Here’s our round-up for October 12-19, 2023.
This week sees the highly anticipated Florence Biennale and festivals focused on guitars and violins, with even supercars and obstacle courses making the line-up.
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Nine international festivals over two months confirm Florence’s status as a city that celebrates cinema, with a wide variety of films delighting fans.
The sixth edition of the festival dedicated to the world of six strings features the likes of Pavel Steidl, Giorgio Albiani, Luigi Attademo and Ganesh Del Vescovo, with international competitions, masterclasses, and a violin making exhibition forming part of the festival.
Stefano Chiassai’s visual diary is a series of unpublished drawings created by the artist from 2020 to 2023, with drawings accompanied by fabrics, tapestries and objects of design where shapes, patterns and figures form the site-specific project.
60 mixed media artworks celebrate the sights and sounds of the many different countries where the artist, Lolita Valderrama Savage, has lived. Born in Manila, Philippines, the works also portray scenes from Stamford, Sweden and Tuscany, with oil paintings, watercolours and drawings making up the show.
Renowned author Bret Easton Ellis speaks at 9pm on October 18 at Teatro della Pergola, for La città dei lettori. In discussion with Marcello Fois, translated into Italian by Simona Caldera, he will discuss his latest release, The Shards. There’s free entry with reservation required. A donation is requested for Busajo NGO-ETS.
Florence Biennale inaugurates its 14th edition, titled I Am You: Individual and Collective Identities in Contemporary Art and Design, as over 600 exhibiting artists from five continents present their ideas on identity at the Fortezza da Basso from October 14 to 22. The very essence of being human in all its philosophical, psychological and cultural forms is the theme for this edition, with the diversity of artists guaranteeing a range of insights and artistic methods spread across the 11,000 square meters of exhibition space.
The five-star setting hosts a weekend dedicated to exceptional supercars in collaboration with Canossa Events, a leading company in the organization of road-tour events, combining high-level hospitality, a fine dining brunch in the hotel, and iconic collector’s supercars from the 1990s and 2000s. Price of public entry, 250 euro per person.
Artisanal food and wine fill the piazza from 10am to 8pm from October 13-15. 21 exhibitors present Tuscan flavours from cured meats and cheeses to truffles, coffee, honey, pasta and more. There will also be wooden and ceramic table accessories for a handcrafted Tuscan addition to your kitchen.
Piazza Santo Spirito fills with farming products, crafts, and other handmade treats. A Sunday spent wandering the stalls is a local favourite.
Athletes head to Figline e Incisa Valdarno for the Inferno Mud 2023 obstacle race. A 10-kilometre and 25-obstacle race will take place on the Saturday, while the Sunday sees a shorter three-kilometre and 12-obstacle version. Both events are open to amateurs and competitive athletes. Family fun is guaranteed on the Sunday with Inferno Kids for children between three and 12 years, whose 18-euro participation fee will be donated to charity. Want to have fun with friends? Sign up for the six-kilometre and 12-obstacle mud run in a group of three on the Sunday. Obstacle runners can expect weights to run with, cables to pick up and walls to scramble over, but the primary hurdle is the mud. The competition is expected to be intense with the participation of new world champions Gian Maria Savani and Francesca Dambrusco.
The popular market exhibition of rare and unusual plants takes place from October 14 to 15, with the first winter edition held in the stunning Corsini Gardens from 9am to 8pm. Two days of quality gardening feature some of the best national exhibitors, educational workshops, creative demonstrations and gardening courses for all ages.
Rossella Levi will read from Fra Storia e Memoria: Una Famiglia Ebraica Triestina dal 1938 al Secondo Dopoguerra alongside English translations by Johanna Bishop on October 19 at 5pm in the Reading Room (Salone di Lettura), with an introduction by library director Luca Faldi, the director of the library.
Launching the seventh edition of A Jazz Supreme, the Irish cellist and singer Naomi Berrill performs music from her latest album Inish at the Sala Vanni at 9.15pm on October 13. Friday 13 October (9.15 pm). The album is inspired by life on the islands Inishshark and Inishbofin, off the west coast of Ireland. Opening the concert will be saxophonist Lorenzo Simoni.
The violin-centred festival returns, with 20 concerts held from October 15 through December. Guests include Bruno Canino, Giuseppe Andaloro, the Cameristi and the La Scala String Quartet, with the Florentine Chamber Orchestra inaugurating the series on October 15+16, with pianist Alessandra Ammara and conductor Giuseppe Lanzetta, performing music by Mozart and Elgar.
Founded in 2022, the fest is the largest film event of its kind in Italy, with a vast programme of films focusing on LGBTQIA+ issues. From cinema and video to theatre, photography and literature, the line-up is always interesting.
The exhibition dedicated to Federigo Angeli (1891-1952) and the revival of the Florentine Renaissance in the 20th century will be inaugurated on October 7 at Palazzo Medici Riccardi. Curated by Francesca Baldry and Daniela Magnetti, the display centres around two paintings by Angeli, with extensive research carried out by various art historians and institutions including Il Palmerino association, making it possible to reconstruct the journey of the two paintings. The canvases can be directly traced to the cycle of frescoes painted by Benozzo Gozzoli for the Chapel of the Magi in Palazzo Medici Riccardi between approximately 1459 and 1464.
The master of Futurism, Fortunato Depero (1892-1960), gets a dedicated display for the first time in Florence. Curated by Sergio Risaliti and Eva Francioli, pieces such as Nitrito in velocità will be on loan from the Museo Novecento, alongside around 50 other works. 20th-century paintings and drawings are displayed, as is the magnificent tapestry depicting the Cavalcata Fantastica, evoking Florence’s rich Renaissance tradition of textile art.
Un incontro ad alba avanzata, nel centro di Firenze. Passeggeremo per le stradine ed i vicoli con la brezza mattutina, con i colori magnifici del primo mattino (portate una macchina fotografica!) e i...
Experience a unique adventure while discovering Florence and its surroundings, all while comfortably seated in a sidecar (there’s space for two!), accompanied by a professional English-speaking driver. There are several ...
Transformative Shamanic Pipe Ceremonies and Retreats in Fiesole. Join us for holistic healing with Sacred tobacco Ceremonies and 4-Day Retreats in the serene Chianti hills above Florence. Led by R...
Discover the secrets of the Florentine masters through hands-on workshops in an historic marble studio in the center of Florence. Work with authentic materials such as marble, mosaic, lapis lazuli an...
