi, it takes Ferragamo’s voyage on an ocean liner back to Italy as its guiding thread: a metaphor of his mental journey through the Italian visual culture of the 1920s, the source of the themes and works that were to influence his poetic vision directly or indirectly.
1927, il ritorno in Italia – Till May 2 at Museo Ferragamo, Palazzo Spini Feroni, Florence…

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What San Lorenzo street market hides
Fashion & Shops & Markets

What San Lorenzo street market hides

9 febrero, 2018 / By:
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Starting from Via dell’Ariento, in front of the Cappelle Medicee and its surrounding streets, this walk is flooded with characteristic white canopies around the Central Market of San Lorenzo and its peculiar «wall» of street stalls. As a resident, I am used to this area of town and its typical noise of shopkeepers dragging their mobile stores in the early morning and at night. I sure love it. Walking on the sidewalks not only helps to avoid the crowds of the main street, but also helps to discover some alternative treasures (bars, cafés, restaurants, trattorie, shops … not excessively crowded such as Bondi or Casa del Vino) that are hidden among the usual stalls, where they generally sell the same items, every two or three steps.
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«Radical Utopias»: exhibition at Strozzina-Palazzo Strozzi
Art & Culture

«Radical Utopias»: exhibition at Strozzina-Palazzo Strozzi

13 enero, 2018 / By:
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An experimental approach totally unrelated to the legacy of earlier modernist trends, but closely related to the renewal taking place in other areas of art, began to spread to architecture in Europe in the early 1960s. For the very first time the exhibition «Radical Utopias» celebrates the outstanding creative season enjoyed by the radical movement in Florence in the 60s and 70s. The exhibition brings together in a single venue the visionary work of such groups and figures as 9999, Archizoon, Remo Buti, Gianni Pettena, Superstudio, UFO and Zziggurat. A kaleidoscopic dialogue between objects of design, videos, installations, performances and narratives illustrating another possible world: a critical utopia that had the merit of smashing the status quo of the period, turning Florence into the focal point of a revolution in thinking that had a deep impact on the development of art at the global level.
Until January 21, 2018, at Strozzina-Palazzo Strozzi
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Forte di Belvedere: refuge of the Medici and viewpoint of Florence
Medici Traces

Forte di Belvedere: refuge of the Medici and viewpoint of Florence

10 enero, 2018 / By:
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Built at the end of the 16th century by order of Fernando I de’ Medici, Forte Belvedere is the common name of the fortress of Santa Maria in San Giorgio del Belvedere, one of the two fortresses of Florence. This building is also a popular panoramic viewpoint and a valuable architectural site of the city. The final move of the grand ducal court from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti undoubtedly influenced the decision to build the new fortress, near the wall surrounding the Boboli gardens adjacent to the Pitti Palace. In case of any danger, the prince and the court could quickly reach a fortified refuge from which they could still rule the city.
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Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio, the other popular market of Florence
Fashion & Shops & Markets

Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio, the other popular market of Florence

20 diciembre, 2017 / By:
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In comparison to the bigger central market of San Lorenzo, its twin in the city, the smaller Sant’ Ambrogio, is even better. It caters in a local, neighbourhood style, resulting as more authentic. It has an area partly open, where clothes, fruits, vegetables and groceries are sold outside; inside, there´re grocery, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and mini restaurants. Opposite the market was the old monastery of Santa Verdiana, once used as a female prison, and now stands the Faculty of Architecture. Located in piazza Ghiberti and projected in 1873 by Giuseppe Mengoni, the original urban plans included — after the destruction of the old market — the creation of three modern outlets in the historical centre: the central market of San Lorenzo, the market of Sant ‘Ambrogio and a market which was never built, the San Frediano market. Open from Monday to Saturday from 7 a. m. to 2 p. m.
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Museo degli Innocenti: one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture
Art & Culture

Museo degli Innocenti: one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture

12 diciembre, 2017 / By:
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The Ospedale degli Innocenti was a children’s orphanage designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1419. Following a long period of renewal, the new Museum degli Innocenti has finally opened to the public in June 2016. It verses on the theme of welcoming and caring for children, telling the visitor about the essence of the institution during six centuries, through historic documents as well as its artistic heritage. The lower level narrates the history and evolution of the Institute of the Innocents through the biographies and personal memories of the «Nocentini» (the children hosted here); the ground floor focuses on the architectural approach, describing also the evolution of the old hospital. Finally, but most importantly, the second floor houses a gallery with Renaissance treasures by Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Bartolomeo di Giovanni, Piero di Cosimo, Neri di Bicci, Luca della Robbia and Andrea and Giovanni del Biondo. The terrace-café of the Quattrocento open to the public crowns the building.
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Panino of anchovies in green sauce at I Fratellini
Wine & Food

Panino of anchovies in green sauce at I Fratellini

19 octubre, 2017 / By:
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This micro-cellar opened in 1875 only two steps from Piazza della Signoria and offers about thirty panini options, including one by your own pick of ingredients. The place stands as a great alternative to mythical All’Antico Vinaio in Via dei Neri, whose reviews on Trip Advisor lead to queues for hours, for a bite without a seat. At I Fratellini, a pair of ingredients is enough to conquer any discerning palate. For 3 euros, one of the best choices is the panino of anchovies with green sauce. Taste it with one of the beers or wines and enjoy the chance to buy their typical products of the region.
Via dei Cimatori, 38 / red – open every day from 10 a. m. to 7 p. m.
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Museo Effimero della Moda: fashion at Palazzo Pitti
Art & Culture

Museo Effimero della Moda: fashion at Palazzo Pitti

15 octubre, 2017 / By:
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Il Museo Effimero della Moda (The Ephemeral Museum of Fashion), produced by the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery in collaboration with the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Palais Galliera, is placed in the spaces of the Galleria del Costume at Palazzo Pitti and curated by Olivier Saillard. The peculiarity of The Ephemeral Museum lies in its novel conceptions of staging and thematic content. The exhibition, in eighteen rooms, showcases nearly two hundred items – clothing and accessories – dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. There were created by the world’s most prestigious dressmakers and fashion ateliers, including the House of Worth, Mariano Fortuny Venice, Maison Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli,  Nina Ricci, Gianfranco Ferré and Christian Lacroix. Contemporary fashions are also well represented with recent acquisitions by the Palais Galliera, and the show includes a foray into the world of today’s fashions with selections from the latest collections by Gucci, Margiela, Fendi, Armani, Valentino, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, John Galliano and Lanvin.
Until October 22
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Florence Biennale, in the supermarket of art
Events & Entertainment

Florence Biennale, in the supermarket of art

7 octubre, 2017 / By:
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The XIth Florence Biennale, a cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary event themed eART – Creativity & Sustainability, hosts more than 400 artists (mainly pictorial works  – 90%) from over 70 countries around the world. Dialogue among civilizations through art, and also values such as peace, diversity and respect for life have always been the principles inspiring the Florence Biennale, which is committed to fostering awareness of the importance of art and the role of artists in societies by reviewing history while looking at the present for a sustainable future of creativity. A programme of collateral events such as conferences, lectures, workshops, performances and video screenings will enliven the exhibit.
Florence Biennale at Fortezza da Basso, from 6 to 15 October 2017
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