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 events in Florence and Tuscany in late June and early July.
EXPLORE/KaffeehausUntil July 11Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Pitti, FlorenceEver looked out on Florence from a rooftop terrace and been baffled by the strange green structure in the Boboli Gardens? Constructed in the Rococo style, the 18th century Kaffeehaus served as a spot for court coffee breaks during walks through Boboli. Normally closed to the public, the structure is a fine example of the famously ‘frilly’ Rococo architectural tradition and will be open Monday–Saturday with regular admission to the Boboli Gardens.
WATCH/Cinema in the piazza
June 29–July 21
Piazza Santissima Annunziata, Florence
No one wants to stay cooped up inside on summer evenings in Florence, but heading out on the town every night takes its toll on your energy (not to mention your wallet.) The solution? The free, relaxing and family-friendly fun when the Apriti Cinema open-air film series returns to piazza Santissima Annunziata. All movies will be screened in their original language with Italian subtitles. Download the full program at www.quellidellacompagnia.it.
ph. Elena Foresto
FRENCH/Bastille Day Bash
July 14, 8pm–midnight
Piazza Ognissanti, Florence
Vive la France! Florence’s Institut Francais, 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 www.florencedancefestival.org.
USA/ Independence Day Party
July 4, 6.30pm
Nuovo Parco Urbano, via Galileo Galilei, Scandicci
Wear red, white and blue and wave your stars and stripes at the annual Independence Day party hosted by the Tuscan American Association, with the City of Scandicci and Harding University in Florence. Jam out to jazz from the Trapeze Fair Quartet, contribute to charitable causes, dig in to favorite Fourth foods like hamburgers and hot dogs and mingle with an international crowd. The fun will run until midnight.
ph. by IGer vir2489 CLIMB/ Sunset at San Niccolò
June 24–September 30
San Niccolò Tower, piazza Poggi, Florence
Forget the standard sunset-watching locations like piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato. Take in the view from the top of the tower of San Niccolò. Restored in 2011, the historic fortress opens for the annual series of guided visits. Offered daily (weather permitting) during prime tramonto time, visits start every 30 minutes from 5pm to 8pm. Guides speak English, Italian, French and Spanish. Advance booking is recommended; call 055/2768224 or email info@muse.comune.fi.it. Note: the tower will be closed on rainy evenings.
STREET/QArt3
July 7–9
Various venues in Gavinana-Galluzzo, Florence
The Gavinana-Galluzzo area is hosting QART3, a three-day festival of contemporary art. The festival includes a competition (look for the works on display in local shop windows) whose winners will have a chance to participate in the 10th Florence Biennale. QART3 will run concurrently with the neighborhood’s Notte Bianca, featuring live music and other activities in and around viale Europa, via Datini and the COOP in piazza Bartali. For more information, visit www.qart3.it.
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: 8 euro through July 6; 12 euro from July 7 to 11. For more information and to register, see www.theflr.net/corriallalba.
CHARGED/ReSignifications
Until August 29
Bardini Museum, Villa La Pietra and Fondazione Biagiotti
Curated by Nigerian playwright, scholar and NYU professor Awam Amkpa, ReSignifications explores the portrayal of the black body in Western art. The exhibition’s themes were inspired by the Blackamoors, the striking decorative statues on display in Villa La Pietra, which depict Africans in positions of domestic service. Through contemporary photography, sculpture, painting and other media, ReSignifications exposes and challenges stereotypes. For more information, visit www.blackportraitures.info.
SHOP/Saldi fever!July 4–September 1Shops in Florence and throughout Italy
Need an excuse to shop till you drop? From roughly July 4 to September 1, regulated summer sales will run throughout Italy, and retailers from corner mesticherie to big-name luxury boutiques will slash their prices. Stock up on workwear for the fall, new kitchen necessities, or fill out your warm weather wardrobe with some bargain-bin steals.
EXHIBIT/Piero di Cosimo
Until September 27
Uffizi Gallery, piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence
Arriving in Florence from the National Gallery in Washington DC, this exhibition takes a look at ‘eccentric genius’ Piero di Cosimo (1462–1522), the son of a blacksmith and student of Cosimo Rosselli. Despite receiving critical acclaim and producing an extensive body of work, Piero di Cosimo remained in the shadow of Renaissance titans during his lifetime. Organized chronologically, the show contains 100 works by the artist and some of his more famous contemporaries, including Filippino Lippi and Fra’ Bartolomeo. For more information, visit www.unannoadarte.it.
THROWBACK/’90s Night
July 3, 8pm to 2am Anfiteatro Le Cascine, via Galoppatoio dei Barberi, Florence
Dust off your Doc Martens and revive your Tamagotchi: the ’90s are back in full force at Anfiteatro Le Cascine! Celebrate pop culture icons from Kurt Cobain to Kelly Kapowski. From alt-rock to grunge to the teen pop that took over at the end of the decade, expect tunes to suit all musical tastes: Spin Doctors, Spice Girls, Depeche Mode, Britney Spears, The Offspring and plenty of one-hit wonders. To pre-purchase tickets at the reduced price of 8 euro, visit www.theflr.net/90snight.
CULTURE/Festival au Desert
July 2 & 3
Le Murate complex, piazza delle Murate, Florence
With free concerts featuring an eclectic mix of music along with events and exhibitions, the Festival au Desert brings the world to the Le Murate complex for two days. Among the performers, who hail from all corners of the globe, are French-Senegalese singer Awa Ly and bassist Greg Cohen, known for his work with Tom Waits and John Zorn. An exhibition of photographs by American Shannon Jensen, ‘The Shoes of Those Who Flee,’ explores the struggles of Sudanese refugees. For the full program, visit www.festivalpresenzedafrica.eu.
MEDICI/The Power of Myth
June 30–October 30
Casa Buonarroti, via Ghibellina 70, Florence
Michelangelo famously left the façade of San Lorenzo unfinished when he was summoned to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. In 1515, Pope Leo X de’ Medici launched a contest to finish the task, then dismissed the winner. Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici sought to finalize plans for the façade, but they never went beyond paper. In 1900, a private citizen launched a competition among 53 architects, but that, too, was abandoned. Walk by the San Lorenzo church, then head to the Casa Buonarroti to see the exhibition, ‘The Power of Myth: Projects for the Façade of San Lorenzo, from Michelangelo to the Contest of 1900’.
SHARE/Open Mic Night
July 1, 7.30pm doors open Tasso Hostel, via Villani 15, Florence
Florence’s creative community takes center stage in a new series of Open Mic Nights which will run on the first Wednesday of each month. Local writers and wordsmiths of all sorts are invited to share work and ideas onstage and over wine and nibbles. Feeling shy? Lend a listening ear and let the speakers inspire you. The free event is based in English, but all languages are welcome. Email marisa@mondodicorpo.com.au if you would like to speak.
SAGRA/Tortelli Festival
June 26–28
Campo Sportivo di Grezzano, Borgo San Lorenzo
Head to the 61st edition of the Luco Mugello Festival and pile your plate high with the potato-licious traditional Mugello treat: tortelli. For three days in Borgo San Lorenzo, get your fill of these famous potato ravioli with mouthwatering meat sauce. Food stalls will be open at the Grezzano sports complex from 7pm on Friday and Saturday, with additional lunch hours on Sunday. Follow the Polisportiva Luco ASD Facebook page for updates and further details.
1600s/Carlo Dolci
June 30–November 15
Palatine Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
The Palatine Gallery is making room for the magical realism of 17th-century Florentine court painter Carlo Dolci. Dolci was far from a ‘struggling artist,’ gaining particular favor with the Medici family. Chief among his trademarks was his paintings’ translucent lighting. This exhibition features 70 works on loan from far-flung museums including the Louvre, the Kunsthall in Hamburg and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For more background, see www.unannoadarte.it.
MUSIC/Hotchkiss in Florence
June 25–July 7
Various venues in Florence
Landing in Florence from Lakeville, Connecticut, the prestigious Hotchkiss School brings a group of talented students to Tuscany this summer for a series of four classical concerts in magnificent Florentine venues. The inaugural performance on June 28 at 11am features violin and piano pieces in the beautiful Oratorio di Santa Caterina in Bagno a Ripoli. A faculty recital spotlighting the school’s international instructors will also take place at St. Mark’s English Church on June 30 at 6pm. For more information, see www.theflr.net/hotchkiss.
RETRO/Vintage SelectionJuly 1–4Stazione Leopolda, viale Fratelli Rosselli 5, Florence
Equal parts marketplace, showcase and celebration, the summer edition of Vintage Selection will have a tasty twist! In addition to the usual selection of quirky clothes and accessories from a range of eras, this round will feature a variety of street food trucks, craft beers and foodie fun. After the 25th edition saw the Stazione Leopolda dressed in muted silver, this theme, ‘The Colors of Food,’ will pack more of a visual punch. For more information, visit www.vintageselection.it.
