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«The Cleaner:» Marina Abramović at Palazzo Strozzi
Art & Culture

«The Cleaner:» Marina Abramović at Palazzo Strozzi

10 enero, 2019 / By:
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Florence is alive and wants to express itself. Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi presents a retrospective of world-wide acclaimed performance artist Marina Abramović. The show opens its doors on September 21, the same day that L’Eredità delle Donne festival begins. During four months, till January 20, 2019, Florence and particularly the Palazzo Strozzi hosts an exhibition that pays tribute to the fifty-year career of one of the heavyweights of Action Art. She is the first woman that has a “solo exhibition” at the Palazzo Strozzi.…

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Primo Conti, exhibition at Villa Bardini in Florence
Art & Culture

Primo Conti, exhibition at Villa Bardini in Florence

3 enero, 2019 / By:
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The current exhibition at Villa Bardini, «Fanfare e silenzi. Viaggio nella pittura di Primo Conti,» is dedicated to the Florentine painter Umberto Primo Conti. Thirty years after his death, the show wants to illustrate and celebrate the artistic career of Conti, painter, composer and writer who belonged to the Italian avant-garde movement Futurism. In a chronological itinerary through the rooms of Villa Bardini, the display is divided into eight thematic sections, that correspond the different phases of Conti’s artistic career. Besides that, his oeuvre has been contextualized through the dialogue with artworks by other artists — teachers, friends, classmates … — connected with his creations. This relational exhibition responds to Conti’s own attitude, as he wanted to preserve not only his legacy but also the collective memory of an artistic period as extraordinary and flourishing as the Florence prior World War I. Until January 13, 2019.
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Christine De Melo´s Florence
Moments & People

Christine De Melo´s Florence

2 enero, 2019 / By:
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My Portuguese parents arrived in the US with nothing but the will to succeed. I fell in love with art, history, and architecture at a young age and longed to see the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, and Botticelli. Being firstborn to poor immigrants meant that I grew up with few prospects—Italy may as well have been the moon.…

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Miss Tina Mars in the pet-friendly Florence
Moments & People

Miss Tina Mars in the pet-friendly Florence

28 diciembre, 2018 / By:
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My name is Tina Mars. Although I am a female dog, I consider myself very human. Last week I visited Paco Neumann in Florence and that dazzled me. I felt almost as mesmerized as the Americans (that is, by the city). Let’s say Florence is not Paris, but who does actually stand the French? Also, most animals are not interested in art and culture, but I am. I had an exquisite and refined education at home. That’s why I grow so much canine anger when not allowed into the museums or the churches. We, dogs, are better educated and trained than all those tourist crowds … The leash and the muzzle, as well as the picking up of my evacuations, are compulsory when out and about, anyway. By the way, I was fascinated to see how clean Florence is! In Berlin, the sidewalks and parks are crammed with excrement, which causes me quite a lot of disgust. …

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“BANKSY – This is not a photo opportunity,» Banksy at Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Art & Culture

“BANKSY – This is not a photo opportunity,» Banksy at Palazzo Medici Riccardi

21 diciembre, 2018 / By:
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There is no doubt that if Banksy had lived during the Renaissance in Florence, the Medici would have been his patrons — they were the Maecenas of most of the art produced in Florence at that time. Any case, supposedly, Banksy artworks do not belong to anyone, but to the cities public space where he intervenes. However, the system devours everything, yet the supposed «anti-system» expressions as the graffiti made by Banksy. A proof of this is the exhibition organized at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, opened until February 24, 2019. Curated by Gianluca Marziani and Stefano S. Antonelli, the show brings together twenty images of Banksy’s most iconic pieces, those that won world fame due to its thematic: capitalism, war, surveillance, or massive migratory movements.…

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«Firenze secondo me:» Matteo Renzi presents his documentary about Florence
Moments & People

«Firenze secondo me:» Matteo Renzi presents his documentary about Florence

13 diciembre, 2018 / By:
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Matteo Renzi, former prime minister of Italy, presents the documentary film Firenze secondo me about his view on Florence, the city where he was born and grew up, and of which he was mayor between 2009 and 2014. The Discovery Italia Nove channel will broadcast four chapters of 90 minutes starting on December 15 at 9:25 p.m.
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The ubiquitous Medici escutcheon in Florence
Medici Traces

The ubiquitous Medici escutcheon in Florence

4 diciembre, 2018 / By:
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Contrary to the legend, the surname Medici has nothing to do with medical ancestors in the family, but with their move from the region of Mugello to Florence, back in the thirteen century, abandoning agriculture to devote themselves to financial life. The six red balls on the golden field of the coat of arms are not pills but bezants, a unit of weight from the Byzantine era used by merchants and medieval bankers to count. The mythical escutcheon is easily recognizable in any corner of Florence and when least expected.…

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Farewell to Bernardo Bertolucci, director of «Stealing Beauty,» a postcard movie shot in Tuscany
Within Tuscany

Farewell to Bernardo Bertolucci, director of «Stealing Beauty,» a postcard movie shot in Tuscany

26 noviembre, 2018 / By:
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Presented at the 49th iteration of the Cannes Film Festival and shot in Tuscany, the feature film Stealing Beauty (1996) shows the beautiful and cheerful wild face of Tuscany. Siena, Gaiole in Chianti, Castello di Brolio, Scorgiano, the photogenic Tuscan hills, the country houses, the olive trees meadows, the parties in luxury villas, summer, love, sex and interpersonal relationships are the ingredients of this arthouse movie. The film shows wonderful places located in the surroundings of Siena through its 19-year old protagonist interpreted by Liv Tyler. This postcard movie, with its eclectic and outstanding soundtrack  (Portishead, Billie Holiday, Steve Wonder, Liz Phair…), has been key in my romance with Tuscany and Florence. I was 19-year old as well when I saw Stealing Beauty in a cinema theatre in the summer of 1996, in Tenerife. Its romance was very important for me and blossomed my love for this land and this region. Master of the Novecento, poet, documentarist, filmmaker, producer, polemicist, Italian cinema auteur par excellence, Bertolucci died today (November 26, 2018) at his home in Trastevere, Rome, after a long illness.
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Medici villas #2: Poggio a Caiano
Medici Traces

Medici villas #2: Poggio a Caiano

11 noviembre, 2018 / By:
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The construction of this medicean villa located between Florence, Prato and Pistoia was the whim of Lorenzo the Magnificent, thus he commissioned it to his favourite architect, Giuliano da Sangallo, at the end of the 15th century. A residence for the pure leisureliness of contemplation by the dynastic power, the villa of Poggio a Caiano recovers elements of the classic architecture such as the fronton and Ionic temple at the main facade. Due to the harmony and symmetry of its proportions, as for representing an ideal of life in the outskirts under Humanism, the site is listed World Heritage by the UNESCO since 2013. Walking the Parco all’inglese and the Giardino all’italiana is as stimulating as visiting its interior. Free entrance.
Practical info
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Trattoria Sergio Gozzi: authentic Tuscan «casalinga» cousine in the heart of Florence
Wine & Food

Trattoria Sergio Gozzi: authentic Tuscan «casalinga» cousine in the heart of Florence

18 octubre, 2018 / By:
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This family-run trattoria, semi-hidden in Piazza San Lorenzo, shows a lot of stickers from Tripadvisor, Yelp and all of those platforms, which prepare respectable reviews of commercial establishments for tourists to visit in droves. The number of stickers on the door normally corresponds to the length of queuing. However, such claims seem to me of doubtful value, as I never had much faith in the reviews written even by acquaintances. «Casalinga» is related to the sort of cuisine, in this regard, not only homemade and Tuscan, but also highlighting the quality of the food, rather than the presentation of the dishes or the decoration of the premises. Trattoria Sergio Gozzi displays an interior design with a genuinely rustic and modest personality. The menu of the day is brief but compelling. Affordable prices.
Trattoria Sergio Gozzi (since 1915), piazza di San Lorenzo 8R, 50123 Florence | Open only at noon, no reservations | Best after 2:30 p.m.
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