The 2013 Notte Bianca, or White Night, promises to deliver a full charge of creative energy thanks to the artistic direction of Florence-based digital storyteller Felice Limosani, who has coordinated a nighttime festival of installations, performances and music.
Changing perspective allows for new visions of the future, which is what the city hopes for during this fourth annual Notte Bianca. This year’s theme is inspired by a passage from the 1970 novella by Jonathan Livingston, Seagull: ‘The gull sees farthest who flies highest.’
Mayor Matteo Renzi says that the late-night event symbolizes ‘an opportunity to live the city at a time in which we tend to stay locked up inside with our fear; rather this is a moment to live with hope and openness. I hope that the city will be able to “fly high” and see far because it is not true, as some believe, that the Notte Bianca is only an occasion for partying. It is a big cultural opportunity in which citizens open a dialogue with one another.’
Indeed, the cultural opportunities abound: incredible vertical dances, floating sculpture, music, and video projections, all chosen to wow both children and adults.
The night has three ‘time zones’: from 7 to 10pm, activities for the whole family; from 10pm to midnight, music, dance and installations; and after midnight, with the volume turned down, events for night owls.
New this year is an international component, which Limosani says makes Florence ‘the stage of creativity invented elsewhere,’ adding that he hopes to influence outsiders’ perception of the city ‘not just as an open-air market, not just a place of consumption, but a Florence that is a beautiful location and one of meeting or exchange.’ Look for works by the English writers De:Strukt in piazza della Repubblica; the French Plasticiens Volants, who are making floating sculptures for piazza Santa Croce in collaboration with Limosani; the very acrobatic Spanish dance troupe, Delrevés; and Belgian dancers, Theater Tol.
Entrance to Florence’s city museums (www.museicivicifiorentini.it) will be free and they will stay open late for the occasion. Palazzo Vecchio will be home base for the event, also hosting a social media team who will report live, online.
WEB
The programme and schedule will soon be online at www.nottebiancafirenze.it
SOCIAL
facebook.com/Notte-Bianca-Firenze
instagram.com/nottebiancafirenze
pinterest.com/nottebiancafi
twitter @NotteBiancaFi
hashtag #nottebiancafirenze
