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I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions, let alone keep them. As we embark on another trip around the sun, with winds of change guaranteed to blow in from across the Atlantic, writing a list of promises would only add unnecessary stress, followed by the disappointment upon breaking them.
If, on the other hand, you’re wondering what to expect in Florence over the next 365 days, you might be struck to learn that the line-up is uneventful compared to previous years. The usual annual events are all there (see pages 4 + 5), but there’s no headline-grabbing Tour de France, long awaited reopening of
a monument (turn to page 6 to find out about the “new” Vasari Corridor after guided tours resumed on December 21) or local elections on the horizon. The single big thing in Italy this year is the Jubilee of the Catholic Church. Although focused in Rome, Florence can expect to see an influx of a different sort
of tourism as pilgrims seek out Jubilee churches to receive plenary indulgence. For an overview of the Jubilee, the impact it is likely to have on Florence, a list of Jubilee churches close to the Tuscan capital and a look at religious lodgings, flick to page 7.
In this mid-January issue, we bring you a grazing board of Florentine tasters. I check out the modish hangouts on the recently repaved piazza dei Tiratori in the Oltrarno (page 26) and Falcone Geddes considers the Monster of Florence true crime phenomenon back in the Seventies and Eighties after visiting the just reopened Serial Killer Museum near Santa Croce (page 27), while Jane Farrell reviews the Vasari-centric Sala Grande exhibition in the Salone dei Cinquecento until March 9 (page 10) and the show marking the 800th anniversary of the Stigmata of Saint Francis currently underway at the Basilica of Santa Croce (page 11). Wellness expert Christine O’Leary shares her thoughts on holistic new beginnings (page 12) and interior designer Erin Quinlan Quiros provides her take on the Color of the Year with must-have items for your home (page 13). Winter is all about reading and writing, hence the launch of the Florence Literary Society, as explained on page 28 by organizers Duncan Geddes and Lori Hetherington. One of my favourite articles in this edition comes from Florence “lifer” Michelle Tarnopolsky, who examines how the city’s sports clubs build a sense of community and boost integration on page 16.
That’s not all. This month’s interview is with Ashwin Muthiah (page 24), a sommelier born in Chennai and raised in Atlanta who rejected the traditional wine industry before moving to Florence and becoming an Instagram sensation. Meanwhile, Carlotta Del Bianco takes us on a tour of her family’s eclectic cabinet of curiosities, Palazzo Coppini (page 25), and Luna Gordon and Andrés Escalante of the recently established Pneuma Art Foundation, introduce us to two emerging figurative artists in a behind-the- scenes look at their Florentine studios (page 23). Deirdre Pirro, our long-serving columnist, brings the issue to a considerate close with a profile of the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Mariangela Zappia (page 31), whose alma mater was the University of Florence.
Free for subscribers (and available to all on www.theflorentine.net/shop), this month’s issue comes with the latest edition of The Curators’ Quaderno, a quarterly notebook-style publication created by the Calliope Arts Foundation with The Florentine Press. The Wulz Studio: 8,000 Negatives focuses on the new exhibition, Fotografia Wulz: Trieste, the Family the Atelier, which opened on December 14 at Trieste’s Magazzino delle Idee and documents the border city’s cultural and demographic change while at the center of multiple conflicts.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and creative 2025 from all of us at The Florentine!
