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The Florentine
Useful resources about life in Florence, Italy, focusing on the international community.
Nineteenth-century poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are among the most renowned expatriates to have lived in Florence and their home, Casa Guidi, stands across from the Palazzo Pitti. Today, one of its most luxurious flats is occupied by Victor John Barrett Caulfield, a distant relative of Elizabeth,
A progressive Jew who moved from the United States to Florence to be with her husband, Susanna Myers found nowhere to practice her faith upon her arrival. Along with three other American expats, she founded Shir Hadash, a nonprofit congregation of Progressive Judaism, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
If you are thinking about having children in Italy, you probably need to sit down in front of a Google spreadsheet and first start playing with some numbers. Among the obvious costs associated with children (adequate housing, food, clothes, toys, possibly private schooling) is the glaringly large figure that is
A Russian who was born in Poland and grew up in Germany and the United States, Swietlan Kraczyna was inspired to move to Florence by Masaccio’s murals. From humble beginnings, supporting a family on just 100 dollars a month in the Santo Spirito area, he has become an
To say that the Polo Universitario Città di Prato (PIN) is a satellite campus of the University of Florence seems reductive, but it is the most immediate way to label this innovative educational structure. In truth, with more research labs than degree courses, PIN is a small university that,
By now well established in Prato, Monash University’s Italian site, founded in 2001, serves more than 700 students a year, offering a wide range of academic programmes in humanities, law, art, design & architecture and business & economics. The choice of Prato rather than the nearby and better-
The University of New Haven established its first and only international campus in Prato in autumn 2012. With 35 students a semester, the university offers a changing programme of classes to give every New Haven student, no matter his or her major, the opportunity to spend 15 weeks in Italy.
Florence is known for its traditional artisans who work leather, paper, and other materials—many of whom we have ‘met’ on the pages of The Florentine. Today, however, there’s a new type of nontraditional artisan whose tools include lasers and 3D printers. They’re
One does not often meet a Mud Angel, the many foreign students and Italians who came to Florence to help dig out the city, as well as salvage books, manuscripts and works of art, after Florence’s devastating flood of November 1966. Although some still live here, most are
Italy is struggling with one of the most difficult recessions in the last 50 years. Unemployment has peaked at 11 percent, with youth and women, especially in the south, suffering the most from the stagnant economy and lack of jobs. But what about the almost 5 million foreign-born residents,
Going to meet Kristina Grancaric in her office is an unusual experience: most days she sets up ‘office’ in a different restaurant or bar, where people drop in to see her and she reviews the place as part of her work with the website Yelp. Today she has
Our events listing keeps you up-to-date on the latest and greatest in culture, music and other English-friendly entertainment. This is a selection of the best of them. CELEBRATE/Easter Sunday March 31, Florence Easter in Florence includes the centuries-old tradition of the famous ‘exploding&
‘Why shouldn’t Mussolini have an empire? All the best people in Europe have empires.’ So affirms the imperious British expat Lady Hester Random (played by Maggie Smith) in Franco Zeffirelli’s ...
With its unparalleled and legendary wines, Italy is not the first place you’d think to enjoy a pint of Guinness or glass of Jameson Irish whiskey. However, right in piazza Santa Maria Novella, the eclectic cultural heritage of Ireland is only one step away. That’s exactly
Your kids might find an afternoon spent at a museum as interesting as watching paint dry, but Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio holds some hidden curiosities sure to pique their interest. Who ...
Polite and pensive, William Blacker seems the last person you would imagine to leave a comfortable life in England and go on a whim to live for eight years in a remote Transylvanian village. But that’s exactly what he did. Now dividing his time between England, Italy and
Although there are many who dream of dropping everything and living through their art, few actually take the plunge. Dejan Bogdanovic, however, is the embodiment of that Florentine dream. Arriving in Florence from the former Yugoslavia on a SACI scholarship more than 20 years ago, he still hasn't left
Our events listing keeps you up-to-date on the latest and greatest in culture, music and other English-friendly entertainment. This is a selection of the best of them. SURREAL/The Dalí Universe February 1-May 25, Palazzo Medici, via Camillo Cavour 3, Florence More than
Nestled peacefully in the rolling countryside and better known as the birthplace of Giovanni Boccaccio, Certaldo seems an unlikely springboard for a twenty-first-century artistic revolution. And yet, for the last 15 years, it has been the home of Terry Davies, the place where he has set up his
Our events listing keeps you up-to-date on the latest and greatest in culture, music and other English-friendly entertainment. This is a selection of the best of them. MEDICI/Alchemy and the Arts Until February 3 Uffizi Gallery, piazzale degli Uffizi 6, Florence The discovery of
When it comes to knowledge of the English language, Nicholas Brownlees is an expert, not only because it's his mother tongue, but also because he has taught English in Florence for 38 years. Starting his career as a teacher at the British Institute, Brownlees is now associate professor at
Italian men are dogs and Italian women are cats. The statement feels so very bold that I almost fear to write it. Firstly, because one's childhood habit of comparing people to barnyard critters and jungle animals may best be left to the private sphere. And then there's the
Tall, slim, always elegantly dressed, gifted with both grace and a teasing sense of humour, Nancy Mitford was, and still is, one of the most intriguing authors of the twentieth century. The first of seven children of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife Sydney, Nancy Mitford was
