Until January 13: PRIMO CONTI: FANFARE & SILENCE. Villa Bardini, Costa San Giorgio 2. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 – 7 pm (visitors admitted until 6 pm). Tickets are available via online reservation for €10 (€5 reduced); free guided tours are included on Sunday are included in the price of admission. Visitors can park for free within Forte Belvedere at via San Leonardo, 1. Conti was born in Florence in 1900 and [...]
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino had its beginning in 1928 as the Orchestra Stabile Fiorentino under the guidance of conductor Vittorio Gui at the Teatro Comunale. This fall sees the celebration of the 90th anniversary of this historical organization. The festivities begin on October 4 at the Teatro del MMF with the Symphony n.2, ‘Resurrection’ by Gustav Mahler. The composition of this symphony took many years, and finally had its premiere in 1895 in [...]
“Books,” Stephen King likes to say, “are a uniquely portable magic.” Luckily, for the booklovers of Florence, the Firenze Libro Aperto literary festival will temporarily settle in the city in late September, bringing its own brand of bookish sorcery with it. This is the Festival’s second year of celebrating Italian literature. From September 28 to September 30, the Florence book fair Libro Aperto will play host to over 500 publishing houses. Situated in [...]
Many women of note —often overlooked — are the focus of the coming weekend program: Eredità delle Donne (The Legacy of Women) on September 21 – 23. All events are free; reservations required on the web site. “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” – Virginia Woolf Festival Woman forgotten. It’s a tale as old as time. Mothers, daughters, friends and sisters whose names evaporate into thin air as soon as their bodies [...]
An exclusive event for the elite of the perfume industry has taken to the streets, filling this Renaissance city with its intoxicating fragrances from September 14 – 16. Perfume designers, curators, connoisseurs and aficionados will convene in Florence for the 2018 installment of Pitti Fragranze, a three-day cosmetic industry exhibition taking place from Friday to Sunday at the Stazione Leopolda. While the trade show itself is closed to the public, residents and visitors [...]
Keeping with tradition, the city of Florence is offering access to restricted towers, gates, and fortresses that the city will again open to the public well into the fall. This year’s program features a range of buildings and monuments closed to the public during most of of the year. Many structures can be visited every day, whereas others open only on select dates. Reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 055-2768224 [...]
There are a series of three pop-up cafés near the San Niccolò Tower, one on the shore: River Urban Beach; another is a terrace, Terrazza Marasco, overlooking the beach and the Arno river for perfect sunset views and delicious sit-down food. The third is stylish, laid-back spot—a Parisian style kiosk—is further down the Arno across from the two and offers killer cocktails with aperitivo food for a reasonable price (cocktail and snacks starting at €6). The following [...]
Several of Florence’s major museums will close later than usual during the summer season. The Accademia, the setting of Michelangelo’s David and a collection of medieval triptychs, will be open to the public until 10 pm every business day through September 28. The ticket office closes half an hour earlier, at 9:30 pm. The Uffizi Gallery– home to Botticelli’s Primavera and Birth of Venus, Piero della Francesca’s Dukes of Urbino, Caravaggio’s Medusa, Rembrandt’s [...]
A summer holiday that is the official break between Easter and Christmas, on Ferragosto (August 15), it is hard to find a museum, shop or restaurant open to the public. The following is a guide to places that are accessible during the vacation week. MUSEUMS A number of city museums are open on Ferragosto: Forte Belvedere, venue of the Eliseo Mattiacci sculpture show (11 am – 8 pm); the Novecento museum of twentieth [...]
Piazzale Michelangelo is more than a pretty panorama with this summer’s resurgence of Flower. Through October, a rotation of speakers, musicians, and authors will provide the temporary mid-piazza eatery with entertainment best appreciated at sunset. Designed by architect Chiara Fanigliulo, Flower welcomes guests to its pop-up café. As the intersection of a square and a cosmopolitan crossing ground, Flower draws inspiration from nineteenth century architecture to create an open and inviting space. Entering [...]