Florence recently welcomed a hundred American guests of the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, which raises money for local charities through a celebrity charity event.
It was the first time that the event had been held outside the United States and represented a privilege for the city of Florence.
Part of the multi-day event included a charity tour, with proceeds going to the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. Guests, who included John Legend, Lionel Richie, David Foster and Reba McEntire, were greeted by their Italian hosts, fashion designer Stefano Ricci and tenor Andrea Bocelli.
On September 4, Teatro della Pergola was dressed up to the nines, looking every inch the Renaissance spectacle. Florentine flag-bearers and models wearing period costumes ushered the celebrities into the theatre.
Guests also enjoyed a lunch at the Antico Setificio Fiorentino and dinner provided by Florence’s only three Michelin-star restaurant, Enoteca Pinchiorri, at Andrea Bocelli’s house in Forte dei Marmi, where Sophia Loren was the guest of honour.
On September 6, the celebrities headed to Nipozzano Castle, near Pontassieve, for wine tasting and a visit to the Tuscan countryside.
For the grand finale on September 7 in Palazzo Vecchio’s Salone de’ Cinquecento, Zubin Mehta conducted the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra for Andrea Bocelli, who sang. Bidders at the evening’s charity auction won such treats as dinner with Robert de Niro and Billy Crystal and a bag uniquely designed by Ermanno Scervino for the occasion: a white crocodile Faubourg tote, personalized with Andrea Bocelli’s signature. Capping off the festivities, actor George Clooney accepted an award recognizing his humanitarian work before announcing to the crowd that he and fiancé Amal Amaluddin plan to wed in Italy, ‘perhaps in Venice,’ in the coming days.
