At a time when the world feels like a darker place and humanity appears to be on the brink, it’s worth remembering that we can all contribute something, however small. The rationale behind this month’s Giving Back Issue is to document the good things that people do every day in Florence. Believe me, there are so many individuals who pledge their time, energy and resources to serve the city and its many communities, starting with the women featured in our cover story. On November 11-12, about 3,500 hand-crocheted and knitted squares will be positioned on the pietra serena slabs of piazza Santa Croce. Viva Vittoria is an ambitious project that has been two years in the making for the American International League of Florence (AILO), which has seen artefacts arrive from all over the world in a collective fundraising effort for the city’s charities that help women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.
Issue 305 – The Giving Back Issue
BUY THIS ISSUE – The Florentine November 2023
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The Giving Back Issue documents the good things that people do every day in Florence. Believe me, there are so many individuals who pledge their time, energy and resources to serve the city and its many communities, starting with the women featured in our cover story.
Community service takes centre stage at the International School of Florence, where students, staff and parents were recent participants in activities on campus and in the city at the school’s inaugural Community Service Day on October 3 (page 5). TF intern Sabrina Staab walks us through the extensive giving-back opportunities on offer at Florida State University’s Florence program (page 7), while volunteers at AVO Firenze, a charity set up in 1980 to help the hospitalized, explain their forthcoming training course and the need for unwavering commitment to the task, and Juliette Benet details her nascent grassroots association Buon Cibo Per Tutt*, cooking nutritious meals for the homeless in the Oltrarno (page 36). Stefanie Grassley explains her feelings on opening up her Tuscan home to Ukrainian families and how the story was documented by American director Madison Kinsella in award-winning film, A Castle for Kyiv (pages 8-9). Dive into the tale of Florentine fan-owned football team Centro Storico Lebowski as a drive for societal and sports-based change (page 10) and hear from ultra-runner and mental health advocate David Orr (page 11) following his phenomenal 89-day trail run from Mount Etna to Mont Blanc. (Yes, you read that correctly!)
Culture enthusiasts on the lookout for an enriching art experience this autumn should consider visiting the original Keil Space on viale Michelangiolo, in addition to the smorgasbord of exhibitions currently on throughout the city. Reviews of Anish Kapoor’s Untrue Unreal at Palazzo Strozzi, Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s Split Face at the Museo Novecento and Stefano Bardini Museum, and Joana Vasconcelos’s Between Sky and Heart shows at the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti all feature in this issue of The Florentine (pages 22-23), as well as an overview of the just-inaugurated Alphonse Mucha exhibition (the man behind the memorable Arte Nouveau-style Moët & Chandon advertisements) at Museo degli Innocenti.
Our hearts have been warmed and spirits lifted as we compiled this issue of The Florentine. We can only hope you feel the same on browsing these pages and that you will donate generously to the charities and associations featured. To everyone who gives back to Florence, thank you.
