The top 5 events for the week of January 22–28, 2015. Download the full list of events in Florence: http://theflr.net/download
CINEMA / PREMIERE/ Goltzius and the Pelican Company
January 22, 9pm. Odeon Cinehall, piazza Strozzi, Florence http://www.odeonfirenze.com
Writer-director Peter Greenaway’s bizarre portrait of the life of Hendrik Goltzius will make its Italian public premiere at the Odeon, after previously being presented at the seventh edition of the Rome International Film Festival. Goltzius was a Dutch engraver and painter known for his erotic imagery. Apart from the biographical elements, Goltzius is also a provocative and stylized portrait of an era, highlighting a moment when sex became ever more prevalent and explicit in public entertainment and media. This is the second of Greenaway’s films to focus on a Dutch master; 2007’s Nightwatching told the story of Rembrandt, and an upcoming movie will focus on Hieronymous Bosch.
RUN/ Women in Run
January 24, 9am. Cascine Park and all over Florence
Wear your red and stand up for women this weekend: all over Italy, runners will take their marks to make a statement against domestic violence. No registration is required and the run is not a race, but a friendly, social event designed to spread awareness. The run will begin in piazzale delle Cascine, but there is no set route, so anyone can join in as the group makes its way around town.
SKATE/ International Skate Awards
January 24 & 25, Sat 9pm; Sun 4pm.Nelson Mandela Forum, viale P. Paoli, Florence, www.mandelaforum.it
Get ready to watch some of the most impressive stars of the international rinks. Skating’s biggest daredevils will show off their best moves and techniques at this high-energy showcase. Beginning skaters will be inspired by the adventurous stunts, an art form rarely seen in the Renaissance city. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the website.
CELEBRATION/ Viva San Zanobi!
January 26, 11am. Piazza San Giovanni, Florence, www.comune.fi.it
Don’t miss one of Florence’s most famous parades and celebrations, the Fiorita di San Zanobi, honoring the city’s first bishop, Saint Zenobius, who is said to have performed numerous miracles. The celebrations are concentrated mostly near the Column of Saint Zenobius right between the Duomo and the Baptistery. According to local legend, when the bishop’s remains were being moved from the church of San Lorenzo to Santa Reparata, the new cathedral at the time, the edge of his coffin lightly brushed against a leafless elm tree, which then allegedly sprouted leaves.
OPERA / OPENING NIGHT/ Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani
January 28, 8.30pm. Opera di Firenze, piazza Vittorio Gui (viale Fratelli Rosselli 7), Florence www.operadifirenze.it
Fancy a night at the opera? This is the opening night of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani, a drama set in 17th century England and the composer’s last work before his death. The story is rife with both political tensions and private passions of the period. I Puritani first premiered in Paris in 1835, and the legendary Giuseppe Verdi was said to have praised its distinctively lengthy melodies.
NEVER SEEN BEFORE/ Russian Icons at the Uffizi
Until February 1, 10am-5pm. Reali Poste Room–Uffizi Gallery, piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence. www.polomuseale.firenze.it
Time is running out to catch the ‘Never Seen Before’ exhibition. This series brings precious artworks usually kept in storage into the limelight every year. In the 2015 edition, the spotlight shines on 81 Russian icons, mostly dating from the first half of the eighteenth century and all belonging to the oldest collection of Russian sacred images outside the Orthodox world. Shrouded in intrigue, this set arrived in Florence during the Lorraine period, but scholars have been unable to trace its path to Tuscany, though one of the icons suggests a strange link to a church in Livorno.
