‘Florence & Jerusalem’ Video Installation and Events
April 18 – 28: FLORENCE & JERUSALEM, An Immersive Journey for a Vision of Peace. Sala d’Arme, Palazzo Vecchio. Open daily 9 am – 7 pm, on Thursday 9 am – 2 pm. The video installation, meetings and activities are free of charge with the latter subject to availability. For more information send an email to musefirenze.it or terrasantatoscana.it.
For a cultural experience that goes beyond Florence itself, the video installation “Florence and Jerusalem, An Immersive Journey for a Vision of Peace” created by Guglielmo Magagna invites all to explore the relationship between the two cities through the histories, cultures, and obstacles which have defined their renowned identities worldwide.
Although the two cities are worlds apart geographically, they share a similar ancient history enriched with art, faith, and culture, and the video explores the ways in which they intertwine. Highlighting different features of each community, including schools, churches, and other landmarks, the video spotlights all the components of Florence and Jerusalem that makes their culture as vibrant as it is. In the Sala d’Arme, one gets to experience the video in such a way that they feel a part of it, as each large frame plays in each arch of the massive room. To further this experience, multiple meetings and activities have been organized for all participants throughout the 10 days of the installation
The installation will be accompanied by a selection of thematic and free events that will include a variety of conversations and activities about vocational training, initiatives for for peace in times of war, and the shared religious histories between Florence and Jerusalem. All events, including the video, will take place at the Sala d’Arme in Palazzo Vecchio, a short walk from the Duomo. Although the two cities are worlds apart geographically, they share a similar ancient history enriched with art, faith, and culture, and the video explores the ways in which they intertwine. To further this experience, multiple meetings and activities have been organized throughout the 10 days of the installation can be visited.
Program
Thursday, April 20 (9 am): “The City on the Mountain, Building Today a Community that Welcomes,” organized by the Giorgio la Pira Foundation featuring Mario Primicerio, the former Mayor of Florence. Primicerio’s testimony examines a vision of peace in politics that hopefully will lead towards a stronger and more inclusive community in both Florence and Jerusalem governances.
Friday, April 21 (4 pm): “ABF Globalab, Ideas to Generate Change,” sponsored by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. This event explores recent vocational projects that have adopted more scholarly, professional, and modern approaches to the vocational experience. It includes the “ABF Talent 4You,” which is a program specially designed for 16 to 19 years old looking to utilize these methods and adopt more socio-emotional, non-cognitive and transversal skills.
Saturday, April 22 (10:30 am): “The Need for Peace. Sixty years of Pacem in Terris,” organized by the John Paul II Foundation. This conversation will reexamine the Encyclical Pacem in Terris, released in 1963, in terms of today’s peace problems seen in Israel, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and more, and explore the experiences of refugees and how Europe should respond.
Wednesday, April 26 (6 pm): “Visions of Peace in the Plural City,” a debate between H.B Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence, moderated by Marco Traquinio, director of the Avvenire. The debate is meant to discuss different suggestions and ways the cities of Florence and Jerusalem can respond to the challenges facing their cities in our modern, changing times, including immigration issues, religious conflict, cultural differences, and more.
Friday, April 28 (5 pm): “Florence: the New Jerusalem” examines links between the Holy City and the cityscape of Florence, moderated by Valentina Zucchi of MUS.E. This focus chronicles the past thousand of years of both the cities and how the history, art, and faith of both cities intertwine and diverge.
Saturday, April 29 (5 pm): “Excavations at the Holy Sepulchre: Re-reading History and Building Relationships,” hosted at the Marino Marini Museum with Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla of the University of Rome La Sapienza, Father Francesco Patton, head of the Custodial Curia of the Holy Land, and Grazia Tucci, professor at the University of Florence. Formerly the Church of San Prancrazio, the Marino Marini Museum houses Leon Battista Alberti’s Rucellai Sepulchre in the Rucellai Chapel, which was built in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This program shares the plans and findings at the excavation works in Jerusalem moderated by Giuseppe Caffulli of the Holy Land Foundation. One gets to look at the ancient discoveries that have brought light to years of history. (Antoniette d’Amico)
