The 2017 ‘Estate Fiorentina’ Summer Festival

The Florence Summer festival is back and bigger than ever this year. Over the span of six months, from May until October, there will be over 102 events in all five neighborhoods (quartieri) of the city.

Florence’s Mayor Dario Nardella introduced the program himself at a press conference earlier this week, with venues ranging from the Uffizi square, to Piazzale Michelangelo, from the Lungarno beach to the Le Rampe, Piazza Tasso and the Giardino dell’Orticoltura, Anconella Park, in addition to many location in the suburbs, for a “summer that is truly for the whole city,” he said.

Because Florence is a city of culture, the festival will focus on music, theater, dance, performance, film, and libraries. Highlights of this year’s event include the Firenze Rocks music festival (June 23 – 25) at the Visarno arena in Cascine Park, including headliners like international superstars Radiohead, James Blake, and Aerosmith.

The series of Musart concerts (July 11 – 23) will be back this year in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, featuring artists like the recent Sanremo winner Francesco Gabbani, Yann Tiersen, and Paolo Conte  and other acts featured in the Florence Jazz Fringe Festival.

The city’s traditional open-air cinema  will be move rom its previous location in Piazza Santissma Annunziata to the square in front of the Uffizi. The new space will be inaugurated on June 23.

Movies screened this summer are selections from various festivals, including from the recent Middle East Now, Festival dei Popoli’s documentaries to the art films of “Lo Schermo dell’Arte.”  Another addition is a pickup truck equipped with a screen and chairs that will move from piazza to piazza with portable showings.   The Florence Summer Festival also includes performances of the Cirk Fantastik (artistic circus acts, no animals) and dramas and comedies put on by the Teatro delle Seggiole.

One of the 5 special projects this summer will be on the beach on the Arno – the strip of sand on the south bank of the river below San Niccolò– where there will be a series of sports activities during the day.

Events will also be held in locations like pop-up bars at the Fortezza da Basso and Piazzetta dei Tre Re, Piazzale Michelangelo, and the Le Murate Literary Café.

Classical concerts an dance shows will be held on the steps of churches throughout the city, like Santo Spirito, Santa Croce, and San Salvi – where singer/songwriters will also be playing in a nearby park. The Florence Dance Festival will also be returning this summer from June 27 to July 25 in the courtyard at the Bargello. Companies from Italy and all around the world will be performing modern and contemporary choreographies.

With a 16% increase in budget from the first edition, Estate Fiorentina will be a mega platform for aspiring and established artists to make their mark on the city.

More information can be found on www.estatefiorentina.it.  (tessa lucia debole)