CONFERENCE/Teaching Traditions: 20 Years of APICIUS Innovation
March 18, 9.30am-6.30pm
FUA Florence University of the Arts, corso Tintori 21, Florence
Hospitality institute Apicius celebrates a milestone birthday with a lustrous guest list this weekend. Top sommeliers, bakers, chefs, food bloggers, nutritionists and others will take part in Teaching Traditions: 20 Years of Apicius Innovation, an all-day conference packed with tasting labs and talks in English. Special guests include dynamic chef Simone Cipriani of Essenziale; renowned sommelier Luca Gardini; ACF Fiorentina chef and Apicius director Andrea Trapani and others. Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry students will prepare a smorgasbord of samples for the lunch break, and the day will conclude with a blind tasting of 12 different wine labels. View the full schedule on the Facebook event.
IRISH/Irlanda in Festa!
March 17-18
Auditorium FLOG, via Michele Mercati 24b, Florence
Paint the town green! For the first time, Auditorium FLOG will be the venue for the annual St. Patrick’s Day staple Irlanda in Festa, where Guinness flows freely and Gaelic-inspired bands perform traditional tunes. Food trucks with fish and chips, Black Angus burgers and other treats will be set up outside. Friday’s musical guests are the Modena City Ramblers, an Irish-themed Italian band (10pm), followed by Balkan Grill and DJ Pravda & Chef Berna (12.30am; 10 euro for both concerts). On Saturday, Italian Hibernophiles Whisky Trail will take the stage at 9.30pm, followed by Irish rockers The Logues at 11pm (8 euro for both concerts). For more information, see the festival website or FLOG’s Facebook page.
COMMUNITY/Round Table: Violence against Women
March 16, 7-8.30pm
St. Mark’s English Church, via Maggio 16, Florence
With International Women’s Day now in our rearview mirror, organizers Lynn and Tessa Cole are calling on the community to engage in essential conversations about violence against women and its ramifications in Florence and far beyond. Speakers at the event will include Michele Capecchi, lawyer in the Ashley Olsen murder trial and legal columnist for The Florentine; Elizabeth Connolly, local organizer and licensed psychotherapist; Marisa Gareffa, writer, actress and survivor of sexual assault; and Gaia Tommaselli of anti-violence center Associazione Artemisia. Donations for Artemisia will be collected during the event, and to temper the tough topics covered, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will be served. Guests are asked to confirm their presence on the official Facebook event; men are particularly encouraged to attend.
FAMILY/Father’s Day Tours
March 19, 10.30am and noon
Museum of Palazzo Vecchio
It’s hard to live in Florence without knowing a thing or two about Cosimo I de’ Medici, political powerhouse and first Grand Duke of Tuscany. But on Italy’s Father’s Day (Festa del papà or Festa del babbo), which lands on March 19, the feast day of Saint Joseph, Mus.e. Firenze will offer a chance to look at a different, more domestic side of the Duke. Children and their dads or families are invited to explore Palazzo Vecchio’s more private quarters and familial spaces on a tour led by the association (in Italian). Tour costs for children are 2 euro (residents) and 4 euro (non-residents); for adults, the costs are 12 euro (residents) and 14 euro (non-residents). Booking is required: call 055.2768224 or 055.2768558.
CINEMA/Beauty and the Beast
March 16-26, various showtimes
Odeon Cinema, piazza Strozzi, Florence
This “tale as old as time” has been transformed from an animated Disney classic to a live-action, star-studded film among the year’s most anticipated. Emma Watson stars as free-spirited protagonist Belle, alongside Dan Stevens, a French prince trapped in the body of the Beast. To break the hex placed on him by an enchantress, the Beast must learn to love another fully (cue Belle, of course). The storyline has been tweaked for a contemporary audience, with renowned film critic A.O. Scott commenting, “It looks good, moves gracefully and leaves a clean and invigorating aftertaste. I almost didn’t recognize the flavor: I think the name for it is joy.” View showtimes on the Odeon website.
Coming up on March 23: don’t miss an evening with author Sarah Dunant jointly hosted by The British Institute and The Florentine!
