Marisa Garreffa is a writer and performance artist living in Florence. In 2021, she will be streaming live performance art, lectures and workshops online, finishing a book, teaching mental health skills for students, writing about life in Panzano in Chianti, and launching a cultural program at the new SOTTO al British venue downstairs at The British Institute as soon as restrictions allow.
It takes me a while to realise I miss the car horns. Traffic still flies by, the emptier roads mean Italians take pleasure in speeding along, but what’s missing is the conversational trumpeting of beeps and long-stretching blows. The rhythm of my mornings is changing; I’m no longer woken by the congested chatter of thick […]
In 2015, at the Biblioteca di San Giovannino, the lights rose for the first time in 300 years on Gian Gastone and Anna Maria Luisa, telling their story beneath the dusty collection of ancient tomes. As Gian Gastone shouted in tortured sleep, a lone man watched from the darkness. He’d read about The Medici Dynasty […]
At 20.24 yesterday evening my lawyer called: the condemnation for the man who raped me in Florence had finally been confirmed by the highest court in Rome.
Swipe. No. Swipe. No. Red Speedos. No. Suspicious side pose. No. Extremely waxed eyebrows. No. Guess which one of this group I am… No. Dramatic close up of one eyeball. Topless. Topless. Shouldn’t be topless. No. No. No. Ok, here’s one: clothed, actually smiling, no comments about ‘discretion’. Swipe right. Match! Actually, there are […]
