Mika Receives Keys to Florence

Singer-songwriter Mika was given the keys to Florence by mayor Dario Nardella in an official ceremony on January 10. Nardella thanked him for his contributions to music and asked him to take on the responsibility of being an “an ambassador of culture in the world.”

During the presentation he expressed the desire to give one of his inimitable performances in the city’s Brancacci Chapel, which was frescoed by great Renaissance artist such as Masaccio, Masolino and Filippo Lippi.  He told the crowd that he had informally tested the acoustics of the chapel when he was given a private tour by a monk from the monastery.

When asked his stand on adoption by gay couples, Mika answered: if a couple, whether male-female, two women or two men, invest in a long term love relationship, adoption could only be perceived as a positive and tolerant consequence.  Of course the world needs some time before this attitude is a given, he added.

To read more in Italian, and to see a video, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site.