This year’s cultural weather forecast looks promising. Springtime in Florence is a time of re-birth and we have the paintings to prove it. Could the same innovative spirit that sparked the Renaissance finally be prompting the city to build on its cultural heritage and shine up its minds for the future?
Rumour has it that Florentine genius is alive and well, and the city is bursting to show it. The first edition of the cultural extravaganza Il Genio Fiorentino, promoted last year, was considered a unanimous success for the event’s organisers, particularly the Province of Florence and its President Matteo Renzi, creator of the exhibition. This year’s initiative boasts a month of cultural events dedicated to the area, its potential and to the minds that throughout the centuries made this region famous. From April 21 to May 21 the calendar is stock full of 101 exhibitions, exhibits, lectures
and shows, where participants can make a date with a variety of geniuses from Leonardo da Vinci
to Pontormo and even Pinocchio, as well as the explorers from the Arno bent on discovering the New World.
Nati non foste a vivere come bruti, this year’s title reminds the culturally hungry that we were not born to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. As part of Il Genio Fiorentino, the famed plea of Ulysses to his companions in Canto 26 of Dante’s Inferno serves as a modern-day invitation. ‘The initiative invites citizens to remember their reason for being,’ says President Renzi. ‘The event honours those who artistically, culturally and scientifically represent the genius of this region. Il Genio is not only a memory of the past, it’s an invitation for today.’
This year’s initiative cost 2 million euro, with funds coming primarily from the pockets of the Provincial Administration, the Municipality of Florence and other local administrations. The only private sponsor involved is the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. Renzi calls the event ‘a white night lasting thirty days which involves all the municipalities in the province.’ This collaboration is considered particularly significant because it encourages municipalities that have considered themselves enemies for centuries to work together towards a common goal. According to local officials, Il Genio has played a role in overcoming the infamous historical resentment that even now occasionally sneaks into modern day regional relationships.
A smorgasbord of ‘knowledge and virtue’, the calendar promises something for everyone, from art to politics, science, literature, history and design. Events include: ‘The Florentine Experience and Modern Politics’, a study on the political philosophies of Machiavelli and Guicciardini on May
6. Commemorative conference ‘Mondus Novus’, the Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci on May 11. On May 12, Dante afi cionados can hear the entire Comedy being read in a hundred places throughout the city centre. On May 16, Palazzo Medici Riccardi will host the presentation of plans to re-launch
the Parco Mediceo di Pratolino. The programme also commemorates the genius of Boccaccio, Leon Battista Alberti, Indro Montanelli and Regina Margherita. Other new initiatives include international conferences on the Città futuro, the presentation of a new agency for energy, contemporary music, food and wine-tasting events and a myriad of local concerts.
‘Citizenship, innovation and a welcoming attitude are the three key concepts of Il Genio Fiorentino 2006,’ says Renzi, summing up the initiative. ‘From here, one can speak to the world with the enthusiasm of those who have a great past, and above all, a great desire for the future. We need to remember the past so that we can build the future.’
For a complete schedule of events visit: www.geniofiorentino.it
