Beat the heat this week in Florence with a number of interesting events. Along with the Festa di San Giovanni on Saturday the 24th, there are outdoor cinemas, cocktail nights and several musical events to enjoy.
Here’s our round-up for June 22-29 2023.
Beat the heat this week in Florence with a number of interesting events. Along with the Festa di San Giovanni on Saturday the 24th, there are outdoor cinemas, cocktail nights and several musical events to enjoy.
Coming from Scotland, the Edinburgh University Chamber Choir visits Florence for a series of concerts throughout the city. Under the direction of Michael Bawtree, the choir will perform choral music by Elgar, Parry, Bach, Byrd, MacMillan, Gjelio and more. Entrance is free for each of the concerts.
Streets Levels gallery hosts their reopening party. Guests can enjoy a live painting performance by artist Mr. G as well as two musical performances. Luksek will perform a playtronica set where through the use of a small electronic circuit, he will transform objects in the gallery into sound sources that, through touch, will behave like real instruments. This will be followed by a DJ set byM13. Public House will provide the drinks and entry is free.
Molo Firenze hosts three nights of music on the Arno river. Local musicians mount a floating platform on lungarno Colombo and perform with music ranging from rock, blues to reggae. The MCs of the events are radio host Gianfranco Monti and actor/comedian Massimiliano Galligani. Admission is free for each performance.
Manifattura hosts a night of disco with some of the best names in the scene. A legend in the Italian disco scene, Pino D’Angiò headlines to perform some of his greatest billboard climbing hits. He’s joined by Daniel Moanco, who is greatly influenced by psychedelic disco, 80s-90’s music, techno and a range of other musical genfres that he puts together and calls a “cosmic combination”.
The patron saint of Florence, San Giovanni (Saint John the Baptist) is celebrated with fireworks and festivities all over Florence. The costumed calcio storico (historic football) will be held in piazza Santa Croce and the fochi begin around 10pm: head to the north banks of the Arno to see the firework display.
Head bartender and manager of Camparino in Milan Tommaso Ceca comes to Villa San Michele for a night of speciality drinks. Be amazed by his skill set as he carefully crafts the perfect cocktails fit for a sunset aperitivo. To book your spot, send an email to concierge.vsm@belmond.com or call 055-5678200.
Coming all the way from Wyoming, USA, the Wyoming Ambassadors of Music visit Florence for a concert in Piazza Santo Spirito. Directed by Katrina Rooney, the choir will be performing music by Tallis, Viadana, Lotti, Tate and more.
Light up your summer nights with an outdoor cinema in the piazza of the Uffizi Galleries. Night after night, films will be screened in original languages with Italian or English subtitles. Entry is free and subject to availability.
The British Institute of Florence welcomes back the the former members of the Orion Piano Trio Marko Pop Ristov (violin) & Marco Ariani (cello), and pianist Maja Bozhinovska for the finale of the Music al British season. They’ll be performing Rachmaninoff’s “Trio Élégiaquefor” in G-minor followed by the mighty Brahms B major Piano Trio. Following the performance, summer wine from Frescobaldi and Colognole will be served. Registration is required to attend this event.
Register hereComing all the way from Los Angeles, California, the Angel City Chorale will perform at the Teatro Romano as the guest ensemble of the 76th Estate Fiesolana, Italy’s oldest outdoor festival. Under the direction of singer-songwriter, director and founder of the vocal ensemble Sue Fink, they will perform jazz, folk, gospel and pop hits. This group comprised of 160 talented singers have performed on some of the most impressive stages including America’s Got Talent in 2018. Entrance is free.
This multicultural music festival is in collaboration with the Festival au Désert that originated in Mali. The band Tinariwen will perform in the June 15 preview, playing tracks from their latest album Amatssou, inspired by the music and culture of the Tuareg people of Mali.
25hours hotel hosts a weekly “Live at 25”. Guests can enjoy live music and DJ sets every Thursday evening from 7pm-10:00/10:30pm.
New York University Florence (via Bolognese 120) is planning a busy program for the 17th edition of The Season. The events at Villa La Pietra will explore the wider currents of history, art, literature and music. Guests can enjoy lectures from artists, theatrical performances and concerts. To RSVP, please send an email to lapietra.reply@nyu.edu, or call +39 055 5007210.
Learn moreBeyond the Walls of Sant’Orsola is the inaugural exhibition of the future Museo Sant’Orsola as the long-derelict former religious complex reopens temporarily. Believed to be the final resting place of Lisa Gherardini, supposedly Leonardo da Vinci’s model for his Mona Lisa, the 14th-century nunnery welcomes site-specific art by London-born Sophia Kisielewska-Dunbar, the first artist-in-residence at Sant’Orsola, and Alberto Ruce, a Sicilian urban artist living in Marseille. French company Artex is investing over 30 million euro to develop Sant’Orsola and the urban renewal project is expected to be completed in 2025.
A totally out of this world program of events hosted by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica. Participants have the opportunity to learn about outer space through workshops, film screenings and lectures with astrophysicists as well as enjoy a telescope observation of the sky at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory. The program will close out with a special talk with 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics winner professor Michel Mayor. Registrations are required for all events.
This exhibition aims to give a voice to the dreams of prison inmates through art as well as reflect on the concepts of freedom and punishment. The artists involved (all of European origin) were asked to interpret their works through some of the foundational concepts of the EU such as freedom, unity, memory, community and equality. The location of the exhibition used to act as a men’s prison between 1848 and 1983, tying in with the theme.
More than 50 works connected to the Gallery of Mirrors and Biblioteca Riccardiana will make up this major exhibition at Palazzo Medici Riccardi on Baroque master Luca Giordano (1634-1705). Expect a series of sketches on loan from the National Gallery in London as well as other important artworks from private collections in Europe and the United States, the Uffizi and the Opera del Duomo Museum in Siena, among others.
Exhibition infoManifattura Tabacchi hosts a series of children’s workshops. ONOUKA presents a workshop centered around the integration of nature in art. Fortezza Crew provides skateboarding lessons along with maintenance activities for skateboards and a finger skate contests for young wood pushers. Il Parachute di Icaro aims to address and educate on urbanization. Through engaging theatrical exercises and music, participants will be inspired to create ideas that will better the future of city life.
This is what the magic of Florence is all about. 10 locations, 10 sunsets, and 10 events throughout the summer make up this festival with amazing views. Enjoy a number of musical performances in some of the city’s most beautiful locations.
Arizona-born artist Rachel Feinstein opens an exhibition of her works in a tripartite show at Museo Stefano Bardini, Palazzo Medici Riccardi and Museo Marino Marini. Ranging from painting to sculpture inspired by classical and Renaissance art as much as from modern cartoons and fairytales, the works contrast with the masterpieces in situ by Donatello, Michelozzo and Marino Marini.
Read more