Emptied bottles, filled plates, and full stages are all the rage this month. February promises a plentiful of date ideas to spend your Valentine’s day season in style.
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The Florentine
Here’s our round-up for February, 2023.
Emptied bottles, filled plates, and full stages are all the rage this month. February promises a plentiful of date ideas to spend your Valentine’s day season in style.
Join the Hard Rock cafe for two special nights of live music. Bless the rains down in Africa with STOP, the Toto tribute band on February 2 and sing along as they play the brand’s greatest hits. If you’re feeling Radioactive, join the Imagine Dragons cover band to jam to all of your favorites the night after.
25 Hours opens the atmospheric Cinema Paradiso for a string of interactive film competitions. Starting with the Longtake edition on February 2 and following on the February 16 with the Monochrome, audiences will have the opportunity to view a series of docu-films and participate in an audience evaluation.
The coastal town of Viareggio brightens up the gloomy winter months with a celebration of the Italian tradition Carnevale. Extravagant masks, satirical parade floats, and costumed affairs are only part of the fun. This year, Viareggio celebrates the 150th anniversary of the beloved parade.
The annual Italian food festival is back to tempt tastebuds. The theme of this year’s event is pasta, making for the perfect winter day of eating. Foodies are welcome to indulge with 500 contemporary food producers presenting their best dishes. To wash everything down, alcoholic bitters will also have a spotlight in the special spirits area. For those who don’t plan to attend, local restaurants throughout the city will host Fuori di Taste themed dinners to partake in and get a taste of the experience (pun intended).
Tony Cragg’s exhibition Transfer, curated by Stefania Rispoli and Sergio Risalti, has extended its stay in Museo Novecento. Visitors now have a better opportunity to visit the Liverpool artist’s sculptural works and their representative relationship between the organic and technological worlds.
An exclusive event reserved only for The Florentine readers. Discover the mystery behind Artemisia Gentileschi’s portrait gracing the ceiling of the Casa Buonarroti Gallery with a special private tour. Limited spaces are available for this event, to reserve email press@theflorentine.net
Lewis Carroll’s most treasured story comes to life on stage at Teatro Verdi with a performance of the zany and whimsical tale. Little Alice takes a tea-induced journey through wonderland, making a plentiful of funky friends to ensure her adventure is an interesting one. Orchestra della Toscana will provide a musical back drop for this fantastical affair. All performances are in Italian.
After two years of failed attempts due to the pandemic, Florence is finally able to throw its hat in the ring with its own celebration of Carnevale. A grand parade will march throughout the city center beginning at Piazza Santa Maria Novella and ending at Piazza della Signoria. The affair will fluster the streets with typical masks, sweets and Carnevale veterans such as Arlecchino and Stenterello. This event is free for the whole community to enjoy.
The grapes have been stomped and the bottles have been sealed. Wine lovers and connoisseurs assemble for this event dedicated Chianti wine. Participants will have the chance to taste wines from over 400 labels out of 120 different wineries. You can purchase Tickets here.
Spending the big game in the Renaissance city? Put the ESPN highlights away and watch the game in style at the Hard Rock Cafe on Via Brunelleschi 1 – wings and all. Wall to wall TV’s ready to capture every dance move, firework, and guest performer (Oh, we’re just talking about Rihanna’s much anticipated half-time show). Catch all of the tackles, touch towns, and tears as State Farm stadium lights up the Arizona city for a match not to miss. Accompanying the night, the Florence Dance Center will perform a routine to get everyone in the spirits and a special menu will be offered starting at 11:00pm in preparation for the official live streaming at 12:00am. Reservations are first come first serve.
A modernized reinterpretation of the Giuseppe Verdi classic. Maggio Musicale Fiorentino hosts the 19th century operatic masterpiece with a twist. Following the forbidden love between Violetta and Alfredo, this rendition of La Traviata takes place in the 1960’s, promising a fun filled performance with go-go boots and good vibes.
Another traditional wine event dedicated to Chianti. This year, presenting the new Gallo Nero vintages and the Additional Geographical Units. These two days are dedicated to true wine connoisseurs working in the field with the opportunity to meet over 200 producers and have a taste of over 700 Gallo Nero wines: Chianti Classico vintage, Riserva and Gran Selezione, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, and Chianti Classico DOP Olive Oil.
The second date of Cinema La Compagnia’s Mai Mute series lands on Valentine’s Day. This year’s festival examines romantic love in relation to intersecting themes such as gendered violence, the roots and myths of female representation, and sexual/emotional relations. Created by Cinematografica, Mai Mute acts as a space to create dialogue centered around feminist cinema. The event will feature a discussion with various guests followed by a screening of The End of Love directed by Mark Webber.
Whiskey enthusiasts rejoice as Whisky Club Italia brings their blends to Florence with a weekend of high spirits. Participants can try from over 500 whiskey samples from Scotland, Ireland, the United States, Japan, and Italy. Coinciding with the final days of Carnevale, themed costumes and masks are also welcomed.
February 16+21
Fat Thursday
Get the party going at the Hard Rock Cafe in proper Carnevale style. Come dressed in your favorite character or masquerade disguise and be ready to dance the night away. The band 2000’s Rock Party will take the stage and pump up the night with a live music performance to keep everyone on their toes.
Fat Tuesday
Lions Club Firenze Pitti is teaming up with Italian comic book star Diabolik to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first edition The King of Terror. The night will ensure dinner, live music, and an appearance from Diabolik’s cartoonist Riccardo Nunziati. All of the proceeds from this event will be donated to a project supporting Ukrainian refugees to the Florence area.
In celebration of the traditional Italian Carnevale, Orchestra della Toscana performs a concert conducted by Diego Ceretta. Violinist Giuseppe Gibboni is accompanied by Orchestra della Toscana as they play through Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and other well-known musical composers.
Danzafinfiera is the ultimate event for any dancer. A weekend brimming with workshops, competitions, and performances for all styles of dance. The experience will also promise an exhibition to shop dance products and attend fashion shows centered around the newest trends in the world of dance. For anyone who has been dancing their entire lives or looking to pick up a new hobby, this is the place to get your body in motion.
Retreat from the chilly weather to enjoy a movie night at Cinema Astra. The cinema will screen new releases in their original languages throughout the month for international visitors to enjoy. For the month of February, grab your popcorn and enjoy The Banshees of Inisherin starring Colin Farrel, Empire of Light directed by Sam Mendes, and Lost Highway directed by David Lynch.
After the great of the success of the photographic series by world renowned photographer Elliot Erwin, Villa Bardini has extended the photography exhibition into February. Best known for his ability to capture the most beautiful parts of everyday mundanity, Erwin’s works feature some of history’s most intimate photos of twentieth century actors, politicians, and icons.
The early fifteenth century decoration style La Zaffera is the theme of this ceramics exhibition curated by Benedetta Falteri and Alessio Ferrari. Presenting different ceramic pieces in shades of blue, the exhibition will feature artistic performances, video installations, and an in-depth look at the study of ceramic material.
An exhibition dedicated to the Turin-born antifascist Carlo Levi who spent a year in Florence between 1941-1945 during Nazi occupation. Thirty four works will be featured including a replica of the famous Luciana-61. Many of these other works were portraits of the important people in his life such as his mother and companions but others also portray some of what he witnessed during his trips to southern Italy and the atrocities people faced there.
Artist couple Valeria Ornaghi and Claudio Prestinari explore the relationship between man and woman and its link to the history materials, design, industrial production, and consumption in their new exhibition. ‘Sbilenco’ meaning lopsided, and gives way to a concept of transforming normal, everyday objects into things that are distorted and imperfect, which is a major theme seen throughout the exhibition.
An homage to the German expressionist painter Rudolf Levy. Levy was a student of Henri Matisse before fighting in WW1 and eventually travelling his way to Florence where he stayed and painted as a Jew in exile until the German Occupation. From then, he was arrested and deported to Auschwitz. An exhibition dedicated to his life and work, guests have the opportunity to witness 47 of his works that follow his early years in exile all the way to his last years in Florence.
Pitti Palace honors sixteenth century Duchess of Florence Eleanora di Toledo with a grand exhibition at Pitti Palace. Among her many achievements, she was known for her trendsetting fashion sense and excellent managerial skills. She also played a fundamental role in the Medici court and dedicated much of her patronage to the Boboli Gardens.
An exhibition of sculpture and paintings, Bulgarian-born artist Rudi Ninov explores the translation of sound and shape into shape and colour. Splattered with bits of familiarity, Ninov’s work features music references, comic strips, collected objects, and written fables. Mostly showcased in artificial light, the exhibition is partly spaced out throughout the space intended by Ninov to best experience the works broken up into small episodes, rather than all at once.
Calling all creatives! This is a night dedicated to any and all creative people in Florence. Painters, musicians, poets, and so on are all welcome to socialize and meet other likeminded people in the community at The Michael Collins Irish Pub. Musicians are also welcomed to bring an instrument and play a tune while those looking to display their artwork have the opportunity to reserve a spot with a 25 euro fee per artwork (limit to 2 paintings per artist). The event takes places on February 3 and entrance is free but registration is required.
The British Institute of Florence
Join the British Institute from February 6 to March 3 for an art history course on the Renaissance period in Florence. Discuss groundbreaking artists such as Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Brunelleschi and discover how their works became artistic icons for modern day Florentine institutions.
Join WIN for an apericena on February 8 to celebrate the 9th annual members fair. This is a great opportunity to network with other women in the Florence area and expand your community. This event takes place in Palazzo San Niccolò and registration is required.
Run for love with the one you love. Meyer children’s hospital is hosting a four day fun run for you and your favorite jogging partner. All of the proceeds go directly to the Meyer children’s hospital to provide fun activities and entertainment for young patients during their hospital stay. Donations are 9 euros per person (18 euros per couple) and participants are free to tackle the run whenever they would like, at whatever pace they would like between February 11-14.
Broken is better. Kintsugi is an ancient form of art restoration that began in Japan in the 1400’s. Join Barbara Flavia Di Matteo as she takes participants through a multi-course experience on the art of Kintsugi in Borgo San Frediano. Starting with a lesson on the history of the art form, participants will leave the final session with their very own piece of Kintsugi art work. Registration for these courses are required and cost details can be found online. Classes will take place on February 11,18,25, and March 4.
The Children’s Lending Library
Join Beelingual and The Children’s Lending Library on February 20 to celebrate International Mother Language Day– a day dedicated to promoting linguistic and cultural diversity. The event will be hosted in Giardino dell’Orticoltura and will welcome international mothers to share their experiences and traditions as well as food, games, and tongue twisters from their native countries. Everyone will leave the event learning something new about a different place as well as a few new words from a different language.
Everyone gets that frustrating creative block now and again. Free your mind and find inspiration again with a writer’s brainstorming session at Lungarno Guicciardini 15 on February 21. This is led by local author and translator, Lori Hetherington. This is a great opportunity to meet other writers in the area, share ideas with one another, and get inspired. The event costs 10 euros per person and includes wine refreshments.