Wednesday, December 10, 2025

LECTURE IN ENGLISH: THE EVOLUTION OF THEATRE DESIGN IN FLORENCE by Peter Hauser.  British Institute of Florence Library, Lungarno Guicciardini 9.  6 pm.  In person (€15); send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it or via Zoom (free or voluntary donation).

This lecture will explore Florence’s legacy in theatrical design—from its early experiments in  sacred drama to the grandeur of Medici court productions—tracing how artistic vision,  mechanical ingenuity, and architectural innovation converged to shape the future of performance. The technical mastery developed in its workshops and court spectacles—through  the designs of figures like Filippo Brunelleschi, Bernardo Buontalenti, and Giulio Parigi—laid  the groundwork for modern stagecraft. Florence’s theatrical legacy was not only artistic but  architectural and mechanical—a synthesis of imagination, craftsmanship, and engineering that  reshaped the very language of performance. 

CLASSICAL MUSIC: HESPÈRION XXI: ‘THE GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDES: FROM THE OLD TO THE  NEW WORLD’ by Jordi Savall. Music of Diego Ortiz, Gaspar Sanz, Pedro Guerrero, Santiago de Murcia,  Francisco Correa de Arauxo and traditional Occitan and Sephardic songs. Teatro Niccolini. 8 pm.

RIVER TO RIVER FLORENCE INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL.

EXHIBITIONS:

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO 1898-1960. Ferragamo Museum, Piazza Santa Trinita 5. Admission €8.

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: UN VIAGGIO NELLA PARIGI DELLA BELLE ÉPOQUE. Museo degli Innocenti. Open 9:30 am – 7 pm.  Admission: €16, with further concessions available on the museum’s official website.

BEATO ANGELICO. Palazzo Strozzi and the San Marco Museum. Open 10 am – 8 pm. Admission: €16. Additional concessions are available on the official website of the Palazzo Strozzi.

BELLE ÉPOQUE. Palazzo Blu, Pisa. Open 10 am – 7 pm. Admission: €17 with further concessions available on the Belle Époque Pisa website.