ONLINE LECTURE IN ENGLISH: “The Acton-Mitchell Family at Villa La Pietra: Writing, Gardening and Collecting” is the focus of the weekly Wednesday evening British Institute series, scheduled for April 14 at 6 pm. The talk will be presented by Larry Wolff and Perri Klass, co-directors, NYU Florence at Villa La Pietra; Francesca Baldry, Collection Manager, Villa La Pietra; and Nicholas Dakin-Elliot, Horticultural Associate, Villa La Pietra. Villa La Pietra, the villa in [...]
LIVE CONCERT IN STREAMING: Jader Bignamini will be on the podium at Teatro Verdi to conduct a free online performance of the Orchestra della Toscana to a virtual audience on the evening of April 8 starting at 9 pm. Featuring soloist Marco Ortolani on the clarinet, the program includes a 2019 composition, Terranuova Light Cloud/Dark Cloud (d’après Rothko); Aaron Copeland’s Clarinet Concerto and Mendelssohn Symphony N. 3 in A minor (known as the [...]
“Patterns of Patronage” is the title of the Wednesday, April 7 talk in English at at the British Institute Library. 6 pm. The Capponi, Nerli and Nasi Altarpieces in the Basilica di Santo Spirito are the point of departure for Ellie Walker’s exploration of the relationships between the patrons and the artists, and the network of patronage in Renaissance Oltrarno. These outstanding altarpieces by Piero di Cosimo, Filippino Lippi, and the lesser known [...]
Residents of Florence who hail from the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. can incorporate their Easter home traditions during festivities in the city of the Renaissance, whether culinary or church services in English. TREATS Foreigners know that in Italy brown eggs are sold almost exclusively. To buy white eggs to dye for the Easter basket, head to Vignoli, piazza San Piero Maggiore 1 (hours: 8 am – 1 pm, 4:30 – [...]
French artist JR is exhibiting his work on the façade of the Palazzo Strozzi. The livestream of its unveiling is available on Facebook at https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/archivio/eventi/la-ferita-presentazione-del-progetto/ The title of the work, La Ferita, reflects on the inaccessibility of cultural sites in the age of Covid-19. With two previously planned exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi being postponed due to increasing Covid-19 restrictions, JR’s exhibition will be presented on the façade of the Palazzo, inviting passersby to [...]
This Thursday, March 25, the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) will resume its virtual concerts, performing live to an audience beyond Florence’s Teatro Verdi. Tonight’s performance marks the first of a new series: “Light and Darkness,” which combines themes of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, to highlight the beginning of his tribute year on the same day. The performance is freely available for listeners on ORT’s Facebook page and Youtube channel. Thursday’s concert will be conducted by Daniele Rustioni, [...]
The former monastery located on the grounds of Santa Maria Novella will become a new Florence cultural center– interdisciplinary in nature–thanks to a 20 million euro investment which will create a new vision for over 25,000 meters (82,000 ft.) within the complex. The renovations will redefine Santa Maria Novella as a center for creativity and business. The project includes the museum of the Italian language as well as housing, showrooms for artisans, and [...]
The newly-established Alinari Foundation has announced its plans to move its historical archive to Villa Fabbricotti, Via Vittorio Emmanuele II, 64. The Alinari Foundation traces its origins back to three Florentine brothers, Leopoldo, Giuseppe and Romualdo Alinari who opened their laboratory in 1852 in via Nazionale, along a stretch now known as Largo Alinari. Though the brothers initially established a studio to photograph and document significant Italian artworks, they soon expanded their [...]
Florence and Tuscany will become a “zona arancione” (orange zone) with stricter anti-Covid regulations starting on February 14 for a minimum of two weeks. Restaurants and bars will shut except to prepare take out and delivery orders. Retail shops, supermarkets, grocery stores, newsstands and pharmacies may remain open in addition to hairdressers and nail salons. Students can go to school in person at elementary and middle schools. People cannot travel outside their town [...]
A concert by the Maggio Musicale Orchestra conducted by Zubin Metha will be broadcast in free streaming on Thursday, February 11 at 8 pm. Accessible via the Teatro del Maggio website, plus the social media channels of the Teatro del Maggio. The event was recorded on Tuesday, February 2. For those who missed the performance, it will still available to enjoy through March 10, 2021, always on the Teatro del Maggio website. THE PROGRAM Franz [...]
