Need last-minute Thanksgiving tips for today/tonight? Our TF event has sold out, but you may find some other options here!
HOLIDAY / Weihnachtsmarkt
November 29-December 21, 10am-10pm
Piazza Santa Croce, Florence
Ph. Renelle Pereira
However you may feel about the holiday season, even cynics can hardly resist “cin cin”-ing and cavorting against the backdrop of piazza Santa Croce when the German-style Weihnachtsmarkt comes to town each winter. With your mulled wine in hand and a friend or two in tow, meander through the market stalls—generally set up to look like tiny wooden houses—while you shop for jams, sauces and other kitchen goodies, or just catch up on your people-watching. Street foods galore dot the marketplace, but pretzels, wurstel and sauerkrauts are three of the standouts. While this market is far from your best bet for artisanal gifts and local products, it’s atmospheric and a surefire way to get yourself in the spirit. For additional information, see the Facebook page or call 055 2705233.
READING / Jessie Chaffee presents Florence in Ecstasy
November 29, 7pm
Todo Modo, via dei Fossi 15r, Florence
Former Florence resident and Fulbright scholar Jessie Chaffee‘s debut novel Florence in Ecstasy has caught the attention and won the acclaim of top-tier critics, and for those of us with strong ties to the Tuscan capital, it’s been one of the most buzzed-about books of the past year. Turning the typical girl-finds-herself-in-Italy genre on its head, the story chronicles a 29-year-old woman’s recovery from an eating disorder as she simultaneously develops an interest in the women saints whose asceticism took them toward spiritual ecstasy. Chaffee will read from her debut novel and will be joined in conversation with tour guide Alexandra Lawrence; a book signing and Q&A session will follow.
LIGHTS / Pre-Christmas toast in via Romana
November 24, 6.30-8.30pm
Bar d’Angolo, piazza della Calza, Florence
Via Romana’s shopkeepers and business owners routinely team up to host street-wide events and parties, and anticipating the street’s Christmas light installations each year keeps everyone guessing. Residents, visitors, business owners and representatives of the Boboli Centro Commerciale Naturale association will gather at the corner bar (literally, at the Bar d’Angolo) for a low-key brindisi to ring in the festive season, to celebrate the 2017 lighting of the new installations and announce the festivities to come, including the annual Boboli Christmas block party. Details here.
TALK / Insider insights on European central banking
November 27, 4.30pm
EUI, Villa la Fonte, via delle Fontanelle 18, San Domenico di Fiesole
Venture up to Villa La Fonte for policy insights from Patrick Honohan, former Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank from September 2009 to November 2015. Dr. Honohan is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Florence School of Banking and Finance, host institution for the event. Focusing on the European Central Bank but also highlighting other central banks on the continent, Honohan will speak about how their power has grown rather than declined since the crisis, zeroing in on some confounding issues as well, including why inflation in the euro area is still below target. Registration for the event is required.
