‘Tis the season for giving back, by holiday shopping at charity fairs. Over 100 years old, the British Institute, with the largest English language library on the European continent, has organized a charming event for the Christmas season. If you need to finish your holiday shopping, head to the December 6 fair at the Library from 3 to 6 pm. The event can be accessed from the Lungarno Guicciardini 15 entrance. For sale [...]
For all of the American residents, visitors, and students and their Italian friends, there will be more than enough opportunities for turkey this Thanksgiving in Florence. The city has a variety of restaurants to fill the American holiday void with many ways to inspire gratitude. Guests can find any kind of Thanksgiving in Florence that they want: an extensive selection of lunches and dinners is offered on Thursday, November 28 and even menus [...]
Nov. 30 – Dec. 1: AILO CHRISTMAS BAZAAR. Tepidarium, Giardino dell’Orticoltura, via Vittorio Emanuele II, 4. Hours: 3:30 pm – 6 pm on Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm on Sunday. The 2019 AILO Christmas Bazaar will be unveiled by the American International League of Florence for its 44th year this holiday season. This traditional and charitable fair will be held in the historic and beautiful Tepidarium greenhouse in a public park for [...]
An exciting selection of new movie releases from around the world will debut in the historic city of Florence this week. Lo Schermo dell’Arte festival is a project that promotes the collaboration between contemporary art and cinema through short films, videos and installations in addition to training projects and residencies for international artists and their works. Since the first edition of the Lo Schermo dell’Arte took place in 2008, this will be the [...]
Until Nov. 9: FESTIVAL DEI POPOLI, International Documentary Film Festival. La Compagnia Cinema, via Cavour 50/r. Screenings are in the original language with English and Italian subtitles. This year the theme of the Festival dei Popoli film festival is “Diamonds are Forever,” in honor of the event’s 60th anniversary edition. The program for the diamond anniversary offers showings of 20 movies from the past 60 years alongside its international and Italian competition of new films. [...]
History is said to be alive in Italy, but sometimes it can feel a little too alive. If one steps out of the Tuscan sun and into the shadows, there is plenty of darkness to be experienced and, if one is unlucky, felt. For those seeking the darker side with a dash of adrenaline, Florence offers haunted haunts and ghost lore waiting to be discovered. The Medici family is integral to the history of Florence, known [...]
Until October 27: FLORENCE BIENNALE. Fortezza da Basso. Open daily 10 am – 8 pm, Wednesday 23rd and Friday 25th until 10 pm. Admission: €10. Florence Biennale, an international exhibition of contemporary art and design, will take place with the presence of guest artists from over 70 countries around the world. All of them will be in competition against each other for the international prize “Lorenzo il Magnifico.” Accompanying the show will be [...]
After a busy summer of outdoor music festivals throughout the region, the classical music scene returns to Florence’s center stage. The Teatro del Maggio spotlights opera productions, the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) focuses on symphonic concerts, and Amici della Musica organizes Florence’s premier chamber music series, held as always in the 17th-century gem Teatro della Pergola. MAGGIO THEATRE The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino opens its 2019-2020 opera season with a rarity, Fernand Cortez by [...]
NYU Florence (Via Bolognese 120, bus 25 from San Marco) will be offering the public free guided tours of the magnificent palace, Villa La Pietra, and the beautiful, adjacent gardens for six days: Monday, October 7 through Saturday, October 12. The visits are available in English and Italian, by appointment only; to reserve a spot call 055/5007210 or send an email to villa.lapietra@nyu.edu. Arthur Acton, a descendent of an Anglo-Italian family, purchased the [...]
This week brings Florence’s L’Eredità delle Donne (The Legacy of Women), a festival devoted to the celebration and empowerment of women, whose contributions have been historically overlooked. By incorporating a variety of media, the initiative’s series of events seeks to disseminate a philosophy around the city and engage with the public, creating an atmosphere of inclusivity during its three-day run. Oct. 4, 5, 6: L’EREDITA’ DELLE DONNE, festival highlighting women’s contributions to the [...]