International Women’s Day (Festa della Donna) is just around the corner, and per tradition, yellow mimosa flowers are brightening up florist windows and supermarket shelves. From dinners to dance shows to days at the museum, we’ve rounded up some of the Renaissance city’s finest offerings on March 8.
CELEBRATE ART by WOMEN
The Uffizi Gallery will open an exhibition dedicated to the original “Renaissance woman” – Suor Plautilla Nelli, the first known woman artist in Florence, whose monumental Last Supper is slated for restoration by the Advancing Women Artists Foundation. Titled Art and Devotion in the Convent on the Wings of Savonarola, this exhibition aims to bring Nelli’s rarely-muttered name into the mainstream.
Fellow female artists in Florence – from a few centuries after Nelli’s prime – will gather at Angie’s Pub (via dei Neri 35r) to read, sing, speak and share their work, beginning at 8pm. Singer-songwriter Patti DeRosa is putting together a dynamic crew of local women to perform. Interested in participating? See the Facebook event for more information and to sign up.
GIVE BACK
Moved by Plautilla Nelli’s artistic accomplishments? Honor her legacy on International Women’s Day by chipping in to #thefirstlast, a crowdfunding campaign by the Advancing Women Artists Foundation aimed at bringing Nelli’s magnum opus – a 22-foot Last Supper – back to its original glory. The work is the first known Last Supper by a woman artist and likely the only one depicting the subject matter.
Take a page out of nun Nelli’s book and give to those in need: the Expat Women in Florence organization is hosting a sanitary pad drive in partnership with the food bank at St. James Episcopal Church, with the goal of collecting 300 packages. Women have been coming to the food bank in increasing numbers, says initiative organizer Elizabeth Connolly, noting that “for {many of these women}, sanitary pads are a luxury.” Donations can be dropped off directly at St. James from Tuesday to Friday in the morning (via Rucellai 9). For more information, email expatwomeninflorence@gmail.com.
Finally, do some good while you dine out: head to hip seafood eatery Fishing Lab alle Murate (via del Proconsolo 16r): the restaurant will be donating all the evening’s cover charges to the Lega Italiana per la Lotta Contro i Tumori – specifically to its “Donna Come Prima” service, which assists breast cancer survivors at the ISPO LILT rehabilitation center of Villa delle Rose. A doctor and dietitian will be on hand to speak with women about healthy living and breast cancer prevention methods – no question is off limits. For more information, call 055 240618 or see Fishing Lab’s website.
MAKE THE MOST of a FREE MUSEUM DAY
Bedroom at Palazzo Davanzati
Select state and civic museums of Florence will offer free entry to women all day on March 8. | State museums: Accademia Gallery, Bargello Museum, Palazzo Davanzati Museum, Medici Chapels, Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti complex (Palatine Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Silver Museum, Galleria del Costume, Boboli Gardens). | Civic museums: Palazzo Vecchio (9am-7pm) and its Roman theater excavations (9am-7pm; 25 people admitted every 30 minutes, with last entry at 6.30pm); Arnolfo Tower of Palazzo Vecchio (10am-5pm; 30 people admitted every 30 minutes, with last entry at 4.30pm); Santa Maria Novella museum (9am–5.30pm); Brancacci Chapel (10am-5pm, with booking recommended via info@muse.comune.fi.it); Museo Novecento (11am-7pm); Museo del Bigallo (10.30am–4.30pm, with booking recommended via tel.055 288496).
The Medici chapels will offer a morning tribute to Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, the Electress Palatine and a committed arts patron whose foresight changed the course of Florentine history. Get to know her at 10am in the company of Monica Bietti, who will lead a themed visit (in Italian) exploring Anna Maria Luisa’s unique and critical role in the civic life of Florence after the death of her brother, Gian Gastone, the final Medici grand duke. Visitors will meet promptly at 10am on the right side of the crypt, close to the statue of the Electress Palatine, and must have their tickets in hand.
HEAR FROM AN INSPIRING LOCAL
Regular Wednesday evening programming at the British Institute’s Harold Acton Library (lungarno Guicciardini 9) will continue, but this time one of the institution’s own will be in the spotlight. Director Julia Race will give a 6pm talk, first exploring differing perceptions of men and women at work and drawing on her own international experiences. The second part of the lecture will look at the decision making tactics employed by men and women, as well as differences in negotiating, asking for information and getting others to do things.
GET TO KNOW TUSCANY’S TOP WOMEN PRODUCERS
Effortlessly chic eatery Il Borro Tuscan Bistro (lungarno Acciaiuoli 80r) will be busy celebrating some of the Tuscan region’s top food, wine and beer producers – all women. Diners will enjoy dishes created to spotlight Laura Peri’s Valdarno chicken, Suellen Mannori’s butcher shop selections, Claudia Lami’s craft beer and Emanuela Stucchi’s fine wine from Badia a Coltibuono in Gaiole in Chianti. For 30 euro, diners choose two dishes from a selection of primi and secondi, accompanied by a glass of wine or beer. To make a reservation, call 055-29042.
APERITIVI with a VIEW
View from the Biblioteca delle Oblate
Top off your day in the Tuscan capital with a well-deserved aperitivo atop the Museo degli Innocenti (piazza Santissima Annunziata 13). Women can enjoy a 50 percent discount on drinks at the museum’s Caffe del Verone (tel. 345.4923080), which has a panoramic view of Florence that’ll set your heart aflutter.
Not far away, the bar at the Biblioteca delle Oblate (via dell’Oriuolo 24), home to a straight-on view of Brunelleschi’s dome, will host a special Festa della Donna aperitivo, “Mimosa e dintorni.” The event begins at 6.30pm; for further information, call 055.2616512.
DO SOMETHING “OFFLIMITS” at OTEL
The boys are back in town! The Parisian “male dance troupe” OffLimits has been performing in Florence for over a decade now, and their annual Festa della Donna tease is a go-to event for anyone looking for a celebration that’s a little less G-rated, for lack of a better word. They’ll heat up the stage at Otel (via Generale della Chiesa 9) beginning at 11.15pm. Dinner will be served at 9pm; reservations required – call 055.650791 or email info@otelvariete.com.
