FAMILIES + KIDS
Families + Kids
Bottega dei Ragazzi
Art and playtime for children, free time for grown-ups
Bottega dei Ragazzi and The Florentine will be working together again in February to offer fun, English-language art workshops for children during the last weekend of the month. These workshops are based on the principle of ‘learning through doing' and reflect …
Il Fatto Bello
Coffee kindness
Il fatto bello della settimana. Moments from everyday Italy
Italian singer Ligabue has set several of his rock songs
in a bar called ‘da Mario', and if I ever find it, I'm stepping inside. It's
where desperate people decide to either give up or buckle down and where lovers
find Valentines even when …
Florentinisms
Biancone, Prendere pesci in faccia, Battere il culo
Your in-progress dictionary of the florentine dialect
Biancone: Local nickname for the giant marble Neptune fountain in
piazza della Signoria. Literally translated as the big white one', the statue
has historically been mocked for its exaggerated size and girth. During the
winter of 1985, which was particularly harsh, you could hear …
Italian Sketches
Junio Valerio Borghese
The Black Prince
Where do you go if your attempt to overthrow the legitimate government in Italy fails? To have a plate of spaghetti, where else? This is exactly what happened when the coup d'etat planned by Junio Valerio Borghese, the heroic World War …
Il Fatto Bello
Anesthesia
Il fatto bello della settimana. Moments from everyday Italy
My family doctor sees no evil and hears no evil. If you don't believe it, stop by his office with a wild case of whooping cough and ask him to eavesdrop on the rise and fall of your lungs. Truly, his …
Florentinisms
Topini, Zimino, Bazza, Andare in brodo di giuggiole
Your in-progress dictionary of the Florentine dialect
Topini: Not little mice (topi) but gnocchi. Next time you're out at a traditional Florentine restaurant, try the topini al sugo!
Zimino: Another traditional Florentine recipe, it is a way to prepare certain types of seafood (usually cod, cuttlefish and calamari) …
Style + Fashion
Spring looks: back to the future?
At the recent Paris shows, John Galliano presented his Dior collection with a silhouette inspired by the famous ‘New Look', first presented in 947 by fashion master Christian Dior himself. The outfit is composed of a very tight jacket similar to …
Italian Sketches
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
The man who tried to ban pasta
Italians and pasta are like a horse and carriage: they just naturally go
together. The very idea of depriving Italians of their beloved pasta seems
crazy, but Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the poet, novelist, critic and founder of
Italy's Futurist movement, tried to do just …
Life
The future is here
Walking in the footsteps of the Florentine Futurists
by Trevor Gori
On February
20, 1909, French paper
Le Figaro published a manifesto that gave voice to the Italian
avant-garde movement called Futurism. The movement's founder, Filippo Tommaso
Marinetti, proclaimed war on the past in the name of the future, for ‘the love
of danger, the habit …
Life
Feast of Candelora
Italy's Groundhog Day
Italy has a rich calendar of holidays and festivals
but one celebration that is relatively unknown today is the religious feast of
Candelora on February 2, when the Catholic church celebrates the Presentazione
del Signore (Presentation of Our Lord). Formerly called the Feast of …
Il Fatto Bello
Witness
Il fatto bello della settimana. Moments from everyday Italy
Italian weddings are sorely lacking in
bridesmaids. In fact, in Italy, the ladies who stand beside the bride are
called ‘witnesses' and they simply wear an elegant version of their everyday
clothes. Elegance is the only thing Italians understate.
In all
probability, however, the day I …
Florentinisms
Chiorba, Testone, Fori, Aghetti
Your in-progress dictionary of the florentine dialect
A big thanks to the students in Professor Brienza's 4H class at the Liceo
Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci
who sent us a list of their favorite Florentinisms!
Chiorba or
testone: A large head. Stubborn
or obstinate.
Example: Tu se' prorpio un testone, duro
come I' marmo!
((You sure …
Families + Kids
Bottega dei Ragazzi
Upcoming events, playtime and fun for little ones
Parents looking for an opportunity to expose their kids to creative events in English need look no further than the innovative Bottega dei Ragazzi (Children's Workshop), part of Florence's Museo degli Innocenti. Starting January 31, the Bottega will hold English-language workshops …
Italian Sketches
Gianni Versace
Thank you, Gianni
In 1992, Gianni Versace, the eclectic Italian fashion designer, purchased Casa Casuarina in South Beach, Miami, for $2.9 million. Constructed in 1930 and modelled after a residence built in Santo Domingo in 1510 by the son of Christopher Columbus, restoration of …
Il Fatto Bello
Return to the mother ship
Il fatto bello della settimana. Moments from everyday Italy
by Linda Falcone
I have two mothers who happily reside in the same body. Not that my mother could be guest star of a freak show featuring the likes of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or that schizophrenia is a prominent part …
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013