ph. courtesy of Institut français FRENCH/Bastille Day Bash July 14, 8pm–midnight Piazza Ognissanti, Florence
Vive la France! Florence’s Institut français, the Associazione Borgognissanti and the French Consulate are hosting a Bastille Day bash, commemorating the 1789 start of the Revolution. Party like a Parisian in piazza Ognissanti: this event will mimic the famous annual parade down the Champs-Élysées. Until midnight, DJs will spin dance tunes from icons like Serge Gainsbourg. Refuel with refreshments, including crêpes, ice cream and more. Entry is free. For more information, call 055/2718801.
DANCE/Florence Dance Festival July 9–30 Bargello Museum, via del Proconsolo 4, Florence
Summer festivities in the Bargello courtyard continue with the Florence Dance Festival. The program includes performances across dance genres on themes ranging from #FirenzeCapitale to a new spin on the Divine Comedy. Concurrently, the Bargello will host its first exhibition featuring a single contemporary artist, Adi Da Samraj, with ‘The Ascent of Orpheus: Between Representation and Abstraction (July 9–October 11). To open the exhibition, the Florence Dance Company will perform a multimedia show on July 9 at 9.30pm. For the full program, see the website.
RUN/Corri all’Alba July 11, 4.45am Cascine Park
Rise and shine, runners! Eight hundred early birds will see Florence in a whole new light during the second edition of Corri all’Alba, the eight-kilometer sunrise run that took the city by storm in last year’s inaugural edition. Too sleepy to be speedy? Take a relaxing four-kilometer stroll instead. Both events start at Club Sportivo Firenze (via del Fosso Macinante 13) just before daybreak. Registration is required and costs 12 euro. Sign up here.
URBAN/Icchè Ci Vah Ci VoleJuly 11-12 Parco della Carraia, via dell’Erta Canina, Florence
Ever heard the expression ‘one man’s trash is another’s treasure?’ Cultural association No Dump is on a mission to spread the word about sustainability and alternative uses of waste. In collaboration with Riot Van, the group’s young architecture and design graduates are hosting Icchè Ci Vah Ci Vole, an eco-friendly, totally free two-day festival in Parco della Carraia, where recycle-chic will be the reigning aesthetic. Enjoy free art labs (held in Italian), live painting, dance performances, juggling demonstrations, DJ sets, concerts and more. Free street art workshops for children are also set for both afternoons. For more information, see the Facebook page.
ph. by Courtney Runn
SURREAL/#DaliMeetsDante
Until September 27 Palazzo Medici Riccardi, via Camillo Cavour 5, Florence
Salvador Dali meets the Sommo Poeta in this pleasantly unexpected pairing at Palazzo Medici Riccardi. Famous for both his bizarre work and erratic behavior, Dali dabbled in book illustrations, including Dante’s Divine Comedy. See Dali’s graphic, psychoanalytical take on Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise in the Galleria delle Carrozze: melting clocks may not show up in the Inferno circles, but plenty of his stylistic standards make appearances in these intensely allegorical illustrations. See The Dali Universe for further information.
