AU FRANÇAIS/Bastille Day
8.30pm-midnight, July 14
Piazza Ognissanti, Florence
Ph. Elena Foresto
Toast to liberté, égalité and fraternité in piazza Ognissanti at the annual Bastille Day bash. This year’s edition is dedicated to the memory of the 86 lives lost in the July 14, 2016 attack in Nice, honoring the values they died celebrating. The night will feature a très trendy DJ set by Ghiaccoli e Branzini, spanning Serge Gainsbourg to Christine and the Queens. Libera Accademia di Belle Arti will light up the square with projections on the French Insitute’s façade, and Opus Ballet will give a performance to usher in the party. Tasty bites will be up for purchase from local vendors Jullian, Punk la Boulangerie and others. For more information, see the Institut Français website and our recent interview with Isabelle Mallez, honorary French consul and director of the Institut Français, and three Michelin star chef Annie Féolde.
MONUMENTAL/MusArt Festival
July 17-23
Piazza Santissima Annunziata, Florence
Interior of the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata | Ph. via MusArt
Piazza Santissima Annunziata picks up the pace this summer with the second MusArt Festival, a multidimensional showcase of music, art, culture and gastronomy. Key names in the lineup are Yann Tiersen, the acclaimed composer of the Amelie soundtrack (July 17); headliner Paolo Conte, giving his sole concert in Italy this summer (July 20); and Sanremo Music Festival winner Francesco Gabbani, whose tune “Occidentali’s Karma” has been stuck in our collective heads for months. Included in the price of tickets are guided visits to some of the square’s monuments, and with an upgrade to a Gold or Silver Package, concertgoers can enjoy buffet dinners and special parking privileges. For more information, see the website.
HORNS/Italian Brass Week
July 9-16
Various venues in Florence
Brainchild of Luca Benucci, principal horn for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Italian Brass Week is an international gathering of some of the world’s top brass musicians. By day, they stay busy with conferences and classes; by night, the public reaps the benefits with a series of concerts, many of which will offer free entry or admission with a small donation. Enjoy the elegant setting of Palazzo Pitti’s courtyard (9.15pm on July 13 & 16) or witness the wonders of “Water Music” at the annual concert given on the Arno (8pm, July 15, lungarno Torrigiani-lungarno Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici). For the full program, see the website.
MUSIC/Arcade Fire
9pm, July 18
Visarno Arena, viale del Visarno 14, Cascine Park, Florence
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire followers have “attended” the Funeral, “read” the Neon Bible and “visited” The Suburbs. With the group’s current tour, fans can catch up on Everything Now, title of the upcoming album from the Win Butler-fronted art rockers, and an apt description of their busy status this season. Back in January, the Canadian band teamed up with Mavis Staples to release the tune “I Give You Power,” all proceeds of which are being donated to the American Civil Liberties Union. In May, lead single “Everything Now” debuted at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, and the Florence mega-show should reflect all this momentum. At publication of this article, tickets are still available; see Le Nozze di Figaro’s website.
FILM/One from the Heart
10pm, July 17
Piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence
Open-air film festival ApritiCinema is nearing its end: one of the final works in the lineup is Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart (1982), a romantic musical set to songs by Tom Waits, against the decadent backdrop of Las Vegas. Don’t see it because it was a blockbuster or endures as a masterpiece—it’s neither. The $26 million film was a royal flop, slammed by most critics and effectively bankrupting Coppola, who previously had built an empire on his fame for The Godfather franchise. The corny ’80s love story, mood lighting, cheesy soundtrack and pairing of Hank and Frannie all make an unexpected and refreshingly tacky complement to the Vasari-designed venue. You can’t have too much elegance, after all. More information here.
Plus…
Awesome Tapes from Africa. Photo via Ortigia Sound System
The first LattexPlus Festival (held in Sesto Fiorentino on July 14 & 15 with a finale event on the Easy Living beach, July 16) features a star-studded playbill of techno producers and high-profile guests. More here.
