Interviews

All manner of interesting personalities call Florence home. From aristocrats to influencers, each interview highlights a different subsection of Florentine society and celebrates the diversity among the city’s most notable individuals. Take a closer look into the lives and backgrounds of both locals and internationals, that are making a difference in Florence.

FOOD + WINE

The chef at the United States Consulate: Paula Carrier

Paula Carrier is a diplomat in her own culinary right. An Englishwoman employed as the chef at the US Consulate General in Florence, she has stayed steadfastly at the stove ...

ART + CULTURE

A Santo Spirito lunch with Andre Thomas Halyard

Lockdown red became careful orange before turning to a liberal yellow, and a midday stop at an osteria once again became a possibility. I enter Osteria di Santo Spirito, at ...

ART + CULTURE

Asking the right questions with Rebecca Olsen

Florence born and a forward thinker, artist and educator Rebecca Olsen’s medley of roles blends into an intriguing and exciting combination that is revealed in her bright and bold works.  ...

COMMUNITY

Talking community with Nirav Tolia

Nirav Tolia is an über-successful entrepreneur who studied at Stanford University before working for Yahoo! and going on to found his own businesses including Epinions and, most notably, Nextdoor. With ...

COMMUNITY

Meeting Ragini Gupta, US Consul General in Florence

Ragini Gupta has served as a US diplomat since 2002 with previous assignments in Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan and India, as well as serving as director of the Office of Broadcast ...

COMMUNITY

A conversation with Kim Campbell

In her home in the Florence hills, The Right Honourable Kim Campbell is proudly wearing the Order of Canada, a snowflake pin with a maple leaf in the middle, an ...

ART + CULTURE

Restoration Conversations: Elizabeth Wicks

Those who have always wanted to visit an art conservation studio will now have their chance to view a Florence atelier from afar. On November 13, art lovers around the ...

ART + CULTURE

A modern Florentine patroness: Maria Manetti Shrem

I first met Maria Manetti Shrem one overcast evening on the rooftop of Palazzo Gondi. The exchange was short but special. It was as though the clouds had opened and ...

ART + CULTURE

Live From Florence: a chat with Hershey Felder

In the background stands an 1845 Pleyel grand piano with yellowed ivories once caressed by Chopin. In the foreground, actor, playwright and pianist Hershey Felder waxes lyrical about life in ...

ART + CULTURE

La Città dei Lettori – interview with Gabriele Ametrano

The fact that the literature festival directed by Gabriele Ametrano has been rescheduled for this summer gives cause for cerebral excitement. Readers can rejoice that the third edition of La ...

FOOD + WINE

Salvatore Ferragamo on wine

The Florentine‘s Helen Farrell speaks with Salvatore Ferragamo, CEO of Il Borro Relais & Chateaux and organic winery in Tuscany, and Vittoria Ferragamo, head of special projects at Il Borro, ...

COMMUNITY

Radio Cavolo: Florence’s newest radio station

Confined to our homes for the last two months, we have had a lot of time to indulge in entertainment media. Many are the memes bewailing their author’s Netflix dependency, ...

COMMUNITY

Annette Joseph, Italy is my Boyfriend

Annette Joseph has made styling, decorating, entertaining, Italian lifestyle and all round having fun her life’s mission. She shares her passionate love for Italy, her home styling tips and recipes ...

COMMUNITY

On “radical sabbatical” with David Bach

On the Friday before lockdown, I sat down for an hour or so with David Bach, one of America’s bestselling financial authors, who’s currently on a “radical sabbatical” with his ...

FOOD + WINE

3 best pizza makers in Florence

Florence might not be Naples, but the city’s pizza scene has seen some interesting changes in recent years. The Florentine spoke with three award-winning (and down-to-earth) pizzaioli—Marco Manzi, Romualdo Rizzuti and Giovanni Santarpia—about quality pizza, their preferred techniques and favourite toppings.

COMMUNITY

The Fiumi family

With deep Florentine roots yet an international outlook, the Fiumi family are symbols of success with a charisma and dedication that is awe-inspiring. The Florence-born siblings all left for pastures ...

COMMUNITY

Expats in Florence: Mark Petrasso

It’s not easy to have a successful career in the arts. It takes passion, patience, a bit of luck and above all, dedication. Luckily, that is something Mark Petrasso has ...

COMMUNITY

A ride with Zia Caterina

It was midnight when the airport bus dropped me off at Santa Maria Novella station where the taxis should have been. There was a sad little line of people waiting ...

ART + CULTURE

Talking culture with Tommaso Sacchi

Florence has been rated the top European city for its creativity and cultural vibrancy, according to the second edition of the European Commission’s Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor. Tommaso Sacchi, ...

ART + CULTURE

The power of plants: Stefano Mancuso

Stefano Mancuso knows more about plants than most people. He’s the director of LINV – International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology, whose headquarters are in Florence, but whose tendrils unfurl all ...

COMMUNITY

Nina Peci and Quir magazine in 1990s Florence

Nina Peci is a woman of firsts: a founder of Arcigay Lesbica, one of the first lesbians to be interviewed as coming out on Italian television and the first Jew ...

COMMUNITY

Carmela Batacchi

There is not much that can faze Carmela Batacchi. Certainly not the questions she’s posed in Vino al Vino, the wine shop she owns on borgo Ognissanti. Tipsy on Tuscany, ...

NEWS

A talk with Tuscany’s agriculture councillor

Shifts in the dairy sector, wine culture developments

COMMUNITY

The last Jewish nonna in Pitigliano

Pitigliano’s last Jewish nonna is a survivor, an advocate, a local celebrity and pretty much exactly what you’d imagine an Italian grandmother to be like. It’s wet and windy Thursday ...

LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE