Your Thursday forecast: best events in Florence

Your Thursday forecast: best events in Florence

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Thu 08 Feb 2018 9:50 AM

WINE/Chianti Lovers

February 11, 4-9pm (general public hours)

Fortezza da Basso, viale Filippo Strozzi 1, Florence

Bottoms up: Chianti Lovers is back! The Consorzio Vino Chianti’s annual preview event of the previous year’s vintage will bring 100 wineries with 500 wines in tow to the Fortezza da Basso. In addition to spotlighting the 2017 production, the event showcases the Riserva 2015. A noteworthy change this year is the participation of the Consorzio di Tutela del Morellino di Scansano: 20 wineries under this jurisdiction will have their production primed for sipping. For connoisseurs and trade professionals (who get exclusive early access between 9.30am-4pm), the event is a sort of year-in-review; for everyone, it’s a gleeful tasting spree in the guise of a serious study. For more information, see the Consorzio Vino Chianti website.


MARDI GRAS/Carnival in Florence

Throughout February

Various venues in Florence

Ph. Alice Fischetti

No need to venture to Venice or Viareggio: Carnival has caught on in Florence. A period of parades and merriment leading up to the somber Christian season of Lent, Carnival typically means mocking authority and indulging our collective id. But family-friendly initiatives are on the local program, with a children’s carnival in piazza Ognissanti on February 10 (2-6pm; tel. 055 3244722) and a “toy city” in Sesto Fiorentino already underway and on until February 13 (more info here). On Fat Tuesday, February 13, Teatro Verdi will host Orchestra della Toscana’s Carnival concert, a musical journey to Eastern Europe (see the ORT website for more information). Stay tuned to TF for more Carnival details to come!

From our Black History Month Florence special


BHMF/Frédéric Bruly Bouabré at SACI

February 8-March 1
SACI, Palazzo dei Cartelloni, via Sant’Antonino 11, Florence

Curator Antonella Pisilli of Kyo Noir Gallery in Viterbo, which spotlights contemporary African art, brings together a selection of drawings by the late Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, an Ivory Coast native known for his symbolic imagery, largely inspired by the folklore of his homeland, and his probing into the histories of Africa. Bouabré’s legacy is also tied to his second identity as Cheik Nadro, literally translated as “he who does not forget”, and an embodiment of the philosophical principles that guided him. The opening reception will take place on February 8 at 6pm.

Courtesy of our music editor


CONCERT/Sam Amidon

9.15pm, February 10
Sala Vanni, piazza del Carmine 14, Florence

American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Amidon’s style and intensity have landed him comparisons to the ultimate “melancholic romantic,” Nick Drake. Read our interview with the artist ahead of his concert in Sala Vanni, which will also feature Italian group Guano Padano. Ticketing information here.


CINEMA/The Shape of Water special event

9pm, February 14
Cinema Odeon, piazza Strozzi, Florence 

Guillermo del Toro’s latest fantasy-drama has earned a whopping 13 Oscar nominations and the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. An isolated, mute janitor (portrayed by Sally Hawkins) working in a top-secret government research facility finds and befriends an amphibian-humanoid hybrid kept in captivity. This unconventional romance opens at the Odeon on, appropriately, Valentine’s Day: to celebrate love (of cinema), the theatre is hosting a lottery open to audience members (not just couples!) who come decked out in the ’50s and ’60s dress code so central to the film. Winners will receive five free film tickets and a dinner for two at the Odeon Bistro. For more information and showtimes (the screenings continue well after V-Day), see the Odeon website.

ILLUSTRATION/Pinocchio, Harry Potter, Topolino, Heidi and all the rest

February 12-June 3

Villa Bardini, costa San Giorgio 2, Florence

Feed your imagination at this full and vibrant exhibition spanning close to five decades of Italian illustration (1964-2012). Pinocchio, Harry Potter, Topolino, Heidi and all the rest will feature a selection of 300 works from the historic Florentine publisher Adriano Salani, whose popularity exploded after the house released Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale, the Italian edition of J.K. Rowling’s first book in the Harry Potter series. Active since 1862, Salani is one of Italy’s longest-running publishing houses; its retrospective will feature not just the illustrations of Salani editions, but a range of archival documents, original flyers and booklets.  See the website for opening times and more information.

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