EXPATS IN FLORENCE
Expats in Florence
Swietlan Kraczyna
From refugee camp to world famous artist
A Russian who was born in Poland and grew up in Germany and the United States, Swietlan Kraczyna was inspired to move to Florence by Masaccio’s murals. From humble beginnings, supporting a family on just 100 dollars a month in the …
Expats in Florence
Melbourne in Prato
Monash University?s Prato Centre
By now well established in Prato, Monash University’s Italian site, founded in 2001, serves more than 700 students a year, offering a wide range of academic programmes in humanities, law, art, design & architecture and business & economics. The choice of …
Expats in Florence
Connecticut in Prato
The University of New Haven?s Prato campus
The University of New Haven established its first and only international campus in Prato in autumn 2012. With 35 students a semester, the university offers a changing programme of classes to give every New Haven student, no matter his or her …
Expats in Florence
Sylvia Behrman
The Mud Angel who stayed
One does not often meet a Mud Angel, the many foreign students and Italians who came to Florence to help dig out the city, as well as salvage books, manuscripts and works of art, after Florence’s devastating flood of November 1966. …
Expats in Florence
Kristina Grancaric
The international lifestyle of a social-media manager
Going to meet Kristina Grancaric in her office is an unusual experience: most days she sets up ‘office’ in a different restaurant or bar, where people drop in to see her and she reviews the place as part of her work …
Expats in Florence
Richard Sherwood
Pouring pints across the Boot
With its unparalleled and legendary wines, Italy is not the first place you’d think to enjoy a pint of Guinness or glass of Jameson Irish whiskey. However, right in piazza Santa Maria Novella, the eclectic cultural heritage of Ireland is only …
Expats in Florence
Dejan Bogdanovic
The life of a painter in Florence
by Leah Eades
Although
there are many who dream of dropping everything and living through their art,
few actually take the plunge. Dejan Bogdanovic, however, is the embodiment of
that Florentine dream. Arriving in Florence from the former Yugoslavia on a
SACI scholarship more than 20 years ago, …
Expats in Florence
Terry Davies
Studio pottery preacher
by Sam Lawley
Nestled
peacefully in the rolling countryside and better known as the birthplace of
Giovanni Boccaccio, Certaldo seems an unlikely springboard for a
twenty-first-century artistic revolution. And yet, for the last 15 years, it
has been the home of Terry Davies, the place where he has …
Expats in Florence
Nicholas Brownlees
Mastering the lingo
When it comes to knowledge of the English language,
Nicholas Brownlees is an expert, not only because it's his mother tongue, but
also because he has taught English in Florence for 38 years. Starting his
career as a teacher at the British Institute, Brownlees …
Expats in Florence
A Swede in Florence
Nordic fashion meets the Tuscan sun
by Sara Pizzi
There
is a thin red line that links a dark and minimal style code with the best
Tuscan craftsmanship tradition. It is the Original Total Look of Erïk
Bjerkesjö, a talented Swedish designer and this year's winner of the 2012 Who
is On Next? Pitti …
Expats in Florence
Kamin Mohammadi
Iran, Italy, England: Bridging cultures through writing
Kamin Mohammadi's family was forced to flee their home
country of Iran during the 1979 revolution, when she was just nine years old.
Now living between London and Tuscany, she has recently published her first
book, The Cypress Tree, a ‘love letter to Iran' …
Expats in Florence
Bruce Edelstein
Personal and professional success in Florence
Like
many expatriates, Bruce Edelstein came to study in Florence and stayed for
love. But his is a personal and professional success story worth telling for
the number of people he inspires, first in his role as a professor at New York
University's (NYU) Villa …
Famous Expats
Mabel Dodge
From Tuscany to Taos
American writer and patron of the arts Mabel
Dodge (also known, in recognition of her four husbands, as Mabel Evans Dodge
Sterne Luhan), was born Mabel Ganson on February 26, 1879. She was the only
child and heiress of a wealthy but unloving family …
Expats in Florence
Robert Nordvall
Dolce retirement in Pistoia
It is probably fair to say that
majority of expats come to live in Italy for work or romantic reasons. Robert
Nordvall is quite a different case. Nordvall, known locally as Bob, was born in
the Chicago area. The family of his mother, Carmella …
Expats in Florence
Susan Nevelson
Artist and textile designer
Think of fashion in the 1960s, and you are probably picturing Susan
Nevelson's work. She pioneered the flower-power prints of the decade, working
for her friend and designer Ken Scott. Her prints have been worn by celebrities
like Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte …
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Friday, May 24, 2013