Our events listing keeps you up-to-date
on the latest and greatest in culture, music and other English-friendly
entertainment; this is a selection of the best of them.
FILM/ Middle East Now
April 12 to 16, Cinema Odeon, Piazza
Stozzi, Florence
This is the third annual film
festival dedicated to the Middle East. This year’s line-up includes 25 feature
films, documentaries and shorts focusing on hot issues in such countries as
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. In conjunction, there is a special
exhibition titled In the Light of Darkness, featuring works by young American
photographer Kate Brooks, who for the past 10 years has touched on the most
controversial stories in the Middle East from behind the lens. For more
information, call 338/9868969 or check www.middleastnow.it.
SEE/Culture Week
April 14 to 22, across Italy
The 14th annual Settimana della
Cultura (‘Culture Week’) is here. It’s the year’s best opportunity to get into
all national museums in Italy for free! There are also numerous special events
planned by the Florentine Polo Museale, including short tours to see some
paintings from the storage area of Galleria Palatina on display in the Sala
delle Nicchie; archers will be present doing demonstrations at the Boboli
Gardens every afternoon (3-6pm) at the Prato delle Colonne from April 16 to 22;
and free tours will be conducted by high school students daily at Palazzo
Davanzati, Cenacolo di Sant’Apollonia, Museum of San Marco, Medici Chapels and
Boboli Gardens. On Saturday April 14 at 3pm in the piazzale della Meridiana of
the Boboli Gardens, the city’s official historic flagthrowers will be putting
on an impressive show. On both April 14 and 15, there will be a traditional
Japanese tea ceremony in the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti (10am to 5pm). All of
these are free, so plan to do at least one!
WALK/ Urban Trekking
April 21, Arezzo, Siena and Pisa
Don’t be just another tourist this
spring, be a vagabond! Get out your sturdiest walking shoes and exercise your
heart while rediscovering hidden treasures in historic Italian cities. The
ninth annual Urban Hiking Day challenges participants to take one of several
proposed routes focused on this year’s theme: the deep connection between a
city and its water source (most relevant given the region’s current drought
emergency). Seventeen municipalities are participating across Italy, including
Arezzo, Pisa and Siena in Tuscany. For details, call 0577292128 or check www.trekkingurbano.info.
HEAR+SMELL/ Leitmotiv
April 25, 10am to 6pm, Giardino
Corsini, via della Scala 115, Florence
Leitmotiv at the Corsini Garden is a
sensorial trip through this impeccable green space. Book in advance to be part
of a small group that will be led through the garden for about an hour,
stopping to hear musicians positioned at various points, and experience the
fragrant notes of flowering plants and the history of the place as told by your
guide. The cost is 15 euro and spaces can be reserved through the crowdfunding
platform Eppela. The garden is also open on this day; the cost without music
tour is 5 euro. Find details and booking at www.artigianatoepalazzo.it.
GARDEN/ Orti e
Horti
April 13 to 15,
Parco Vivai Belfiore, via Valle 9p, Lastra a Signa (Florence)
Going green has never been easier
with this year’s spring fair for the amateur gardener. This weekend event
unites experts with those who want to learn more about gardening, including
several fun workshops for both adults and children. If the weather is good, go
if only for the beautiful displays of plants and herbal products, many of which
are for sale. Admission is 4 euro, and kids under 10 years enter free; see www.ortiehorti.it (in Italian) for details.
CRAFT/ Artisan show
April 21 to 29,
Fortezza da Basso, Florence
Since 1931, the international arts
and crafts fair (Mostra dell’Artigianato) organized by Firenze Fiera has wowed
visitors with its display of decorative arts and traditions of craftsmanship
from across the world. This year’s theme (‘You recognize angels by their
hands’) embodies the event’s goal of showcasing work by master craftspeople who
use both traditional and innovative techniques. When ethnic meets local,
classical meets modern, any lover of crafts will be sure to enjoy this
eight-day event. Furthermore, you can satisfy your palate with some excellent
gelato in the annexed preview of the Gelato Festival (save the date:
May 23-27), that has demonstrations, tastings, and a gelato shop for those who
want to make the iced treat at home. For more information, see www.mostraartigianato.it.
CULTURE/ Shakespeare Week 2012
April 23-26,
British Institute Lungarno Guicciardini 9, Florence
The star-crossed lovers, Romeo and
Juliet, are at the centre of the British Institute’s Shakespeare Week this
year, an annual event featuring workshops, seminars, a graduate conference and
special film screenings (see Movies on page 6). Don’t miss the public reading
of Romeo
and Juliet on April 23 at 5:30pm (buffet to follow) or the open discussion on
April 24 (6pm), ‘Directing and Performing: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,’ led by Shaun
Loftus and other members of FESTA. All events are free and take place at the
British Institute. Find details at www.britishinstitute.it.
HOLIDAY/ Liberation Day
April 25, across Italy
A mid-week national holiday: Festa
della Liberazione is a national holiday celebrating Italy’s liberation from
Nazi occupation on this date in 1945. With offices and banks closed, what do
to? At 10am there is a ceremony at the monument in Piazza dell’Unità (near
Santa Maria Novella), after which the Florentine Filarmonica Rossini will
process with their marching band towards the Duomo, down via calzaioli, to
Piazza della Signoria. Later, at 5pm, there is the annual concert by the
Filarmonica Rossini in Piazza Signoria (free entrance).
FASHION/
Ferragamo’s Secrets
Until June 1,
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, via Tornabuoni 2, Florence
A new temporary exhibit at the
Ferragamo museum displays items from the company’s precious
archives-photographs, tools, and of course shoes-that tell company’s history as
well as the story of fashion, film and more. Hollywood is one of the themes of
the show, with shoes from the past to the ones Meryl Streep wore to the 2012
Oscars. Another section focuses on Florentine artisans and their tools. A
multimedia area, with films and a searchable company database of 450 patents
are also available. Perfect for shoe lovers. Check www.museoferragamo.com for details.
OUT OF TOWN/ Chinese Video
April 22 to July
29,
Luigi Pecci
Centre of Contemporary Art, viale della Repubblica 277, Prato
Twenty years of Chinese video art and
more than 30 artists showcased in the most extensive retrospective on the topic
ever to be shown in a European museum. In collaboration with Shanghai’s
Minsheng Art Museum, this exhibit reconstructs the roots of contemporary art in
China through video, providing a better understanding of the evolution of
Chinese artistic language in the 1980s. The show also provides an interesting
contrast to Western video art, which has developed in a different way, both
visually and theoretically. See www.centropecci.it for more information.
