DESIGN/Helidon Xhixha
Until October 29
Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Scorching temperatures and Helidon Xhixha’s In Scattered Order installations make this summer a prime time to visit the Boboli Gardens. Teaming up with art critic Diego Giolitti, Uffizi Gallery director Eike Schmidt has brought contemporary works by the Albanian artist to Florence’s “backyard”. Xhixha, winner of the Public Medal at the 2016 London Design Biennale, uses monumental sculpture to explore the concepts of chaos versus order, commenting on how the ideas have been interpreted in philosophy, art and the natural world. (More than a few of the sculptures have been mistaken for fun house mirrors by Boboli visitors, though we can’t say for sure whether that was the artist’s original intention). More information here.
AU FRANÇAIS/Bastille Day
8.30pm-midnight, July 14
Piazza Ognissanti, Florence
Ph. Elena Foresto
Toast to liberté, égalité and fraternité in piazza Ognissanti at the annual Bastille Day bash. This year’s edition is dedicated to the memory of the 86 lives lost in the July 14, 2016 attack in Nice, honoring the values they died celebrating. The night will feature a très trendy DJ set by Ghiaccoli e Branzini, spanning Serge Gainsbourg to Christine and the Queens. Libera Accademia di Belle Arti will light up the square with projections on the French Insitute’s façade, and Opus Ballet will give a performance to usher in the party. Tasty bites will be up for purchase from local vendors Jullian, Punk la Boulangerie and others. For more information, see the Institut Français website and our recent interview with Isabelle Mallez, honorary French consul and director of the Institut Français, and three Michelin star chef Annie Féolde.
MONUMENTAL/MusArt Festival
July 17-23
Piazza Santissima Annunziata, Florence
Interior of the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata | Ph. via MusArt
Piazza Santissima Annunziata picks up the pace this summer with the second MusArt Festival, a multidimensional showcase of music, art, culture and gastronomy. Key names in the lineup are Yann Tiersen, the acclaimed composer of the Amelie soundtrack (July 17); headliner Paolo Conte, giving his sole concert in Italy this summer (July 20); and Sanremo Music Festival winner Francesco Gabbani, whose tune “Occidentali’s Karma” has been stuck in our collective heads for months. Included in the price of tickets are guided visits to some of the square’s monuments, and with an upgrade to a Gold or Silver Package, concertgoers can enjoy buffet dinners and special parking privileges. For more information, see the website.
SUMMER/All’aperto venues
July, August and beyond
Various venues in Florence
Serre Torrigiani in Piazzetta
The chiuso per ferie (closed for holidays) signs have already started cropping up. While the cultural calendar may look a little lighter during the months of July and August, there’s no shortage of outdoor oases for a drink, a laugh or a spot of live music. Some of our favorites this year are Teatro Puccini’s hidden garden, which hosts free outdoor films and food stands until July 31; summer classic Easy Living, the beachy Arno-side hotspot known for its sandcastle competition on Ferragosto (the top event of the day for those in town on August 15); and “urban garden” Serre Torrigiani in Piazzetta, sandwiched between via Calzaiuoli and piazza della Repubblica (open until midnight all summer long). For more tips on top summer venues, look for a forthcoming online article from The Florentine (“Lifestyle” section).
CULTURE/Balagan Cafè
Select Thursdays until September 10
Synagogue gardens, via Farini 6, Florence
The blue-domed synagogue of Florence is a standout in the city skyline, but before Balagan Cafè, the complex’s shady garden was far quieter. These days, the cultural event series is a well-established rite of Renaissance city summer, a chance to dive into the contemporary life of Florence’s Hebrew community. On select Thursdays, the synagogue hosts abundant apericene, paired with talks and concerts (Giancarlo Schiaffini on August 3; David Krakauer, Zeno de Rossi and Alfonso Santimone on August 10). The series traditionally concludes with a blowout event on September 10 for the European Day of Jewish Culture. Follow program updates on the website and the Facebook page Balagan Cafè.
HORNS/Italian Brass Week
July 9-16
Various venues in Florence
Brainchild of Luca Benucci, principal horn for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Italian Brass Week is an international gathering of some of the world’s top brass musicians. By day, they stay busy with conferences and classes; by night, the public reaps the benefits with a series of concerts, many of which will offer free entry or admission with a small donation. Enjoy the elegant setting of Palazzo Pitti’s courtyard (9.15pm on July 9, 13 & 16); raise a glass to brass and beer at Buoneria’s Welcome Party for musicians and friends (9.30pm, July 10); or witness the wonders of “Water Music” at the annual concert given on the Arno (8pm, lungarno Torrigiani-lungarno Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici). For the full program, see the website.
STARS/Festa di San Lorenzo
August 10
Piazza San Lorenzo, Florence
Basilica di San Lorenzo, Florence
Buck the beach trend and stick around the city come mid-August—even if for no other reason than the Festa di San Lorenzo, one of the namesake neighborhood’s top traditions. Every year, residents and tourists mix and mingle for an evening that’s part dance party-DJ set, part dinner and 100 per cent popolare. Why the 10th, and why San Lorenzo? It’s the peak of the Perseids meteor shower, traditionally associated with “the tears of Saint Lawrence”, whose 258 CE martyrdom is marked on August 10. To pay tribute, San Lorenzo residents and volunteers distribute free, fresh watermelon and pasta al sugo (hours for the food portion can be a little elusive, but we’d recommend arriving around 9pm—or eating elsewhere, should you have no patience for elbowing. Saint Lawrence would understand).
MUSIC/Arcade Fire
9pm, July 18
Visarno Arena, viale del Visarno 14, Cascine Park, Florence
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire followers have “attended” the Funeral, “read” the Neon Bible and “visited” The Suburbs. With the group’s current tour, fans can catch up on Everything Now, title of the upcoming album from the Win Butler-fronted art rockers, and an apt description of their busy status this season. Back in January, the Canadian band teamed up with Mavis Staples to release the tune “I Give You Power,” all proceeds of which are being donated to the American Civil Liberties Union. In May, lead single “Everything Now” debuted at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, and the Florence mega-show should reflect all this momentum. At publication of this article, tickets are still available; see Le Nozze di Figaro’s website.
Spending summer in the city? Check out our “field guide” to a Florentine August with gusto!
