The top 5 events for the week of February 19-26, 2015. Download the full list of events in Florence: http://theflr.net/download
LITERATURE / Talking Haiti February 19, 6pm Paperback Exchange, via delle Oche 4r, Florencetheflr.net/cxuvoa HarperCollins has just published Port-au-Prince native Dimitry Elias Léger’s debut novel, God Loves Haiti. Currently touring internationally, Léger will stop by the Paperback Exchange to discuss his book, which has been lauded as ‘a luminous debut, [rendering Haiti] in all of its stupendous beautiful tortured complexity’ (Junot Diaz). Léger worked as an advisor to the United Nations’ disaster recovery operations after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, drawing on this experience as he penned his first fictional work.
MAGIC / Magic Florence! February 21, 4.45 and 8.45pm Teatro Puccini, via delle Cascine 41, Florence www.teatropuccini.it Pulling rabbits out of hats is for amateurs. This show features some of the most mind-blowing magicians in the business, all of whom have plenty of memorable tricks up their sleeves. The headliner is Florence-born Mattia Boschi, who earned top honors as Best Young Artist at the 2014 International Magic Festival. Though the performances will be in Italian, magic is a universal language—and these impressive illusions will not disappoint. For more information, see Teatro Puccini’s website.
CINEMA / Oscar Week at the OdeonFeb 23–March 1Odeon Cinehall, piazza Strozzi, Florencewww.odeonfirenze.com
For film buffs, February means one thing: Oscar season! After the 87th Academy Awards ceremony airs on Sunday, February 22, spend the week catching up on the most critically acclaimed cinema of 2014. The Odeon will screen some of the most decorated movies of the year, including Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, Morlen Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, all of which are vying for at least six different awards, including Best Picture. For the full program and showtimes, see the Odeon website.
FIRENZE CAPITALE / A peek at Poggi Until June 6 Archivio di Stato, viale della Giovine Italia 6 (piazza Beccaria)
The words ‘Firenze Capitale’ seem to be on everyone’s lips as Florence marks 150 years since King Vittorio Emanuele II rode into the newly declared capital of Italy. Florentine Giuseppe Poggi was the principal architect behind much of modern Florence, giving the city a full-blown makeover and demolishing its medieval walls. Among the dozens of events taking place over the next few months, this exhibition (fittingly located near one of the squares he designed) focuses on his distinctive work, featuring documents, preliminary sketches and more that shed light on the Florence we see today.
EXHIBITION / Go Dutch! Until May 24 Uffizi Gallery, piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence www.uffizi.firenze.it/mostre Get a glimpse of the Dutch Golden Age at the Uffizi. Gerard Van Horst, popularly known as Gherardo delle Notti, was a court painter well-liked by the Medici. This exhibition focuses on his particularly variety of genre painting, including his ‘Most Bizarre Paintings and Merry Suppers, depicting many convivial scenes, often set at night, which is what earned him his nickname. For details, see the website above.
