Topless in Tuscany Not Tolerated - The Florentine

Anno 1 numero 12 - Firenze
7 July 2005
FREE COPY
Pope
Makes
Pleaa to
G8
Caterpillar
Captures
Palio
The “Grassroots
Mission” of the
U.S. Consulate
by Carla Rossi
Sleepy
Settignano’s
Best Kept Secret
by Tova Phia
see pg. 6 see pg. 7 see pg. 18 see pg.21
Topless in Tuscany Not Tolerated
Zero tolerance for topless tourists and those who buy from beach vendors
TOURISTS
BEWARE:
DON’T BUY
BANNED BAGS
Thousands of informational
flyers printed informing
shoppers of risks of buying
illegally manufactured goods
In an attempt to maintain a minimum
of decorum at beachside
resorts, several local mayors in
Tuscany have decided to ban tourists
from walking through their city
streets without shirts on or just in
bikinis. The ban went into effect last
weekend and police were out in full
force. So far, several culprits were
fined last Saturday in the seaside
town of Viareggio.
Police, however, are not just patrolling
city streets. They have now
moved on to the beaches as well to
stop the waterfront selling of illegal
wares that many consider a degradation
of beachside communities.
At any beach along the coast,
vendors will stroll by bathers, offering
a variety of merchandise, from
false brand-name bags and sunglasses,
to fake tattoos, jewellery,
massages, and all kinds of electrical
gadgets. At some beaches near Pisa,
the flow of vendors is particularly
continuous due to the nearby outlets
at which vendors acquire the
goods they sell.
In a move that is surprising to
many vacationing tourists, police
have now also begun to fine those
who are caught purchasing items
from these beach vendors.
see pg., 3
In yet another attempt to curb
the sale of illegally-manufactured,
fake brand-name goods,
the City of Florence has sought
to clearly inform potential buyers
of this merchandise what the consequences
of such actions are.
Ninety thousand flyers and ten
thousand posters, which explain
in four different languages the
risks of buying falsified objects,
see pg., 3

2
Thursday 7 July 2005
www.theflorentine.net
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overwhelming response we have received so far! Please continue sending
your comments, ideas, questions, and photos. We will carry on with our
efforts to keep you more connected to the wondrous city of Florence.
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News
3
Thursday 7 July 2005
Florence NEWS
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continued from pg., 1
Topless in Tuscany Not Tolerated
Zero tolerance for topless tourists and those who
buy from beach vendors
The enforcement of these new laws has been met with protest. Vendors
with regular licenses to sell their goods are outraged at this affront to their
already meagre livelihood. The majority of vendors are immigrants struggling
to earn a living. As a result, several groups have accused the cities
participating in these new bans of creating racist laws. The town of Massa
actually declined to participate in the crackdown precisely because it did
not want to be even minimally accused of instating racist laws.
But most beach towns are participating in these initiatives, and an
increased police presence will be in place throughout the summer. The
beachside police has even been issued a new uniform for hot-weather surveillance.
Beach officers now wear a light blue Polo shirt, white belt, dark
Bermuda shorts, and white running shoes. Due to lack of funds, the desired
number of patrolling officers cannot be reached, and towns like Forte dei
Marmi will be putting some retired officers back on duty for the summer.
TOURISTS BEWARE:
DON’T BUY BANNED BAGS
Thousands of informational fl yers printed informing shoppers
of risks of buying illegally manufactured goods
continued from pg., 1
have now been dispersed throughout the city centre, as part of the
campaign entitled “Shopping in Florence, watch what you buy.”
The campaign’s goal is to warn tourists that they do risk certain consequences
if they purchase any of the illegally-manufactured, “brand-name”
goods that are sold at almost every corner along the central streets of
Florence. The City hopes that awareness of possible fi nes will deter potential
buyers and thus lower both the demand for and the production of
these goods.
The fl yers printed in Italian, English, French, and Spanish explain that
there are fi nes for those caught acquiring these illegal goods and not just
for those selling them. Fines may range from 3,300 to 10,000 euros and
the guilty party will be charged with receiving stolen, or illegal, property.
City Councillor for Urban Safety Graziano Cioni explained the importance
of putting a stop to this market. He pointed out that those who buy
a fake watch or purse or pair of sunglasses are not only undermining legal
manufacturing, but also supporting an entire parallel market that promotes
illegal work, exploitation of workers, delinquency, and organised crime.
3
4
5
6
7
9
15
16
17
18
20
21
22
23
FLORENCE NEWS
Topless in Tuscany
Not Tolerated
Tourists Beware:
Don’t Buy Banned Bags
Hot Dogs, Coca-Cola, and
Ribollita?
Night-time Discovery
with Galileo
Hash Stash
Confi scated in Prato
Infl ation Defl ated
In Florence
NATIONAL NEWS
Pope Makes Plea to G8
Hidden Da Vinci Drawing
“De-coded”
SPORT NEWS
Caterpillar Captures Palio
Ferrari Downshifts to Third in
French GP
TOP PICKS &
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Events Highlights
CULTURE & CUSTOMS
ITALIAN VOICES:
A Window on Language
and Customs in Italy
An afternoon walk
through the Oltrarno
Enamoured expatriates
of Florence
The “Grassroots Mission”
of the U.S. Consulate
THE ARTS
When Tourists Feel Strange:
15 years after The Stendhal
Syndrome
FOOD & WINE
Sleepy Settignano’s
Best Kept Secret
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Enchanting Taormina
USEFUL NUMBERS
CLASSIFIED ADS

4
Thursday 7 July 2005
Florence NEWS
News
www.theflorentine.net
News in BRIEF
Bus Strike July 15
Union representatives have decided
to strike again as negotiations
over medical leave fail to be
resolved with ATAF bus company
leaders. Bus drivers will stop
working for the entire day on Friday,
July 15.
Dante’s House Newly Divine
Dante’s House, which has been
closed for three years due to a
large restoration project, will reopen
to the public on July 15. The
house, located in Via Dante Alighieri,
was inaugurated last week by
Vittorio Sermonti, the artist who
read Dante’s entire masterpiece,
The Divine Comedy, over the
past three years at the Church of
Santo Spirito.
“Dig” Gets New Job
The puppy “Dig” is going to help
promote Florence as part of a new
marketing campaign. Protagonist
of a series of children’s stories,
Dig is author Joshua Held’s creation
and will be used to describe
and explore the many interests of
Florence. The campaign, organized
by the APT Tourist Agency
of Florence, and in collaboration
with hotel owners, will also be offering
free hospitality to children
under 12 years of age until December
31.
Jonathan Coe Comes
to Florence
British author presents latest
book translated in Italian
Author Jonathan Coe presented
his latest and last book in a very
popular series he has written over
the past three decades at the Feltrinelli
Bookstore in the centre of
Florence last Monday evening.
The presentation introduced the
Italian translation of the novel The
Closed Circle (Circolo Chiuso).
The book is available in both languages
at Feltrinelli bookstores.
Tuscany is Top Pick
for Tourists
The majority of tour operators
questioned in a survey by ISN-
ART (National Tourism Research
Institute) reported that Tuscany
is the preferred destination of
tourists. Of the 2,875 operators
(2,500 European and 275 American)
who participated in the survey,
Italy was defi nitely the top
country destination choice, and
within that, Tuscany topped the
list with 23.9 percent out of total
requests. It is followed by the
Veneto (14 percent) and Lazio
(13.9 percent) Regions.
High Fashion for “Bimbos”
The annual Florence fashion fair
dedicated entirely to children, Pitti
Bimbo, opened for three days
last week, offering a glimpse of
next year’s fashions for kids.
Little ones will be sporting beach
styles, hippy comfort, and military
as well as bright colours if they,
or their parents, want to keep up
with the latest trends.
Hot Dogs, Coca-Cola,
and Ribollita?
Florence Celebrates U.S. Independence Day
In what has now become an annual
tradition, “The Friends
of the American Community”
put together a huge party in Florence
to celebrate the U.S. Independence
Day this past weekend. The
event’s goal is to provide an arena
for Americans to honour their traditions
while abroad, as well as to
share them with the Italian community
of which they are a part.
Although the party, held at the
beautiful park of Villa Demidoff
just outside of Florence, was strictly
invitation only, several hundred, if
not a thousand, people did attend
the event. Under the watchful eye of
the statue of a giant, the park’s most
notable monument, American and
Italian officials and heads of state,
dressed in formal attire and surrounded
by security agents, mingled
with more casually-dressed American
students; expatriate groups
from the Florence area, such as the
Church of St. James and the Tuscan-
American Association; and Florentines
in some way connected to the
American community.
In the strikingly Florentine surroundings
of the Medici Villa and
FOREIGN RESIDENTS
SEEK RIGHT TO VOTE
Local union requests the right to vote
its park, a truly American-style
festival was set up: complete with
several smoking grills barbequing
hamburgers and hot dogs, tables
full of chips imported form the
U.S., bands playing classic American
rock, and youngsters equipped
with red, white, and blue sparklers.
In honour of the surroundings,
typical Florentine side-dishes, like
ribollita and beans, as well as local
wines were also served. An Italian
Bersaglieri military unit also trotted
through the crowds playing
traditional military tunes on their
brass instruments.
During the most official part
of an otherwise relaxed event, the
U.S. Consul General of Florence,
William W. McIlhenny, gave a
short welcoming speech to a portion
of the attending crowds. He
was accompanied by the President
of the Province of Florence, Matteo
Renzi, the Mayor of Vaglia
(where the park is located) Fabio
Pieri, and two surprise guests, U.S.
Congressmen Bill Young (R–Florida)
and John Sweeney (R–New
York), who both happened to be
visiting Italy on vacation.
The Tuscan sector of the national CISL union has requested that a law
be made to guarantee foreign residents in Tuscany equal rights, opportunities,
and, above all, the power to vote in administrative elections.
There are over 200,000 foreign residents living in Tuscany, accounting
for 5 percent of the total population, and almost all of them are employed.
According to the union group, these residents should be allowed to participate
in local decisions and to decide how local tax money is being
spent.
NIGHT-TIME
DISCOVERY
WITH
GALILEO
Galileo takes groups
on tour through
museum
hen the Earth Realised It
“WLived in the Periphery” is
the title of the newest initiative by
the History of Science Museum of
Florence. The museum is now offering
evening tours led by “Galileo
Galilei himself” (that is, an actor impersonating
him). Demonstrating
with the actual tools used by Galileo
that are housed in the museum,
the guide explains how Galileo’s
discoveries overturned the longstanding
belief that the earth was
the centre of the universe, and thus
moved the planet to its peripheral
location orbiting the sun.
The tours are offered every
Thursday evening throughout the
summer at 8 and 9.30pm.

www.theflorentine.net
News
5
Thursday 7 July 2005
Florence NEWS
Hash Stash
Confiscated in Prato
Perpetrators claim to be shoe
salesmen but police fi nd drugs regardless
Three men were arrested and
220 kilograms of hashish were
confiscated in a major antidrug
operation conducted by the
Prato Police last week.
The hashish, transported from
Spain, was to be acquired by a
wholesaler in Prato, who would
have then redistributed it throughout
the Prato, Florence, and Pistoia
areas.
Police investigations into the
matter had been underway since last
May, and they might have sparked
various episodes of violence that
seem to have been connected to
the operation. When a suspect was
arrested a few months ago, he was
jailed and the 110 kilograms of
hashish in his possession were confiscated.
As a result, several other
dealers, who had already paid for a
part of the confiscated hashish they
were never to receive, became outraged,
and so followed a series of
violent episodes within the Prato
community.
When another dealer quickly
tried to fill the empty space left by
the arrested party, police continued
surveillance and eventually decided
that the time was ripe to arrest this
perpetrator as well. When the dealer
met the couriers from Spain at a gas
station near the Peretola Airport,
police quickly surrounded the car
and, although the suspected men insisted
they were shoe salesmen, the
police searched their car regardless
and discovered the hidden stash of
drugs.
o
INFLATION DEFLATED
IN FLORENCE
In 2004 Florence remained more
stable than other Italian cities
In comparison with other Italian
cities, Florence managed
to contain infl ation rates better in
2004, according to a report by
the city’s statistics offi cials.
Although rent costs did increase,
costs in other sectors,
like those of hotels and food,
remained the same or even decreased,
keeping infl ation lower
in Florence than in most other
Italian cities.
In the fi rst few months of
2004, Florence registered the highest price rises for rents and
cigarettes, while in May gas prices had the highest increase. The
most signifi cant decreases registered were in hotel, mobile phone,
and food prices.
In contrast, costs of utilities; like water, electricity, and gas; did
KFFL register r 13734 some of 18/4/05 the highest 17:51 increases Page 1on
a national level.
Did you know that Knight Frank has
five offices in Tuscany and Umbria?
Heat WaveHeat Wave
Heat Wave
Record high temperatures last week caused alarm among health offi cials. When the
mercury rose above 30° C last weekend in Florence, making it one of the hottest cities
in the country, health centres were immediately on the alert. The considerably high humidity
rates made the already high temperatures seem even more suffocating. Offi cials
Whether you are buying, selling, restoring or in need of estate
management advice, you will always find a local Knight Frank agent
close at hand.
For further information contact in complete confidence:
Rima Stubbs, Italian Head Office, 0577 731 120
London: Edward Rees, + (0) 44 20 7629 8171
Offices: London Florence Milan Rome Venice
www.knightfrank.com

6
Thursday 7 July 2005
National NEWS
News in BRIEF
Heat wave claims
21 Crucifix victims
Stolen From Church
Although A 16th century temperatures wooden crucifi have x now
was
dropped stolen tres. It from was to discovered the more Santissimo normal missing Nome July by
heat,
di church Gesù
last
priest Church
week’s
Don
heat-wave Berlincioni, Florence
managed
to claim 21 victims before
who last
week. has made The a crucifi plea x, to which the public is not and insured,
his congregation was acquired to come in the forwar 1980’s
the weather cooled. The very
and Train measures and Plane 83 Strikes by 95 centimetres.
A train It strike was discovered set to begin missing this Thurs-
by
high temperatures and humidity
claimed
church day evening, priest
the lives
June Don
of
23, Berlincioni,
mostly
at 21:00
elderly
who will
people has last until made in 21:00 the a plea northern tomorrow the regions public evening, and of
Italy. his June congregation 24, Even and though will to keep temperatures
come most forward trains
in with the Italy any North from information travelling. have dropped that Alitalia might a pilots few reveal
will be the walking crucifi due x’s out to whereabouts.
on recent Sunday, storms, June
degrees
the 26, temperatures and air traffi c in will the be South severely are
expected Celine limited. Joins to continue Tornabuoni to rise.
Boutiques
Live As Pets an Allowed 8 Concert act of faith Big in Hit Florence’s
in economy, Over Rome 150,000 Celine hotels, CEO Marc bars, Loubier
restaurants recently of the welcomed have eight adhered Live the 8 free to opportu-
the con-
na-
and
One
certs nity tional to campaign that open were a branch “Finally held of around I the can French come the
world luxury in too,” boutique last geared Saturday towards in Via took Tornabuoni. promoting place
at The the the acceptance shop Circus opened Maximus of its pets doors in with central holiday the
Rome. company’s spots. The Thousands Spring/Summer goal behind arrived the 2005 from campaign
over is Italy to The reduce to luxuriously participate. the large deco-
num-
The
all collection.
Live rated bers 8 of boutique concerts pets that is equipped were are abandoned organised with six
as
video each
a rally
year screens
to
during
support
displaying the summer
the
its
call
most holiday
for
G8
popular
leaders
season. items,
to
About as
increase
well 350,000 as the
efforts
celebritiemals
are who abandoned favour this every brand year. name.
ani-
to
eradicate poverty, with particular
attention to the continent of Africa.
Actor Gas Prices Slays Up Lobster Again on Stage
Spanish For the
Live
fi actor
8
fth
organiser
month Rodrigo in
Bob
Garcia a row,
Geldof
was gas
congratulated
reported prices have to police increased
Italy
for
for
his again
successfullment
are now organising and over killing 10 of the a percent lobster biggest during higher line-
mistreat-
and
up his than of performance they stars were among at at the all beginning eight Contemporanea
of this concerts. year. Festival A All full held of tank the in of top Prato gas Italian now last
of
the
artists week. costs, on performed Organisers average, for about responded the 4 event: euros by
all-time stating more than that greats it they did like a did year Renato not ago. feel Zero, Consumer
groups Mannoia, to censor believe and the that Francesco piece. the They total
the
Fiorella necessity
De expressed impact Gregori of increased regret played that costs together viewers per with family
is performance at least 220 stars euros having like a misunder-
year. Elisa, Le
left
contemporary the
Vibrazioni, stood the and actor’s Francesco intention, Renga. which
Similar was Stop to Everything! concerts denounce, were Its an Coffee opulent held Time simultaneously
greedy A bus driver Western in London, in Naples culture Paris, that last Berlin, week nour-
and
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at a nearby for Opera Italy bar. Festival The driver also
Throughout Opens
The
The managed
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Boboli to Gardens cause
region
a large will
reported,
host traffi c a
newly-constructed jam because he had outdoor left the theatre bus in
with 29 fi res, the highest number
for the this middle Summer’s of the road. Opera Festival.
of wildfi res burning last week.
Organisers hope that this beautiful
Tuscany had 11, Lazio 10, Basilicata
location 46,000 may Italians become Declared the permanent
Others site Keep
Rich,
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for
and
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offers
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some An Italian Molise, of the fi nancial Umbria, best opera magazine Veneto, and classicalished
music statistics all counted performances last 2 week, fi res. that, But in Flor-
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only ence. cording fi re Along to in tax the with declaration Abbruzzo La Bohème region, results, and
whose La 46,000 Traviata, containment Italians this year’s earn required program more than the will
manpower also 200,000 include per of a range year, 120 thus of fi re-fi events, reaching ghters, like
was the “wealthy” equestrian one of status. the show hardest However, “Cadre to get there Noir” under
and evidence control. Momix that from demonstrates the United States. many
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Italy Tuscany take is the set honest has to the fi ght path highest the only U.S. percentage
cover export of students about its 53 “Italian” who percent regularly cheeses of costs use
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to marijuana, caused markets by tax according around evasion. the to world. a recent A
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Centre). reveal the 35.6 crucifi parmesan percent x’s whereabouts. onto say they
FAO’s smoke the Codex drug on Alimentarius, a regular basis, a
that Research might
roster while Celine on of Joins average, foods Tornabuoni that about are 30 approved percent
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claim Boutiques
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to
The As
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most
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prized
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Parmigiano
Florence’s a study
based economy, 27,392 Celine students CEO Marc between Loubier
recently ages of welcomed 15 and 19. the opportu-
Reggiano cheese. Italian parmesan
must follow strict traditional
the
nity to open a branch of the French
production
Shop luxury Til boutique You
methods.
Drop in Via Tornabuoni.
Exports
have The shops
recently
opened and
risen
art its studios
by
doors
7 percent
with of the Via
to Borgo company’s Europe, la Croce but Spring/Summer a will signifi remain cant 2005 drop open
in until collection. exports 23:30 The to every the luxuriously U.S. Thursday, was decorated
entire boutique as Summer production is equipped in an of initiative with “false” six
reported
the
for
parmesan to video reach screens shoppers has increased displaying and art there. its admirers
popular who items, prefer to as an the well Italian cooler as the farmer’s evening celeb-
most
According
association, hours rities who for a favour bit Chinese of this window brand production shopping name.
of or false gallery Italian viewing. fontina, mozzarella,
and Actor parmesan Slays Lobster cheeses on Stage has already
claimed a 52.6 billion euro
market.
News
Pope Makes Plea to G8
G8 Leaders must work to eradicate poverty
As the annual G8 conference
unfolds this week in the
Scottish town of Gleneagles,
many groups are watching what the
world’s industrial leaders will decide
as they discuss, among other things,
world poverty.
As the Live 8 concerts play in the
world’s capitals in a musical push to
increase efforts for the eradication
of poverty, and the “Make Poverty
History 2015” campaign increases
pressure on leaders to take action,
all eyes are now turned on industrial
leaders in anticipation of the decisions
they will make at the conference.
When the Pope joined in and
also made pleas last week to confront
issues of poverty at this year’s
G8 conference, it became clear that
G8 leaders must respond to growing
concerns over these unresolved
issues.
In a message delivered last week
to the U.S. Ambassador to Italy,
Mel Sembler, Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi requested that
the U.S. demonstrate full respect for
Italian sovereignty and summoned
the ambassador to explain the alleged
CIA kidnapping of an Islamic cleric
in Milan in 2003.
Upon investigations into the kidnapping
of Osama Mustafa Hassan,
Italian courts have now issued the arrests
of 13 alleged CIA agents who are
suspected of having illegally extradited
Hassan to Egypt, where he was
Twice this past week Pope Benedict
XVI made a direct appeal to G8
leaders to take concrete measures to
eradicate poverty in poor countries,
especially those in Africa, which is
often a neglected continent. The
pope expressed hopes that the group
would work on reducing the debt of
poorer countries and on establishing
plans to eradicate poverty and
promote an authentic economic development
in Africa. In a letter to a
“Make Poverty History” rally, the
Pope also requested that a more just
distribution of the Earth’s resources
be attempted and that efforts to reduce
the foreign debt of the poorest
countries be maintained. He added
that the peoples of richer countries
of the world should be ready to accept
the burden of reducing the debt
of poorer countries and should push
their leaders to continue to respect
efforts to end poverty.
Berlusconi Calls for
Respect from U.S.
Prime Minister calls on U.S. Ambassador to
clarify issues in alleged CIA kidnappings in Italy
then interrogated and tortured.
Italy claims they had no knowledge
of plans for this operation,
which, in addition to being illegal,
hindered the investigations that
the Italian government had initiated
on suspect Hassan.
A CIA agent has rebutted these
claims and insists that Italian intelligence
knew of the operation and
had given their consent. An agreement
was made that if the case became
public, both countries would
deny their involvement.
www.theflorentine.net
HIDDEN DA
VINCI DRAWING
“DE-CODED”
Sketch hidden behind
one of Italian
Renaissance artist’s
masterpieces
An infrared scan of artist Leonardo
da Vinci’s “Virgin of the
Rocks,” held at the National Gallery
of London, revealed a new
drawing hidden beneath the surface
of the painting.
The painting is considered an
inferior copy of another “Virgin of
the Rocks,” which is housed in
the Louvre of Paris, and art curators
initially began investigating
how da Vinci had copied this fi rst
masterpiece.
The hidden drawing depicts
the Virgin Mary kneeling with a
downcast gaze and one arm outstretched.
The theory is that even
though da Vinci was commissioned
to reproduce his original
“Virgin of the Rocks,” he tried to
propose this new composition as
an alternative, but it was refused,
and he was requested to make
an exact copy of his previous
painting.

www.theflorentine.net
Sports
7
Thursday 7 July 2005
Sports NEWS
Caterpillar Captures Palio
Neighbourhood represented by bug wins Siena’s famous horserace
Italy’s most famous historical
horserace in Siena held one
of its two annual races this
past Saturday, and victory went to
the Caterpillar (Bruco) team.
The horserace is held in the central
Piazza del Campo of Siena and
is a competition between various
neighbourhoods of the city. Thousands
of visitors fill the piazza and
the surrounding city streets during
the races, and the city celebrates a
moment of general merry-making
as festivities accompany the event
for days before and after the actual
race.
This year’s win was the ninth
for jockey Luigi Bruschelli. He had
the race won from the start, riding
ahead of the others for its duration.
For a traditionally heated race
that oftentimes causes horses and
riders to fall and be injured, only
Florence Super in
the Silver Bowl
American Serie B
football championship
goes to the Guelfi
The Serie B national Italian
American football
championship was held last
week and Florence’s team,
Guelfi , managed to claim victory.
Since its creation six years
ago, the team has managed to
win 4 fi nals and 2 semi-fi nals.
City offi cials have already designated
newer and better training
fi elds at the large sporting
area that is being constructed
at San Bartolo a Cintoia in order
to promote the success of
American-style football in Florence.
The team hopes that it
will soon be promoted to the
Serie A Golden Bowl championships.
two jockeys fell from their horses
this year, and although one rider
was knocked unconscious for a few
moments, he was released from the
Ferrari Downshifts to Third
in French GP
Schumacher manages to remain on Grand Prix podium
After Ferrari’s double win
at the Indianapolis Grand
Prix, at which only 6 teams were
allowed to race, Michael Schumacher
and Rubens Barrichello did
not repeat their victories at this
past weekend’s Grand Prix race at
Magny Cours in France. Fernando
Alonso for Renault claimed
first place, and Raikkonen for
McLaren Mercedes took second.
Schumacher did manage to grab
third place and remain on the
winning podium, but the other
Ferrari team member, Barrichello,
was left far behind in ninth place.
Dear Readers,
due to the normal summer
slow down in Florence, we have
decided on a limited publication
schedule as follows:
hospital later that day without any
serious injuries.
This year’s second and last race
is scheduled for August 16.
July 7th
July 21st
August 4th
September 8th
Newly Promoted
Torino May be
Newly Demoted
After recent return to
Serie A, team is now
being investigated for
fraud
The city of Turin has two
football teams. One team,
Juventus, has won the national
Serie A championship so many
times that their victory has
become expected. The other
team, Torino, has for two years
now completely fallen out of
the Serie A championship and
has been playing in Serie B.
Just a couple of weeks
ago, the team celebrated their
much-awaited return to Serie
A and with it, a renewed competition
with their old city rivals
Juventus. In a tragic turn of
events, the team’s organisation
has now come under investigation
for fraud. The in-debt team
may have illegally obtained a
loan for the statutory fee required
for entrance into Serie
A. If found guilty, the team will
remain in Serie B and Bologna
will take its place in the toplevel
championship.

8
Thursday 7 July 2005
Letters to the EDITOR
Useful Information
www.theflorentine.net
Letters to the EDITOR
Dear Editor, ATTN: Tova
Dear Readers,
Thanks to all of you that have
sent your best wishes and
comments. There have been
many “rave reviews” and we
are very appreciative of your
support. Following are two
letters we recently received,
and we also want our readers
to know that we welcome
your comments. Should you
wish to send a Letter to the
Editor please send it to
info@theflorentine.net.
Thanks for telling it like it is, not being scared to be bluntly honest.
I’d be curious to know what sort of reaction, if any, you are
getting from Italians about your articles and their cutting critiques.
I don’t know if you’re up for taking suggestions, but an article on
the Italian attitude towards cheating, which you touched upon
briefl y in one of your previous articles might be interesting.
Anna Madison
New Haven, CT
Author: TIM HAIG
title: “Falls Fiorentina”.
Hi Anna,
Suggestions are more than welcome; thank you. I plan to be addressing
that very topic in greater depth shortly, so look out for it!
And to anyone else who’d like to see a certain sex/dating-related
subject explored, feel free to write in as well. As a fairly new writer,
I really appreciate reader feedback, and I love to hear what you
think. With regards to the Italian reaction to my articles: overall,
they have thus far been met with a general “rings true, but you’re
pretty mean” consensus. Being rather set in their ways, they don’t
deny nor apologize, they are just somewhat disappointed that they
have not made on me the standard bella fi gura, or good impression.
Let’s keep in mind that I write about stereotypes, and just as Italians
love to take anyone for a whirl, I am playing by their rules - li sto
prendendo in giro - all in good fun. It is possible to be in love with
place and a people and still be aware of their shortcomings - in fact,
love in spite of recognized fl aws is that much stronger than blind
adoration.
Best,
Tova Piha

www.theflorentine.net
What’s on & Where to Go
9
Thursday 7 July 2005
Events in FLORENCE JULY 8 to JULY 21
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CONCERT FOR FLORENCE IN PIAZZA SIGNORIA
July 8, 21:30
Zubin Mehta Directs the Maggio Musicale Orchestra in a recital of Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony for a free performance in Piazza Signoria dedicated to the city of Florence.
MEDICI BANQUET AND MEDICI MONTH PLAY AT BILANCINO LAKE
Sesto Fiorentino
July 12
Enjoy a Medici style banquet that offers the original recipes from the nuptial celebrations
of of Maria De’ Medici and Enrico IV of France. Medici Month is also offering a new
theatrical interpretation, “On the Stage of the Cardinal” that revisits the life and intrigues
of Cardinal Giovan Carlo de’ Medici, the forgotten creator of the Pegola Theatre in
Florence. The event will be held near the cool shores of the Bilancino lake just outside
of Florence. For banquet reservations call: 055 204 7171. For more information go to:
http://www.mesemediceo.it/
SAMSARA GROUP
Fattoria di Maiano (Fiesole)
July 9, 20:30
As part of the Stagione in Fattoria festival at the Fattoria di Maiano, the Samsara Group
presents Mediterraneo, a performance based on eastern dance proposed in a personal
interpretation using musical infl uences of the Mediterranean area and it’s more remote
cultures. Musicians Paolo Casu, Luz Pierotto, and Paolo Rafanelli will perform with
dancer Ivana Caffaratti. Dinner served on panoramic terrace before show. For reservations
call 055 599 660, Fax 599 640, website www.fattoriadimaiano.com/english/eng_index.
htm.
7th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF EUROPEAN YOUTH ORCHESTRAS
July 7-27
The International Festival of European Youth Orchestras was created in 1999, thanks to
an EU Kaleidoscope grant, and a long time collaboration between the Accademia San
Felice, the City of Florence, the Tuscany Region, the Province of Florence, the Eruopean
Commission, and other municipalities in Tuscany, Umbria and Marche Regions. The goal
of this festival is to offer young European musicians an experience in Italy, with the chance
to play in wonderful venues as well as participate in an intense experience of classical and
contemporary music. For more information: www.fl orenceyouthfestival.com.
FESTIVAL OF THE HILLS
Poggio a Caiano (Out of Town)
July 8-15
This festival ends this month after hosting a long list of musical concerts, cabarets,
literature, recitals and multimedia performances in the beautiful Medici Villa at Poggio
a Caiano and other enchanting locations in the Prato area. For more information go to:
www.centroartepecci.prato.it/htm/festival_colline.htm.
FIESOLE SUMMER
Estate Fiesolana
Runs until September
A series of events ranging from theatre, to music, cinema, and dance all located in the
spectacular Roman Theatre of Fiesole. Events of these two weeks include the opera “Il barbiere
di Siviglia” and the canadian dance company “Cas Public”. For more information go to:
www.estatefi esolana.com.
FIRENZESTATE
June – September
The annual Florence summer festival of music “Firenzestate” begins this June 18th and
will be offering a long list of concerts and events throughout the summer. 18 concerts
are on the program, 9 of which will be performed without charge in the Church of
Orsanmichele. Tickets can be bought in advance at Box Offi ce (via Alamanni 39, tel.
055.210804, Tuesday - Saturday 10-19,30 and Monday 15,30-19,30), or at the Church of
Orsanmichele (open 10-13 and 15-21) on the day of a concert.
CORRECTIONS
Dear Readers
In the Number 11, June 30 issue, in the article Sex and Our
City: “Italian Girls are Easy Too?!” the word collettiva should
read comitiva.
In the same issue, the body of the article “Turin Returns to A
Series Championship” was incorrectly placed.
For updated information on Turin’s status, see page 7.
The Florentine Crew
FRIDAY 8
• DANCE
Lea noces, Cantata
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• EXHIBITS
August Ohm
Variations by Lucas Cranach, new
paintings
Atelier Ohm, via dei Tosinghi 1 (2nd fl oor),
until July 8, www.atelier-ohm.de
Raf Simons. Video installations by
Peter De Potter & Raf Simons
Giardino di Boboli, piazza Pitti, tel.
055.36931, 11-19
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Vintage Selection
Market and show of clothing, accessories
and design objects
Stazione Leopolda, viale Fratelli Rosselli
5, tel. 055.693407/2480515/2638480,
July 6-9
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
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7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Ensemble Orchestrale Laboratorio
Musicale S.M. Foscolo, Italy, 35 elements.
Handel, Mozart, Prokofi ev, Schubert e
Villa-Lobos music
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 19.00, free
admittance
Concert for Florence
Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino perform Beethoven. Directed by
Zubin Metha
Piazza Signoria, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 21.30, free admittance
William Tatge Trio
Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca 16r, tel.
055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.com,
21.00
Percorsi Astrali
Maderna, Shubert, Britten music
Badia Fiesolana, via dei Roccettini 9,
San Domenico, Fiesole, tel. 800.414240,
21.00, € 13/8
• THEATRE
L’Assedio
Medici Month
Mura di Porta Romana, info and booking
tel. 055.6120205 / 333.4998666, www.
mesemediceo.it, from June 25 to July 9,
every night at 21.00, 22.00, 23.00, € 8/10,
by reservatio only
Piano With 4 Hands
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
SATURDAY 9
• DANCE
Galà at Sunset: Suite by Giulietta e
Romeo
Piazza Signoria, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 20.00, free admittance
Hamlet: a summer night in a room
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
Gruppo Samsara: Mediterraneo
Eastern European dance and music
performance with dinner.
Fattoria di Maiano Chiostro, via B.
da Maiano 11, Maiano Fiesole, tel.
055.599640, 20.30
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Vintage Selection
Market and show of clothing, accessories
and design objects
Stazione Leopolda, viale Fratelli Rosselli
5, tel. 055.693407/2480515/2638480,
July 6-9
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
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7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Harry Ainlay Symphonic Band, Canada,
60 elements, Reed, Zdechlik, Delle Cese,
Ticheli, Jager, Grainger, Grainger, Whitacre
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 19.00, free
admittance
Scognamillo, Addabbo, Cantini
Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca 16r, tel.
055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.com,
21.00
The Barber of Seville
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 800.414240,
www.estatefi esolana.com, 21.00, € 20/25
• THEATRE
L’Assedio (The Siege)
Medici Month
Mura di Porta Romana, info and booking
tel. 055.6120205 / 333.4998666, www.
mesemediceo.it, from June 25 to July 9,
every night at 21.00, 22.00, 23.00, € 8/10,
by reservatio only
For Joy Gospel Choir
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
SUNDAY 10
• DANCE
Evening for Three, Turnpike
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Antiques Market
Teatro Romano (in front of Museo
Archeologico) Fiesole, all day
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Ensemble San Felice e Ensemble Ter
Remotus, Alleluya alto Re di gloria,
Dominica Resurrectionis, Laudario
Fiorentino, London British Library,
Additional 29987, Arsnova fi orentina
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 19.00, free
admittance
Avion Travel e Orchestra di Piazza
Vittorio
Piazza Signoria, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 21.30, free admittance
MONDAY 11
• CINEMA
War of the Worlds (English)
Cinema Odeon, Piazza Strozzi, tel.
055.214068 , www.cinehall.it, 18.00,
20.15, 22.30
• DANCE
Out of the sight of heaven.
Processione. Scusi, permette?
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
1° Festival Firenze Classica 2005
Quartetto Alkman, Falconi, Beethoven,
Bach, Boccherini
Chiesa di Orsanmichele, via Calzaiuoli, tel.
055.783374, www.orcafi .it, 21.00, free
admittance
Mauro Pagani with Cuban group
Sintesis
Piazza Signoria, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 21.30, free admittance
The Barber of Seville
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 800.414240,
www.estatefi esolana.com, 21.00, € 20/25

10
Thursday 7 July 2005
What’s on & Where to Go
www.theflorentine.net
Events in FLORENCE JULY 8 to JULY 21
TUESDAY 12
• CINEMA
War of the Worlds (English)
Cinema Odeon, Piazza Strozzi, tel.
055.214068 , www.cinehall.it, 18.00,
20.15, 22.30
• DANCE
Che sia
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
t Medici Month: a special banquet
A banquet seving some of the recipes
from the nuptial celebrations of Maria De’
Medici and Enrico IV of France.
Hotel Relais Certosa, via di Colle Ramole
2, Galluzzo, tel. 055.2047171, 20.00, by
reservation only
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini
Giardino di Boboli, piazza Pitti, 21.15, tel.
055.5979005, www.operafi esole.it
Concert for Tom Benetollo
Piazza Signoria, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 21.30, free admittance
• THEATRE
St. James’s singers by Worcestershire
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
I Renaioli: La Divina Commedia,
Burlesque Recitation
Performance on the Arno River aboard
traditional boats of sand dredgers
Arno river, from lungarno Diaz to Piazza
Mentana, tel. 055.5000640, www.
zauberteatro.com, 21.15, € 20/15
WEDNESDAY 13
• DANCE
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Rambert Dance Company, London
Florence Dance Festival
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 055.289276,
www.fl orencedance.org, 21.15, € 18/15
Balocchi. Arc e il budino
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
1° Festival Firenze Classica 2005
Bach, Dalla piccola, Vivaldi music
Chiesa di Orsanmichele, via Calzaiuoli, tel.
055.783374, www.orcafi .it, 21.00, free
admittance
Noa and Orchestra del Maggio
Musicale Fiorentino
Piazza Signoria, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 21.30, free admittance
7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Ensable San Felice, Bach music
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 19.00, free
admittance
St James’s Singers (UK)
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Ricci, via del
Corso, tel. 055.289367, 19.30, € 11
Luigi Attademo, guitar
Scarlatti, Sor, Tarrega, Llobet, De Falla,
Turina, Torroba, Ponce, Mangoré music
Chiesa di San Simone e Giuda Chiostro
via Lavatoi 3, tel. 0571.711122, 21.15
• THEATRE
I Renaioli: La Divina Commedia,
Burlesque Recitation
Performance on the Arno River aboard
traditional boats of sand dredgers
Arno river, from lungarno Diaz to Piazza
Mentana, tel. 055.5000640, www.
zauberteatro.com, 21.15, € 20/15
THURSDAY 14
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Moonlit Barbeque
Fattoria di Maiano, via B. da Maiano 11,
Maiano Fiesole, tel. 055.599640, July 14,
from 20.00
France National Day
Istituto Francese, piazza Ognissanti, tel.
055.2718801, www.istitutofrancese.it,
from midday
Caldine fair
Località Caldine, Fiesole, tel.
055.5978373, www.comune.fi esole.fi .it
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
t The Barber of Seville
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 800.414240,
www.estatefi esolana.com, 21.00, € 20/25
Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Giardino di Boboli, piazza Pitti, 21.15, tel.
055.5979005, www.operafi esole.it
Burma Jazz 4tet
Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca 16r, tel.
055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.com,
21.00
• SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
The Yoga of laughing
Group laughing techniques by Dott.
Madan Kataria, with goal of diminishing
negative effects of stress
Parco Di Villa Il Ventaglio, via Aldini 10/12,
18.30, free admittance
• THEATRE
I Renaioli: La Divina Commedia,
Burlesque Recitation
Performance on the Arno River aboard
tradiotional boats of sand dredgers
Arno river, from lungarno Diaz to Piazza
Mentana, tel. 055.5000640, www.
zauberteatro.com, 21.15, € 20/15
Voci sole
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
FRIDAY 15
• DANCE
Bolscoe Spasibo
Danza la nuova gioventù.
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
On the road car show
American cars fair and fashion
Palasport Scandicci, via Rialdoli, tel.
055.4288428, www.americancarsclub.it,
July 15-17
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
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7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Joven Orquesta Comunidad de Madrid,
Spain, 90 elements, Verdi, Mozart,
Shostakovich, Lyadov, M.de Falla
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 21.15, free
admittance
La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini
Giardino di Boboli, piazza Pitti, 21.15, tel.
055.5979005, www.operafi esole.it
Pieri, Taranto, Bon
Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca 16r, tel.
055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.com,
21.00
Il barbiere di Siviglia
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 800.414240,
www.estatefi esolana.com, 21.00, € 20/25
Whisky Trail
Spazio Giovani C.U.R.E., via Faentina
145, tel. 055.5522816, www.whiskytrail.
it, 21.00
• THEATRE
Arie dal Macbetto
Villa Fabbricotti, via V. Emanuele II 64, tel.
055.500064, 21:30, € 9/7
SATURDAY 16
• DANCE
Bolscoe Spasibo
Danza la nuova gioventù.
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Fortezza Antiques
Piazza Indipendenza, tel. 055.3283550,
all day
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
t
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7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Royal College of Music Junior Department
Symphony Orchestra, UK, 60 elements,
Mendelssohn, Tippett, Elgar
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 21.15, free
admittance
Band Music Festival: Filarmonica G.
Verdi di Signa
50° anniversary of the national Anbima
association of autonomous band music
Arengario di Palazzo Vecchio, piazza
della Signoria, tel. 055.27681, www.
anbimatoscana.it, 21.30,
• PARKS
Giachero, Bolognesi, Cantini
Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca 16r, tel.
055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.com,
21.00
• THEATRE
Barkeley High School Jazz Orchestra
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
Arie dal Macbetto
Villa Fabbricotti, via V. Emanuele II 64, tel.
055.500064, 21:30, € 9/7
SUNDAY 17
• DANCE
Korper 1 Arti
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Wheat Fair
Piazza Santo Spirito, tel. 055.3283550
Fortezza Antiques
Piazza Indipendenza, tel. 055.3283550,
all day
• GUIDED TOURS
Medici Month
Giardino degli Orti Oricellari: paradiso del
Cardinale G. C. De’ Medici
Giardino degli Orti Oricellari, via degli Orti
Oricellari, 11.00
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Collegium Musicum Carolinum, Holland,
60 elements. Weber, Wagner, Dvorak
music
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 21.15, free
admittance
Angela Batoni Trio: La cantata di
piazza Tasso
Piazza Tasso, tel. 055.2625955, www.
comune.fi .it, 21.00
MONDAY 18
• CINEMA
The Merchant of Venice (English)
Cinema Odeon, Piazza Strozzi, tel.
055.214068 , www.cinehall.it, 18.30,
21.30
• DANCE
Korper 2
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
t
7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Amersfoort Youth Symphony Orchestra,
Holland, 100 elements. Stravinsky,
Shostakovitch, Sweelinck music
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 21.15, free
admittance
1° Festival Firenze Classica 2005
Boccherini, Shubert music
Chiesa di Orsanmichele, via Calzaiuoli, tel.
055.783374, www.orcafi .it, 21.00, free
admittance
• THEATRE
L’Amore ai tempi del Giudizio
Universale
Villa Fabbricotti, via V. Emanuele II 64, tel.
055.500064, 21:30, € 9/7
TUESDAY 19
• CINEMA
Under the Tuscan sun (English)
Cinema Odeon, Piazza Strozzi, tel.
055.214068 , www.cinehall.it, 18.00,
20.15, 22.30
• DANCE
Barbablù (Blue Beard)
Florence Dance Festival.The Cas
Public,dance group from Canada performs
“an abstract geomotry of feeling”.
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 055.289276,
www.fl orencedance.org, 21.15, € 18/15
Serie B
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
Giardino di Boboli, piazza Pitti, 21.15, tel.
055.5979005, www.operafi esole.it
• THEATRE
Duo Disecheis
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
I Renaioli: Amerigo andf the
Navigators from the Arno to the Indies
Performance on the Arno River aboard
tradiotional boats of sand dredgers
Arno river, from lungarno Diaz to Piazza
Mentana, tel. 055.5000640, www.
zauberteatro.com, 21.15, € 20/15
WEDNESDAY 20
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
t
7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Youth & Music Orchestra of Antwerp,
Belgium, 70 elements. Bruch,
Moussorgski music
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, 21.15, free
admittance

www.theflorentine.net
What’s on & Where to Go
11
Thursday 7 July 2005
Events in FLORENCE JULY 8 to JULY 21
• THEATRE
I Renaioli: Amerigo andf the
Navigators from the Arno to the Indies
Performance on the Arno River aboard
tradiotional boats of sand dredgers
Arno river, from lungarno Diaz to Piazza
Mentana, tel. 055.5000640, www.
zauberteatro.com, 21.15, € 20/15
Una performance di Maria Cassi
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
THURSDAY 21
• CINEMA
Star wars: Revenge of the Sith
(English)
Cinema Odeon, Piazza Strozzi, tel.
055.214068 , www.cinehall.it, 18.30, 21.30
• DANCE
A Night with Gershwin & Sinatra
Florence Dance Festival. Repertori based
on choreography inspired by the two
legenda of American Music, George
Gershwin and Frank Sinatra
Teatro Romano, Fiesole, tel. 055.289276,
www.fl orencedance.org, 21.15, € 18/15
The envelope. Soliloques in two. Incontro.
Pretty ugly
Limonaia di villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, tel.
055.2267113, 21.30, € 10/7
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
Burma Jazz 4tet
Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca 16r, tel.
055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.com,
21.00
Mieleamaro
Spazio Giovani C.U.R.E., via Faentina
145, tel. 055.5522816, www.spaziocure.
it, 21.00
• SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
The Yoga of laughing
Group laughing techniques by Dott.
Madan Kataria, with goal of diminishing
negative effects of stress
Parco Di Villa Favard, Via Aretina 511,
18.30, free admittance
• THEATRE
A performance by Maria Cassi
Teatro del Sale, Via dei Macci 111r; tel
055.2001492; www.teatrodelsale.com;
19.00-21.15 buffet; 21.30 show; € 10 (1
year membership mandatory); € 24 buffet
& show
I Renaioli: Amerigo andf the
Navigators from the Arno to the Indies
Performance on the Arno River aboard
tradiotional boats of sand dredgers
Arno river, from lungarno Diaz to Piazza
Mentana, tel. 055.5000640, www.
zauberteatro.com, 21.15, € 20/15
The Great Glass
Villa Fabbricotti, via V. Emanuele II 64, tel.
055.500064, 21:30, € 9/7
ONGOING
• DANCE
Buenos Aires...Tango!
Milonga: Argentinian dance and music
Parco dell’Anconella/Albereta, via di
Villamagna, until September 11, every Sun,
21.00
• EXHIBITS
“Espaces Poétiques” by Michéle Gallo
Painting exhibition
Istituto Francese, Palazzo Lenzi, Piazza
Ognissanti 2, tel. 055.2718801, www.
istitutofrancese.it, until July 14
“Grande formato quadrato”
Painting exhibition by Arturo Carmassi
Galleria Il Ponte, via di Mezzo 42 b, tel.
055.240617, www.galleriailponte.com,
until July 15
Roberta Vivo: De~Fluttuazioni
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, via Cavour 1, tel.
055.2760640, www.palazzo-medici.it, July
11-23
Art in the Library
Ten years of acquisitions and donations to
the Marucelliana Library
Biblioteca Marucelliana, Via Cavour 43-47,
tel. 055.27221, www.maru.fi renze.sbn.it,
until July 16, Mon-Fri 8.30-19.00
Michele Dantini, Chené Gómez,
Alessandro Casati
Quarter, Centro Produzione Arte, viale
Donato Giannotti 81, www.quarterfi renze.
com, until July 17, 15-20
Follia d’autore
Volumes, manuscripts and printings
exhibition
Biblioteca Riccardiana, via Ginori 10, tel.
055.212586, July 15
Secret Rooms. The Artists of the
Riccardi
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, via Cavour 1,
www.palazzo-medici.it, tel. 055.2760340,
until July 17, Mon-Sun 9-19, Wed closed,
€ 4
From Parmigianino to Tiepolo
Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, piazza Pitti
1, tel. 055.2654321, www.fi renzemusei.
it/palatina, until July 24, Tues-Sun 8.15-
18.50, € 4,25/8,50
American artists in Florence and
Siena
Galleria Alessandro Bagnai, via Maggio
58r, tel. 055.212131, www.galleriabagnai.
it, until July 30
Marco Lodola “Lighthouse”
Mirabili Galleria, Lungarno Guicciardini 21
r, tel. 055.294257, until July 25, Tues–Sat
9.30-13, 15-19.30
“Stone Prayers, Sacred Architecture“
Mario Botta
Istituto Statale d’Arte di Firenze, Piazzale di
Porta Romana 9, tel. 055.2340742, www.
isa.fi renze.it, until July 30, 10.00-19.00,
free admission
“The Designs of New York and Other
Works”, Matteo Pericoli
Basilica di Sant’Alessandro, via San
Francesco, Fiesole, tel. 055.961276, until
July 31
Giuseppe Giliberto “Jazz...in Paint”
Caruso Jazz Café, Via Lambertesca 16r,
tel. 055.281940, www.carusojazzcafe.
com, until September 3
Boboli Garden “Antonio Manzi at
court”
Sculpture exhibition
Giardino di Boboli, Orto Botanico
(Giardino degli Ananassi-Tepidarium), tel.
055.307454, until September 18, 9.00-
19.30
Lorenzo Banci
Painting exhibition “La luce oltre la siepe”
Palazzo Antinori Corsini, piazza Antinori
3, until September 10, 9-19.30, free
admittance
Anthological exhibition by Jean-
Michel Folon
Forte Belvedere e Sala d’Arme di
Palazzo Vecchio, tel. 055.2625939, until
September 18, 10.00-19.00, Wed and Fri
10.00-22.00, Tues closed, € 5/8
Forms of David. Baselitz, Fabro,
Kounellis, Morris, Struth
Galleria dell’Accademia, via Ricasoli 58,
tel. 055.294883, www.polomuseale.
fi renze.it, until September 4, Tues-Sun
8.15-18.50, € 8
The Number and Its Shapes
Museo di Storia della Scienza, piazza dei
Giudici 1, tel. 055.265311, www.galileo.
ims.fi .it, until October 9, 9.30-17, Tues
9.30-13, € 7,50
Ideas, Models, Inventions. The Patents
of Ferragamo 1929-1964
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, via
Tornabuoni 2, tel. 055.3360456, www.
museoferragamo.it, open until December
31, Mon-Fri 9-13, 14-18, free admittance
Food and Flavours in the Ancient
World
Museo Archeologico, via della Colonna
36, tel. 055. 294883 /23575, until January
15 2006, Mon 14-19, Tues, Thur 8.30-
19, Wed, Fri, Sun 8.30-14, € 4, www.
fi renzemusei.it/archeologica
Maria de’ Medici: a Florentine
Princess on the French Throne
Museo degli Argenti, Palazzo Pitti,
piazza Pitti 1, tel. 055.2388709, www.
polomuseale.fi renze.it/argenti , until
September 4, Mon-Sun 8.15-17.30, € 4,
Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo
Casa Buonarroti, via Ghibellina 70, www.
casabuonarroti.it, May 24 to September 12
27 May 1993
Drawings and water colors by Luciano
Guarnieri
Accademia dei Georgofi li, Logge degli
Uffi zi Corti, tel. 055.213360, www.
georgofi li.it, until September 30, 15-18
Gianni Cacciarini “Corps”
Museo Marino Marini, Piazzo San
Pancrazio, tel. 055.219432, www.
museomarinomarini.it, until July 22, 10-17
The Island of Treasures
Archaeological exhibition of ancient and
modern ceramics for the table
Museo Archeologico, via della Colonna,
36, tel. 055. 294883, www.fi renzemusei.
it/archeologica, until 15 January 2006,
Mon 14-19, Tues, Thurs 8.30-19, Wed, Fri-
Sun 8.30-14
Devoted Voyages to the Medici
Courts. A portable altar from the XVII
century
Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, sala Arca,
piazza Pitti 1, tel. 055.2388614, www.
polomuseale.fi renze.it, until September 25,
8.30-18.30, free admittance
Futurism and Bon Ton: the brothers
Thayant and Ram
Gabinetto di Disegni e Stampe degli Uffi zi,
via della Ninna 5, tel.055.2340940, until
September 18, 8.30-18.30
Ironie by Norberto Martini
Faustini Arte, Borgo Ognissanti 21/23
r, www.galleriafaustini.com, until July 31,
Mon-Fri 10-13, 16-20, Sat10-13
Marithé & Francois Girbaud
Stazione Leopolda, viale Fratelli Rosselli 5,
tel. 055.693407, until July 10, all day
Collections of the 1900’s from
Morandi to Guttuso
Forte di Belvedere, tel. 0552768224, until
September 18, Mon-Sun 10-19, Wed, Fri
10-22, Tues closed, € 2 plus Folon ticket
Artisti Mediterranei, nel bronzo e nel
marmo
Giacomo Roselli’s photos
Grand Hotel Mediterraneo, lungarno del
Tempio 4, until July17, 10-22
Ermeneutica by Pier Augusto Breccia
Paintings and drawings from 1979 to
2005
Archivio di Stato, viale Giovine Italia 6, tel.
055.244422, until July 16, 10-19
“Viaggio al termine della materia” by
Alberto Burri
Galleria Tornabuoni Arte, lungarno Cellini
13/a, tel. 055.6812697, until July 12
Fabric Becomes History. 30 years of
Lineapiù
Palazzo Pitti, Galleria del costume, piazza
Pitti, July 7-13, Thurs-Fri 8.15-17.30, Sat,
Mon, Wed 8.15-13.50
Yang Se Hun sculptures
Fiesole, until August 28, 10-18
The restored “Pala Dei” by Rosso
Fiorentino
Galleria Palatina, piazza Pitti, tel.
055.2388614, info Firenze Musei
055.2654321, until January 2006
Sculpture exhibition by Alberto Cirà
Museo Archeologico, via Portigiani, Fiesole,
tel. 055.59477, until July 30
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Neighbourhood 1 Summer Events
2005
Cultural and sports events for all ages.
Piazza SS. Annunziata, Fortezza da Basso,
piazza Ghiberti, info: 055.2767621 /
2767612, until September 13
Neighbourhood 2 Summer Events
2005
Classical theatre and imporvisation for
youth, Space lavoratory observations,
events for children, cinema, music,
exhibitions
Area Pettini Burresi, Parco di Villa Favard,
Giardini di Campo di Marte, Parco di Villa il
Ventaglio, Parterre, Giardino del Cenacolo,
info: 055.2767828 / 2767822
Neighbourhood 3 Summer Events
2005
Music, theatre, ballroom dancing,
concerts, children’s events, exhibitions,
conferences and sports events
Parco dell’Anconella, Spazio Quarter, info:
055.6585135
Neighbourhood 4 Summer Events
2005
Theatre, Cabaret,Jazz concerts,
ballroom dancing, rock concerts, dance
performances, opera, exhibitions
Parco di Vila Vogel, Chiostro e Limonaia
di Villa Strozzi, piazza del Cavallaccio,
Giardino dell’Argingrosso, Ugnano/
Mantignano, info: 055.2767113
Neighbourhood 5 Summer Events
2005
Theatre, concerts, poetry, ethnic music,
events for children, meetings and visits
Villa Fabbricotti, Accademia della Crusca,
Giardini del Lippi, Le Piagge, info:
055.2767045 / 2767046
Sant’Ambrogio Summer Festival
Live music, food, and drink every evening
of the week
Piazza Ghiberti, tel. 055.2767621, www.
fi renzejazz.it, until July 31
Santissima Annunziata Summer
Festival
Live music, food, and drink every evening
of the week. Numerous musical, theatrical
performances, poetry readings and events
for children.
Piazza SS. Annunziata, tel. 348.3936614,
until September 15, from 18.00
Parterre Open Air 2005
Lectures, music, architecture, radio,
theatre, music and bar
Parterre, piazza della Libertà,
every afternoon until late night, tel.
055.2638894, June-September
Praya du Maracanà
Happy hour with a typical aperitivo
carioca, followed by typical Brasilian
(churrasco, fejolada, mariscada, mukeka),
and, naturally music.
Maracanà, via Faenza 4, tel. 055.210298,
Mon-Sat 18.00, until August 6
Rime Rampanti 2005
Live music, dance, food and drink tasting,
and talk show
Rampe di Piazza Poggi, San Niccolò
(Piazzale Michelangelo), until September,
19.00 open, 22.00 shows, tel.
347.6971675, free admittance
Piazzart
Cinema reviews, all kinds of live music,
theatrical events, art and photographic
exhibitions, entertainment for children
Piazza di santo Spirito, www.piazzart.com,
until September 18, 21.00
Festa Regionale dell’Unità
Fortezza da Basso viale Filippo Strozzi, July
13-August 7, every evening
Artisan market for Collectors
Figline Valdarno, July 16-17, all day
Used and Antiques Market
Dicomano historical center, July 17, all day

12
Thursday 7 July 2005
What’s on & Where to Go
www.theflorentine.net
Events in FLORENCE JULY 8 to JULY 21
• GUIDED TOURS
Città Nascosta
Discover the best-kept secrets of
Florence and Tuscany through exclusive,
individually planned guided tours
Associazione culturale città nascosta,
lungarno Cellini 25, tel. 055.6802590,
until December 31
Craftsmen of the Oltrarno 2005.
Itineraries to discover artistic crafts
Oltrarno starting point in Piazza Pitti,
reservations C.A.T. tel. 055.3036108, May
2 to July 29
Secret Rooms. The Artists of the
Riccardi
Guided tours in English 11.30, 14.00
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, via Cavour 1,
www.palazzo-medici.it, tel. 055.2760340,
open until July 17, Mon-Sun 11.30, 14.00
(in English), Wed closed, € 4
Extraordinary openings and guided
visits to the Jewish Cemetery
Cimitero Monumentale Ebraico, tel.
055.2346654, until December, every 1 st
Sun of the month
“Forms for David”
Galleria dell’Accademia, via Ricasoli 58,
tel. 055.294883, www.polomuseale.
fi renze.it, until August 30, Tues 19.22, free
admittance
The Markets of Firenze
Free visits and food tastings at San
Lorenzo and Sant’Ambrogio
Until July 29, Tues-Wedn morning,
reservations: C.A.T. tel. 055.3036108
First time ever, guided tours of the
excavations of the Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio, piazza della Signoria, tel.
055.2625955, www.archeologiatoscana.
it, July 7-9, 17.30-18.30, on sat. 10.30-
11.30 too
Guided visits to the Montececeri Park
and to the Sotterra Source
Parco di Montececeri e Fonte Sotterra,
Fiesole, tel. 800.414240, www.comune.
fi esole.fi .it, until October 30, every Sunday
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
Organ and instrumental concert
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Ricci, via del
Corso, tel. 055.289367, until December
31, Mon-Sun 21.15, Sat 18.00, € 11
Concerts at English Church of St.
Mark’s
every day, Chiesa Anglicana di St. Mark’s,
via Maggio 16-18, tel. 340.8119192,
21.15
7th International Festival of European
Youth Orchestras
Chiesa di S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio,
tel. 055.597026, for info www.
accademiasanfelice.com, www.
fl orenceyouthfestival.com, July 7-27, 21.15
• PARKS
Renai Park
A bike path follows the Arno River from
the end of the Cascine park all the way to
the entrance of the Renai park. Activities:
swimming, free climbing walls, nature
walks, cycling, sailing, etc.
Parco dei Renai, Signa, all the summer, 12-
20, Sat, Sun 9-20
Anconella Park
Restaurant, bar, concerts, fi lms, games
and activities for children.
From May to September, Associazione
Culturale Fiesolana32, via di Villamagna,
program: Mon-Tues, large screen movie
projections; Wed, concerts and meetings
with Novaradio; Thurs, Dj and Vjing; Fri, live
music; Sat, theatre, cabaret and folkloric
shows; Sun, Milonga dance night and
events with Buenos Aires Tango
Pratolino Park
Organisation of cultural, theatrical,
musical, food and fi lm evenings
Villa Demidoff, via Fiorentina 282, Pratolino,
Vaglia, tel. 055.409155, June-September,
10-19.30, Thurs-Frid free admittance, Sat-
Sun € 3
• SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
Le Pavoniere
Pool, bar, restaurant and music.
Le Pavoniere, via della Catena 2, Cascine
Park, tel. 055.308160, open all the
summer every day
• THEATRE
Riso Olimpico
Villa Fabbricotti, via V. Emanuele II 64, tel.
055.500064, www.zauberteatro.com, July
1-10, 21:30, € 9/7
Nel Palco del Cardinale
Medici Month
Lago di Bilancino, Barberino di Mugello,
zona Andolaccio, via Matteotti, July 11-17,
21.15
Io Velimir Chlebnikov, Presidente del
Globo Terrestre
Area San Salvi, via di San Salvi 12, www.
chille.it, tel. 055.6236195, July 5-10, every
evening at 22.00, € 5
UPCOMING
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
DigiFestival.net: First Annual Video
Multimedia Festival
The purpose of the Festival is to extend,
through the web video technology ,the
reach, popularity and diffusion of Artistic
Productions to and from the whole
planet. There will be no selection of
who participates in the festival and all
have a chance at the fi nal evaluation and
prizes. Prizes will be in cash and will be
calculated on the 40% of the entry fee
paid by artists to enroll in the festival. All
artists and companies from all disciplines
can participate with their productions and
works realized and/or documented in
video.
subscriptions are now open up to July 9,
www.digifestival.net
The Championship of...Wine
A popular competition for wine tasters.
There are sections for both amateurs and
professionals
Teatro Romano di Fiesole, via Portigiani 1,
tel. 055.591.87 /055.684405, September
10-11, organised by Comune di Fiesole
and Slow Food. Enter for the competition!
segreteria@slowfoodfi renze.it
Medici festival at Artimino 2005
Performances of poetry, song, music
and dance dedicated to the Italian
Renaissance culture
Villa Medici “La Ferdinanda”, Artimino,
Carmignano, Prato province, July 21-
August 26. July 28 a fantastic Renaissance
Banquet with “Musica Interruptions”
by reservation preferably before July
10, € 44, tel. 055.8751426-27-28, fax
0558751490, htpp://xoomer.virgilio.it/
fondazionecsrm/index.html
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
U2
Stadio Meazza, Milano, July 20-21. Stadio
Olimpico, Roma, July 23
Crosby Stills and Nash
Villa Pisani, Stra, July 8. Villa Reale, Monza,
July 9
Coldplay
Arena di Verona, July 11
Jamiroquai
Genova, July 12. Modena, July 14. Napoli,
July 17. Roma, July 18
Keith Jarret, Gary Peacock & Jack
DeJohnette
Arena Flegrea, Napoli, July 12, box offi ce
tel. 055.210804
CHILDREN
• GUIDED TOURS
Archeology Nights
Guided tours, workshops for chidlren,
night openings of museums
Museo e Istituto di Preistoria “Paolo
Graziosi, via S. Egidio 21, tel.
055.295159, July 4-9
The Magic Sack
Discovering plants and fl owers with a
botanical export (kids from 3 to 11years)
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, Mon, Wed, Fri
9.30-11.30. Info “Il cappello di Merlino”
bookshop, tel. 055.264471
The little inhabitants of Boboli: the
birds and insects
Children ages 3 to 11 years
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, Tues, Thurs, 9.30-
11.30. info “Il cappello di Merlino”
bookshop, tel. 055.264471
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
Antique and children market
viale della Repubblica, marradi, tel.
055.8045170, on Thur in July and August
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
Il Sounds of Boboli
Exploration and study of sounds in the
garden (kids ages 8 to 12).
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, Tues, Thurs, 9.30-
11.30. info “Il cappello di Merlino”
bookshop, tel. 055.264471
• SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
Bimbo estate
Games, music, songs, disco, clowns,
puppets, and much more!
Piazzetta del Centro Commerciale “Le
Piagge”, via Lazio, until July 22, every
day, Sat-Sun closed, from 17.00, free
admittance
The Body in Play
Experimental workshop for body and
theatre (kids ages 4 to 11).
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, Tues, Thurs, 9.30-
11.30. Info “Il cappello di Merlino”
bookshop, tel. 055.264471
Learn Art With Sherlock Holmes
Encounters on art and mythology at
Boboli (kids ages 7 to 11)
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, Tues, Thurs, 18.00-
19.30. Info “Il cappello di Merlino”
bookshop, tel. 055.264471
Let’s Play: abilities, equilibrium and
movement with the circus
Psychomotor workshop (kids ages 7 to
15)
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, Tues, Thurs, 18.00-
19.30. Info “Il cappello di Merlino”
bookshop, tel. 055.264471
Fantasy at Boboli
Colors, pens, paper, glue meet leaves,
fl owers acorns… (kids ages 2 to 4)
Giardino degli Ananassi (Boboli Garden),
July and September, info “Il cappello di
Merlino” bookshop, tel. 055.264471
Bimbobus
A colourful bus that passes through the
neighbourhoods of Sesto Fiorentino
offering stories, games, books and fun.
Sesto Fiorentino city center, tel.
055.4496357, www.sestoestate.com, all
the summer
International workshop for children:
a chance to play with games from all
over the world
La Mongolfi era, ex Gasometro, via
dell’Anconella 3, tel. 055.2767124, Mon,
Wed, Fri 17-19, free admittance
Multisport 2005, UISP Summer Camps
Multisport 05, centri estivi UISP
Unione Italiana Sport Per tutti UISP, Via
Bocchi 32, tel. 055.6583501, June 13
to September 9, Programs for children
from 4 to 11, Centre offers half and full
day programs from Monday to Friday,
enrolment mandatory
Bellariva swimming pool
Summer centre for children ages 6-14.
Swimming lessons, learning workshops,
10% discount for more than 10 days of
enrolment.
Piscina di Bellariva, lungarno Aldo Moro,
tel. 055.670852
San Marcellino swimming pool
Swimming lessons for children from 4 and
up. Acquagym for children and adults.
Piscina San Marcellino, via Chiantigiana
28, tel. 055.6530000
Come on up to the Pozzo
Play area with games and workshops
Impruneta city center, until September 2,
every day from 17.00
Evening bicycle race
Kids ages 7 to 12 years
Ciclodromo della Briglia, Vaiano, July 9,
20.00
Summer at 2!
Children and adultscan partake in outdoor
gymnastics classes. Participation is free
of charge
Giardini di Bellariva, giardini di Campo
di Marte, giardini di via Salvi Cristiani,
parco di Villa Favard e area Pettini Burresi,
via Faentina 145, tel. 055.2767816 /
2767836, until September 30, Mon-Sat,
closed in August, www.comune.fi .it
Green Play
Games for children between 3 and 6,
accompanied by a parent
Giardino Scuola Materna Galilei, viale
Galilei, Prato, tel. 0574.697740, until July
30, every day but Sat
Performances for Kids
Borgo San Lorenzo city center, July 15-
August 13, every Friday, 21.30
Nature in the City
Workshops and educational games for
kids ages 3 to 12
Giardino di Boboli, piazza Pitti, organised
by “Il cappello di Merlino” bookshop, tel.
055.264471, July and September, every
day 10-13.30, 16-19.30, Sat afternoon
closed
• THEATRE
July for children
Theatre shows for children
Parco Iqbal, Campi Bisenzio, tel.
055.8959318, www.comune.campibisenzio.fi
.it, until July 22
Serestate Teatro 2005
Classical and improvisational theatre for
children
Area Pettini Burresi, via Faentina 145, tel.
055.5522816, www.comune.fi .it, until July 8
Puppets in Piazzas and Gardens
Reggello city center, until August 11, every
Thursday at 21.00, free admittance
Bimbo Estate
Games, workshops, songs, and puppet
shows for children
Piazzetta del Centro Commerciale Le
Piagge, via Lazio, tel. 055.2767045, www.
comune.fi .it, July 4-22 every day
Piccoli Incantesimi
Performances for children in parks
Villa demidoff, Pratolino, July 9-10, 17.30
Spettacoli per ragazzi
Borgo San Lorenzo city center, July 15-
August 13, every Friday, 21.30
Marzipan lands
Theatre shows for children
via Garibaldi, Gambassi Terme, tel.
0571.638579, www.comune.gambassiterme.fi
.it, July-August
OUT OF TOWN
• EXHIBITS
Reflections of a Gallery. Paintings of
the Bardini family
Villa Medicea, piazza Umberto I, Cerreto
Guidi, tel. 0571.55707, www.comune.
cerreto-guidi.fi .it, until December
Painting exhibition by Emilio
Montagnani
Piazza Mazzini, Barberino Valdelsa, tel.
055.8052231, www.barberinovaldelsa.net,
until August 30
Exhibition of ceramic works by J.M.
Folon
Oratorio di Santa Caterina, Bagno a Ripoli,
tel. 055.6390356-7, www.comune.bagnoa-ripoli.fi
.it, until September 12

www.theflorentine.net
What’s on & Where to Go
13
Thursday 7 July 2005
Events in FLORENCE JULY 8 to JULY 21
Exhibition of ceramic works by J.M.
Folon
Limonaia della Villa di Pescille, Panzano,
tel. 055.8546287, from until September 1
Hugo Pratt “Periplo immaginario”
Palazzo Squarcialupi, Santa Maria della
Scala, Siena, tel. 199.109910, www.
fondazionemps.it, until August 28, every
day 11-19, € 8
Extraordinary opening of the parish
churches of S. Amato and S. Ansano
Chiesa di S. Amato e S. Ansano, Vinci, tel.
0571.568012, www.comune.vinci.fi .it, until
September 24 on Sat.
Leonardo After Five Centuries. 1505
– 2005, Work in Progress
Museo Ideale Leonardo Da Vinci, Vinci, tel.
0571.56296, www.museoleonardo.it, until
October 31
Luca Vitone Prêt-à-porter »
Museo Pecci, viale della Repubblica 277,
Prato, tel. 0574.5317, until September 25,
Mon-Fri 9-19, Sat-Sun 10-19
Flavio Favelli “Scultura-quasimobilia”
Museo Pecci, viale della Repubblica 277,
Prato, tel. 0574.5317, until September 25,
Mon-Fri 9-19, Sat-Sun 10-19
Chirstian Marclay
Museo Pecci, viale della Repubblica 277,
Prato, tel. 0574.5317, until September 25,
Mon-Fri 12-21, Sat-Sun 10-19
The Colours of moon rock. The
collection of scagliola works by
Bianco Bianchi
Museo di San Francesco, Greve in Chianti,
tel. 055.8545215, until October 2
The Works of Umbrian Artist Fausto
Minestrini
Confartigianato Imprese Prato, viale
Montegrappa 138, Prato, until July 29,
Mon-Thur 8.30-13, 14.30-18, Fri 8.30-13
The Island of Treasures
Archaeological exhibition of ancient and
modern ceramics for the table
Museo della Manifattura Chini, Borgo San
Lorenzo, tel. 055.8456230, until October 30
Seven: everything goes to hell
Lyrics inspired by Tom Waits, 36 artists
reinterpret the 7 capital sins of man:
avarice/greed, gluttony, envy, lust, pride,
sloth, and wrath/anger. Each vice ahs
been dedicated its own room in the
medieval Pretorio Palace.
Palazzo Pretorio, via Giovanni Boccaccio,
Certaldo, tel. 0571.661219, until October
30, 10-19, € 3
The Island of Treasures
Archaeological exhibition
Raccolta Comunale d’arte,
Castelfi orentino, tel. 0571.686341, until
November 30
“Reflections of a Gallery: the
paintings of the Bardini succession”
Painting exhibition
Villa Medicea, Cerreto Guidi, tel.
0571.55707, www.comune.cerreto-guidi.
fi .it, until December
Treasures of Ancient Art at Cerreto
Guidi
Art exhibition
Villa Medicea, Cerreto Guidi, tel.
0571.55707, www.comune.cerreto-guidi.
fi .it, until December
32nd Cutting Irons fair. Exhibition
of knives from Luciano Salvatici
collection
Palazzo dei Vicari tel. 0558468165 - www.
comune.scarperia.fi .it, until September 18
Leonardo Codice Verso. l’andata e il
ritorno
Paintings and drawings by Sergio Vacchi
(1993-1997)
Museo Leonardiano e Casa Natale
di Leonardo ad Anchiano, Vinci, tel.
0571.568012, www.comune.vinci.fi .it, until
September 25
Aliart: anteprima di Giuliano Fazzari
Galleria d’arte di Alliart, via Morrocchesi
13/15, San Casciano Val di Pesa, July 2-
26, Tues-Fri 15.30-19, Sat-San 10-12 and
15.30-19, Mon closed
Territoria
Art from the Netherlands in Prato and Val
Bisenzio, contemporary Dutch artists who
have never exhibited in Italy before
Venues: Museo Pecci, viale della
Repubblica 277, Prato. Gruppo Tintoriale,
via Bologna 360, Madonna della Tosse.
Fartex, loc. Cartaia, Vaiano: Villa il
Mulinaccio, loc. Il Mulinaccio, Complesso
industriale F.ratelli Giachini, loc. Cerbaia,
Cantagallo, Ditta Francioni, loc. Le piane,
Vernio, until September 18
Jeans!
The origins, the American legend and
made in Italy
Museo del Tessuto, via Santa Chiara
24, Prato, tel. 0574.611503, www.
museodeltessuto.it, until November 30, 10-
18, Sat 10-14, Sun 16-19, Tues closed
Mostra di Fernando De Szyszlo
Personal exhibition by Latin American
artist
Galleria Open Art, viale della Repubblica
24, tel. 0574.538003, www.openart.it, until
July 30, 10.30-12.30, 16-20 Mon and Sun
closed
International Art Award “SS 325”
Galleria Estrarte, piazza Duomo 40, tel.
0574.38281, www.estrarte.it, July 6-30
Archeological cards: food from
prehistory to medieval age
Museo della Badia di Vaiano, Prato, July
4-17, 21-23
Sculpture Symposium Antonio Berti
Prize
Giardini pubblici, via dei Giardini, San
Piero a Sieve, tel. 055.848751, www.
comune.san-piero-a-sieve.fi .it, until July 30
• FESTIVALS & FAIRS
San Casciano Always Open
Shops open until late and street
performances
San Casciano Val di Pesa city center, until
July 28
6° Diacetum Festival
Pelago city center, July 15-August 7, 21.00
Siparietti Incantati
Borgo San Lorenzo city center, July 15-
August 13, every Friday, 21.30
Summer in Marcialla. Evening shows
and games
Marcialla city center, tel. 055.8074101,
www.barberinovaldelsa.net, until August 21
Tavarnelle Summer
“A walk through the centre”, every Tuesday
from 19 to 24, with theatrical events, food
tastings, artisan market, live music, etc.
“Summer in Piazza” every Friday, 21.30
Music in Piazza Matteotti.
Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, tel. 055.8077832,
www.prolocotavarnelle.it, until September
9
Galciana sotto le stelle
Closing of historical centre of Galciano
for msuic concerts, games, happy hour,
shopping, and food stando with local
specialities
Galcinana historical center, tel.
347.8804380, July 5-26, 19-24
The Tower of Glass
Production, exhibitions, and sales of
artistic glass works with music and
performances at La Torre
Montelupo Fiorentino, Località La Torre,
July 7-10, 18-24
Crafts and Collectors Market
Figline Valdarno historical center, tel.
055951569, www.comune.fi glinevaldarno.fi
.it, every 3rd weekend of the
month
Tortello Festival
Borgo San Lorenzo city center, until July 3,
from 19.00 on
July fair at Romola
piazza IV Novembre, La Romola, san
Cascinao in Val di Pesa, tel. 055.8256260,
July 12
Little Trebbio fair
Castello del Trebbio, località Trebbio, san
piero a Sieve, tel. 055.848751, www.
comune.san-piero-a-sieve.fi .it, July 8-10
Delicias a 22°
Foods and fl avours from around the world
Dicomano city center, July 1, from 19.00
on
Antique and collector market
piazza dei Vicari, Scarperia, tel.
055.8468165, every fi rst Sun of the month
Thursdays at Borgo
Performances and events in centre of
Borgo San Lorenzo
Borgo San Lorenzo city center, July 7-28,
every Thursday, all day
Duck Festival
Circolo ARCI, Cerreto Guidi, tel.
0571.55085, www.comune.cerreto-guidi.
fi .it, until July 17, every sat and Sun
Fair of crafts, antiques and secondhand
goods
via Alighieri Dante, Dicomano, tel.
055.838541, www.comune.dicomano.fi .it,
every third Sunday of the month
Festa della birra
Parco del Rione Sant’Antonio, Impruneta,
tel. 055.2036434, July 15-17, from 19.00
Festa della battitura, fiera mercato
piazza Matteotti, Tavernelle in Val di Pesa,
tel. 055.8077832, July 17
Antique and flea market
piazza Ginori, sesto fi orentino, tel.
055.4496357, every fi rst Sunday of the
month
Lazzeretto Festival
Lazzeretto city center, tel. 0571.55671,
www.comune.cerreto-guidi.fi .it, until July 23
The Small Fair at Trebbio
Local foods and artisan crafts
Castello del Trebbio, San Piero a Sieve,
tel. 055.848751, July 8-10
Mercatino Equo Solidale
Parco di Galceti, Prato, tel. 0574.697740,
July 10, 11.00
Feste Medievali
Palazzuolo sul Senio historical center, July
15-24, Fri, Sat 18.00-1.00, Sun 10.00-
1.00
Progetto Sin: Arab Dinner
Offi cina Giovani Cantieri Ex Macelli,Piazza
Macelli 4, Prato, tel. 0574. 616753, www.
offi cinagiovani.it, July 12, 21.00, free
dinner but by reservation only
Flavours, Culture and Solidarity
Animated tours of historical, technical
constructions of antique Medieval,
Renaissance and Baroque instruments
Piazza della Badia, Vaiano, July 10, all day
Thursdays for Citizens
Prato city center, July 7-28, every Thursday
at 21.00
Music and theatre festival with
market in the castle of Certaldo
Certaldo, Alto Vicariato, tel. 0571.661276,
www.comune.certaldo.fi .it, July 12-17, all
day
Summernights in Fucecchio
Open-air shows, open shops
Fucecchio city center, piazza Montanelli,
tel. 0571.268403, www.comune.
fucecchio.fi .it, July on Wed. and Frid.
Summer Evening Market
Marradi city center, until August 25, every
evening
Festival on the river shore
Sambuca Val di Pesa, tel. 055.805081,
www.comune.tavarnelle-val-di-pesa.fi .it,
July 10
Estate Montaionese
Music, shows, activities, fair, etc.
Montaione city center, until September 11,
every evening
Art and sport festival
Food stands, shows
via Bini Smaghi, Cerbaia, tel. 055.825047,
every week end in July
Scandicci Estate ‘05
Music, shows, activities, fair, dance, etc.
Piazza Matteotti, Scandicci city center,
until August 5, every evening
hianti Wine fair
Cerreto Guidi historical center, tel.
0571.55671, www.comune.cerreto-guidi.
fi .it, july 9-17
Tavarnelle Estate
Music, shows, activities, fairs, etc.
Tavernelle city center, until Serptember 9,
every evening
Summer in the castle
Music, dance, theatre shows in the centre
Castel Fiorentino historical center, corso
Matteotti, tel. 0571.686341, www.comune.
castelfi orentino.fi .it, July 8, 15
Festival in two villages
San Pancrazio, Montespertoli, tel.
055.8559558, July 1-15
Feast of Sant’Anna
Ponte a Signa, via Bardini, tel.
055.8723749, www.comune.lastra-a-signa.
fi .it, July 9-26
Rowing Palio of St. Lawrence
Limite sull’Arno city center, tel.
0571.978136, July 16-17
Middle Ages at the Ubaldini court
- festival
via della Chiesa, Palazzuolo sul Senio, tel.
055.8046685, www.palazzuolo.it, July 15,
16, 17, 22, 23, 24
Ficattola food festival
loc. Fornacette, Motespertoli, tel.
0571.609412, July 15-24
• GUIDED TOURS
Wine and Fashion in the Florentine
Mountains. Itineraries with guided
visits, shopping
Tours to discover the beauties of the
Florentine Mountains: the art, culture,
nature together with food, visits to artisan
workshops and local commecial centres.
(Dicomano, Londa, Pelago, Pontassieve,
Reggello, Rufi na, San Godenzo, starting at
8.45, lasting 7 hours)
from January to December on Mon and
Sat, Resco Travel tel. 055.868009.
On the Scaffolding With Filippo Lippi
Visits to the restoration of Filippo Lippi’s
fresco in the Cathedral of Santo Stefano,
Prato. (max 12 persons)
Cattedrale di Santo Stefano, piazza del
Duomo, Prato, tel. 0574.24112, www.
restaurofi lippolippi.it, by reservation only,
until December 31, Sat 10, 11, 16, 17, Sun
10, 11, € 8
Castello Mediceo di Cafaggiolo
Cafaggiolo, San Piero a Sieve, until
October 31, Wed, Fri 14.30-18.30, Sat-
Sun 10-12.30
Abbazia San Salvatore e San Lorenzo
a Settimo
Scandicci, until December 30, Wed 10-12,
Sun 15.30-18
Sunday opening of Wine and Grape
Museum
Museo della vite e del vino, Rufi na, until
July 17, every day, 15-18
• MUSIC & CONCERTS
Music at Palazzo Pretorio
Concerts with guided tours and typical
dinner
Palazzo Pretorio, Certaldo, tel.
0571.661276, www.comune.certaldo.fi .it,
every Tues until September 13 (except
July 12)
Monni all’inferno
Festival delle Colline
Chiesa di Bonistallo, Poggio a Caiano, July
8, 21.30
Beatles’ Tribute
Festival delle Colline
Parco Museo Quinto Martini, Seano,
Carmignano, www.centroartepecci.prato.it,
July 11, 21.30
Hommage to Quinto Martini
Festival delle Colline
Parco Museo Quinto Martini, Seano,
Carmignano, www.centroartepecci.prato.it,
July 12, 21.30

14
Thursday 7 July 2005
www.theflorentine.net
Events in FLORENCE JULY 8 to JULY 21
Il Medioevo by Carlo Monni
Festival delle Colline
Parco Museo Quinto Martini, Seano,
Carmignano, www.centroartepecci.prato.it,
July 13, 21.30
Indian Vibes
Cantagallo city center, www.
centroartepecci.prato.it, July 15, 21.30
Jazzfolkclassic Summer 2005
piazza Panzano Ricasoli, tel.
055.8545215, www.comune.greve-inchianti.fi
.it, July-August
Summer in Poggio
Music, shows, theatre and much more
Poggio alla Croce Poggio, Incisa in Val
d’Arno, tel. 336.321147, www.comune.
incisa-valdarno.fi .it, until August 30
Summernight dream
concerts, theatre shows
Villa Caruso, vicolo di Bellosguardo,
Lastra a Signa, tel. 055.8721783, www.
villacaruso.it, July 10, 17, 24
World music concerts
Villa Caruso, vicolo di Bellosguardo,
Lastra a Signa, tel. 055.8721783, www.
villacaruso.it, on Saturday in July
Sonorika. Rock music festival
Zona sportiva Molino del Ponte Baccaiano,
Montespertoli, tel. 0571.600219, www.
comune.montespertoli.fi .it, July 14-16
Busker meeting
piazza Ghiberti, pelago, tel. 055.8326236,
www.comune.pelago.fi .it, July 15-17
Daniel Ferro Vocal Program
Master classes and vocalist concerts
Greve in Chianti city center, July 22-August
10, 21.00
Tributo a Gilberto Giuntini
Pelago city center, tel. 055.8327301, July
8, 21.00
Ode La Bella Etruria
Ancient music and readings telling the
story of Etruscas life and traditions
Mulino di Gonfi enti, via di Gonfi enti 4,
Prato, tel. 0574.615021, www.pratoestate.
it, July 9, 21.00
Ancient Brass
Medieval and Renaissance music
Piazza Matteotti, Scandicci, July 11, 21.30
Gabriele Rizza “Per certi versi”
Recital performance reading cabaret
Castello dell’Acciaiolo, Parco Parco
dell’Acciaiolo, via Pantin, Scandicci, July
12, 21.30
Jethro Tull
Historic band, a cross between
progressive, folk and hard rock, coined
unique style with Jan Anderson’s fl ute
Villa Solaria Parco, viale Gramsci, Sesto
Fiorentino, tel. 055-4496357/210804,
www.sestoestate.com, July 12, 21.15, by
reservation only
Ute Lemper “voyage” Tra ieri e domani
Anfi teatro del Museo Pecci, viale della
Repubblica, Prato, tel. 0574.615021, July
12, 21.30
Nada e Massimo Zamboni
Castello dell’Imperatore, piazza delle
Carceri, Prato, tel.0574.615021, July 13,
21.30, free admittance
La Plaza summer
La Plaza, viale Galilei near Ponte Datini,
Prato, until Septeber 11, every day, from
18.00 on
Pippo Antonini & The Blues Train
Pippo Antoniniis considered one of the
most interesting new groups on the
European bules scene.
Castello dell’Acciaiolo, Parco Parco
dell’Acciaiolo, via Pantin, Scandicci, tel.
055.757348, July 13, 21.30
Hommage to De André and Fossati
Castello dell’Imperatore, piazza delle
Carceri, Prato, tel. 0574.615021, July 20,
21.30, free admittance
Umbre de Muri. La buona novella di
Fabrizio De André
Chiostro degli Agostiniani, via de’ Neri 15,
Empoli, July 20, 21.15
Lights of the town
Concerts in cloisters and churches
Chiostro del Convento degli Agostiniani,
via Neri, Empoli, tel. 0571.757999, www.
comune.empoli.fi .it, every Wednesday in
July
Bia
A great voice and a great repertory of
popular Brazilian music
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, Pontassieve,
July 21, 21.30
La Drummeria
Cymbals and tambourines create musical
messages constructed on easily enjoye
melodies
Castello dell’Imperatore, piazza delle
Carceri, Prato, tel. 0574.615021, July 15,
21.00, free admittance
Musical afternoons at San Vivaldo
Chiostro del Convento di S. Vivaldo,
Montaione, until July 24, 18.00
Pistoia Blues 2005
Piazza del Duomo, Pistoia, www.
pistoiablues.com, July 8-10, € 27-35, by
reservation only
• SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
Crossing the Arno River from Empoli
Tinaia and Capraia e Limite
La Tinaia, Capraia e Limite, tel.
0571.978136, www.comune.capraia-elimite-sull-arno.fi
.it, from June to September
on Thursday morning, Saturday and
Sunday
Formula 3000 Pro Serie
Endurance Touring Car Series, Trofeo
Formula Renault 2000, Renault Clio Cup
Italia
Autodromo del Mugello via Senni 15,
Scarperia, tel. 055.8499111, www.
mugellocircuit.it, July 9-10
Football Carioca tournament
Campo polisportiva, Certaldo, tel.
0571.666418, www.comune.certaldo.fi .it,
until July 31 on Sunday
2° Triathlon Olympic
Regional championship for Olympics. 300
athletes from all over Italy will partecipate.
Lago di Bilancino, Barberino di
Mugello, tel. 055.84771, www.
bilancinolagoditoscana.it, July 10, 11.30
24ª Prato-Abetone Cycling Race
Viale della Repubblica, Prato, tel.
0574.583340, July 10, starting at 7.00
Foot race Reggello-Vallombrosa. 28th
edition
Piazza Aldo Moro, Reggello, tel.
055.8669232 , www.comune.reggello.it,
July 10
Raduno d’auto d’epoca
Piazza V. Veneto, Calenzano, tel.
055.8833412, July 10, from 11.00
Luicciana, Castello, “Rifugio di Bano”
Hike
A hike from Castello to the Bano Refuge,
across brooks, chestnut groves and
“canicciaie”. A beautiful view awaits at
the Refuge of Monte Maggiore and the
campanile of Montecuccoli.
meeting point in front of Comune a
Luicciana, Cantagallo at 10, July 10,
tel. 0574.52701, www.comune.prato.it/
circoscrizioni/est
Colonnata, Carmignanello, “Fonte
Giallina” Hike
A trek thorugh an interesting area where
important extraction processes took
place in cave and galleries which are still
visibile. A walk up the Zambra River to old
farmhouses and then the Carmiganello
Villa. After a break for lunch, a walk to the
tower-houses and the “Fonte Giallina”.
Return to Colonnatain late afternoon.
Meeting point: Colonnata in Piazza
Rapisardi (Casa del popolo), Colonnata,
July 17, 9.30, pranzo al sacco, passeggiata
facile, info 0574.52701
Crossing the Arno River from Empoli
Tinaia and Capraia e Limite
Arno river Tinaia resort, Empoli, tel.
0571.757999, until September 30, on
Thursday morning, Saturday and Sunday
Old motobyke meeting
piazza Vittorio Veneto, Calenzano, tel.
055.8824512, July 10
• THEATRE
Summer in Montaione. Open-air
shows
Montaione historical center, tel.
0571.69922, www.comune.montaione.fi .it,
until September
Chiesanuova under the stars, night
shows
via Brunelleschi, loc. Chiesanuova,
San Casciano in Val di Pesa, tel.
055.8242480, June 16-August 3
San Casciano Always Open
Shows in the centre and open shops
San Cascino Val di Pesa, historical center,
tel. 055.8229558, www.comune.sancasciano-val-di-pesa.fi
.it, until July 28 on
Thurs evening
The management of The Florentine is not
responsible for the accuracy of the dates and
times of events as reported herein or for any
changes thereto.

www.theflorentine.net
Life in Italy
All of the articles found in the following pages are written by independent collaborators. The Florentine seeks to publish
stories that are interesting, entertaining, and useful to all of our readers. If and when a writer expresses opinions within his
or her work those opinions should be considered to be those of the writer and not necessarily those of the publishers of this
newspaper. If you wish to submit articles for consideration please contact us at redazione@theflorentine.net.
15
Thursday 7 July 2005
Culture & CUSTOMS
ITALIAN VOICES: A Window on Language and
Customs in Italy... ““Uno dev’essere sveglio”
by Linda Falcone
Amongst the innumerable
laws
that crowd the
Italian constitution, I’m
told there’s one about
pedestrians having the
right of way. I, however,
have never seen it
happen in real life. And
I’ve been keeping my
eyes open.
While at university,
I met Domenico, and
we fast became inseparable
friends. He
was originally from Puglia but was
studying in Venice, so in a way, he
was almost as foreign as me. He
just knew a lot more. Everything, in
fact. But it’s something I often overlooked
because I knew he’d grown
up with a father who quoted Latin
poets during dinner and a mother
who made him learn about Doric
and Ionic columns on Saturday afternoon
outings.
One morning, as we crossed
Campo Santa Margherita, he said,
“You’re lucky we live in Venezia. In
a real city you’d get run over with
the way you walk in your sleep.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I frowned. Domenico was my best
friend and very good at unnerving
me.
“In Puglia cars speed up rather
than slow down when they see you
waiting to cross. Really, you’re not
too good at paying attention. People
from the New World always walk
like you do - with half their brains
turned off - as if the world were a
“ despite all of their
socialist policies,
Italians root for the
survival of the fi ttest.
They are fi rm believers
that success
should come only to
those who learn to
stay awake. ”
field of daisies.”
Twelve years have
passed since he made
this comment, and I am
still wondering what I
should have said in reply.
Sometimes people
just knock the wind
out of you.
“What do you mean?”
was all that came to me
at the time.
“In Italy to live
well, uno deve essere
sveglio, one has to be
awake. Italy is a dangerous place for
those who sleep. You have to keep
your eyes open and look out for
yourself.”
Hmm. The day was still young,
but its lesson was ripe for the picking.
Since then I’ve moved to a city
with cars and learned that sveglio,
awake, is the highest compliment an
Italian can bestow. Why? Because
despite all of their socialist policies,
Italians root for the survival of the
fittest. They are firm believers that
success should come only to those
who learn to stay awake.
Time in this country has taught
me that, unlike citizens from more
civic cultures, Italians don’t believe
in systems. In Italy, for example,
policy is not seen as protection. The
government is the enemy. Laws do
not increase order. Signs are not to
be trusted. Public service messages
touch the heart of no one. Traffic
laws and exact tax payments weigh
lightly on the collective psyche. Bureaucracy
is seen as an incurable
Italian disease. If you must deal
with the system, cunning is key.
Domenico would often say, “If you
can’t beat them, join them. And if
you can’t join them, trick them. And
to trick them you’ve just got to be
awake. If you are, then no one will
take advantage of you.”
If you’re new to Italy and still
walking in your field of daisies, all
this may sound a bit like paranoia.
That’s what I thought. But then I
said, “Fine. This is Italy. Let’s play
it your way. But may I ask, just how
does one go about becoming sveglio?”
Domenico liked my question.
“It’s simple,” he smiled. “Make
many friends and find out what they
know. Knowledge is indispensable
to survival.”
It did not take long for Domenico
to prove his point. By that time
we had reached the courtyard of
Ca’ Foscari, the university building.
If you plan on taking a trip there,
don’t go through the main door. It’s
against the law. It’s also life-threatening.
The main door, which was
built by Marco Polo’s first cousin, is
perennially under restoration. It will
fall on your head if you go near it.
In many countries a similar source
of public peril would be blocked
off, barricaded, and guarded by the
National Guard. Here they don’t
even put up a warning sign. Everybody
just knows not to go that way.
Luckily, awake Italian students are
willing to let you in on cute info like
that. But I thought I’d tell you, just
in case you know no students or
have no sveglio friends to tell you
which thresholds are safe to cross.
It’s knowledge that could prove indispensable.
If you do have a Domenico
of your very own, do what I
do, and let him cross under alcoves
first.

16
Thursday 7 July 2005
Culture & CUSTOMS
Life in Italy
www.theflorentine.net
An afternoon walk through the Oltrarno
By Nicoletta Curradi
Nicoletta Curradi is a resident
of Florence and a student of all
of the beauty and wonder of this
great city.
This is her second article where
she presents her itinerary for
“A Day in Town.”
On the hillside behind Palazzo
Pitti are the magnificent
Boboli Gardens, which are
among the most beautiful and bestpreserved
gardens in Italy. Our second
stroll in search of discovery in
the wonderful and unusual city of
Florence begins from these gardens
of paradise, laid out in the 16th century
for Cosimo I with evergreen
plants and potted citrus fruit trees.
There is always something new in
Boboli: from May 28 until September
18 (hours: 11am-6pm), an interesting
exhibition of sculptures by
Antonio Manzi will join the natural
beauties of the green park and the
other, ancient sculptures, including
some restored Roman works.
The new exhibit is displayed in the
splendid Tepidarium and Pineapple
Garden. The Boboli Gardens’ opening
hours are 8.30am to 7.30pm during
the Summer.
Behind the amphitheatre with
an Egyptian obelisk, terraces with
fountains and statues rise up to the
top of the hill. On the left side you
can easily reach the romantic Kaffeehaus
building, which has been recently
restored. The Pompeian-red
of the external walls was replaced,
during the restoration, with a tender
light green, which was the walls’
original colour. Guided tours are organised
at fixed hours, during which
you can admire the delicate frescoes
by Giuseppe del Moro. The Kaffeehaus
will soon be reopened to the
public; hot chocolate, coffee, and
other delicious drinks will be served
in a delightful atmosphere.
The Boboli gardens are full of
wonderful corners: the 17th century
“Isolotto” with the fountain of
Oceanus, the statue of Pegasus near
the “Meridiana” wing, and the 16th
century Grotta Grande by Bernardo
Buontalenti create together a very
peaceful atmosphere. During Pitti
Immagine Uomo, the Boboli Gardens
are often the stage of many elegant
fashion shows and “défilés.”
Going out from the gardens, you
have the opportunity to visit, in the
Sala Bianca of the Galleria Palatina,
the exhibition “From Parmigianino
to Tiepolo,” which comprises a selection
of drawings coming from
Bucharest and exhibited in Italy
for the first time (hours: 8.15am -
6.50pm, closed on Mondays, exhibit
ends in July).
Just out of Piazza Pitti, on the left
you find Via Romana, the street of
the museum called “La Specola,” a
Natural History museum, and, opposite
it, the Oratorio dei Bini, a
little museum created in 2003 with
a miscellany of Florentine works of
art (open on Fridays, Saturdays, and
Sundays only, from 3 - 6pm). At the
end of the street, in the Piazzale di
Porta Romana, the restored Gipsoteca
of the Istituto d’Arte opens its
doors with the exhibition of Mario
Botta “Prayers of Stone - Sacred
Architectures,” showing the projects
of the famous Swiss architect who
worked on many churches both in
Italy and abroad.
Via Senese rises up on the opposite
side of Piazzale di Porta Romana:
on the left, at number 89r
the restaurant “Ruggero” (closed
on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) is
the right place for a relaxed dinner
to conclude an interesting, but also
tiring afternoon.

www.theflorentine.net
Life in Italy
17
Thursday 7 July 2005
Culture & CUSTOMS
Enamoured expatriates of Florence
By Emiko Davies
Over the next few
issues, Emiko will
be covering other
famous expatriates
who have made
Florence/Tuscany
their home, including
Dostoyevsky,
Tchaikovsky, Bernard
Berenson, and
Shelley. Originally
from Australia,
Emiko has a degree
in fine art and has
herself been an expat
in three continents
for more than half of
her life.
Late 19th century Florence
was filled with English and
American expatriates; in fact,
30,000 of the 200,000 residents of
Florence were Anglo-Florentines
who had adopted the city. There
seemed to be a particular lure to Italy
for writers and creative intellectuals,
especially British poets, such
as the Brownings, Keats, Byron,
and Shelley. Another was Vernon
Lee (also known as Violet Paget).
Now an elusive figure and vaguely
remembered, she was an intelligent
Victorian writer who was first published
at the age of thirteen. One of
her most celebrated works, Studies
of the 18th century in Italy, an unknown
topic at the time, was published
in 1880 when she was just
twenty-four years old.
Henry James, who also spent
quite some time in Italy, wrote, “a
word of warning about Vernon
Lee… because she is as dangerous
and uncanny as she is intelligent,
which is saying a great deal. Her
vigour and sweep are most rare
and her talk superior altogether…
she is faraway the most able mind
in Florence.” And in her biography,
Peter Gunn adds, “She shone even
in an age which knew both Whistler
and Wilde.”
Vernon Lee was small and slight.
She had cropped hair and a habit of
wearing black silk dresses with high
collars. She had an expressive and
intelligent face, and when she spoke
you could hear a slight foreign
intonation coupled with expressive
Italian gestures. Most distinctive
about her was her arresting
conversation: she had no time for
English small talk.
Violet Paget was born into an
expatriate family that moved to
Florence in 1873, when she was a
teenager. She spent several winters
in Rome and Lake Como with
her childhood friend, John Singer
Sargent, and his family. Sargent was
born in Florence in 1856 in a house
on the Lungarno, and was a student
at the Accademia di Belle Arti. It
was his cultured mother, whom
Violet liked to call the “enchanting
priestess,” who encouraged the
two young friends to plunge into
painting, literature, and music.
Violet and John’s friendship
grew over these periods that the
families spent holidaying together.
They spent a summer in Bologna
together, which Violet described
as “ten days of historico-romantic
rapture,” and had a “so memorable”
winter in Rome in 1868-9 (when
both were just twelve or so), during
which they decided together that
John should become a painter and
Violet a writer. You can just imagine
these two cultured teenagers,
unbeknownst to them at the time
how important they would become
in their respective fields, soaking up
the Italian art, architecture, music,
and literature like thirsty sponges.
The Pagets first lived at Via
Solferino 12, then at Via Garibaldi 5,
and finally from 1889 at the Villa il
Palmerino in Maiano, at the base of
Fiesole. Here, Vernon Lee remained
until her death in 1935.
Basic and intensive courses
Multimedia learning centre with language lab
Free access to internet
Art history, drawing and painting, italian
cooking, wine tasting, fashion design, Opera.
Part II: Vernon Lee and
John Singer Sargent
By 1875, not yet twenty, Violet
had submitted stories to the Italian
literary world, and by this time
she was also fully submersed in
Florentine life. Her research on 18th
century Italy focused on literature,
art, and even music, a previously
untouched area. She argued the
brave and new perspective that it had
been the Italian Scarlatti’s influence
that had led to the development of
melody, when earlier the Germans
had been claiming credit for music’s
development. She became fully
absorbed in the aesthetics and
culture of a previous century.
She wrote travel sketches, essays,
novels, and criticisms, of which one
was her celebrated work Genius
Loci, a traveller’s delight where she
gushes about the hill towns of her
beloved Italy. Maurice Baring said
of this work, “Never was culture so
shot with imagination.”
In her old age, she received
many visitors at the Maiano villa,
including Aldous Huxley (“my
clever young friend”) and H.G.
Wells. She also finally resolved the
famous quarrel between herself and
Bernard Berenson that had lasted
over twenty years.
At her death, Vernon Lee’s
books were left to Florence’s British
Institute, and she was buried with
her brother in the Allori Cemetery in
Florence. Thus ended the time of a
woman whose heart and mind were
full of Florence, and who reminded
us what art, beauty, and travel do to
enhance the soul. “Every creature
worth its salt requires to have
dreamt dreams and gone through
romances, and it matters little what
they are about so long as they serve
to exercise our powers…of loving
and creating what we love.”
Firenze
Learn Italian where it is spoken
EUROCENTRES FIRENZE
Piazza Santo Spirito, 9
50125 FIRENZE
tel. +39 055 213030
fax: +39 055 216497
e-mail: info@ecfi.it

18
Thursday 7 July 2005
Culture & CUSTOMS
Life in Italy
www.theflorentine.net
The “Grassroots Mission” of the U.S. Consulate
By Carla Rossi
An interview with the US Consul
General of Florence, William W.
McIllhenny
Most people who
have spent some
time in Florence
are aware of the existence
of the U.S. Consulate
here. Some may have
even used it for official
reasons; for reporting
lost passports, obtaining
visas for entry into the
U.S., for voting abroad
in U.S. elections, etc.
Or, some may have attended
an anti-war rally,
held often in recent years
in front of the Consulate.
And, possibly others may have
only noticed the striking Palazzo
Canevaro in which the Consulate is
housed, with it’s peculiar trapezoidal
shape and commanding position
along the Arno River.
What most people might not
know, however, is what this Consulate
really represents, what purpose
it serves, and what its mission
of public service and diplomacy in
Italy entails.
The current Consul General of
Florence, William W. McIlhenny,
has been serving here since 2002,
and manages one of America’s
older diplomatic posts (here since
1819)—one he terms a “grassroots”
diplomatic mission that provides a
broad range of services to Americans,
Italians, and U.S. business. He
has overseen, during his tenure, the
biggest expansion in the Consulate’s
services in 20 years. For McIlhenny,
Consulates are “ where the rubber
hits the road in foreign policy”.
“ One of the
Consulate’s main
missions is to
represent U.S.
interests at the
level of local and
regional government
throughout
Tuscany and
Emilia Romagna. ”
They are the ultimate
observation points as
U.S. policies and society
intersect with
foreign public opinion.
“A consulate provides
some of the most direct
contact the US
government has with
public opinion outside
of national capitals,”
he noted.
McIlhenny relishes
his direct contact with
the community, speaking
with thousands of people every
year in the course of hundreds of
events meetings and other events
throughout central Italy and the
Republic of San Marino (where he
serves as the U.S. diplomatic representative).
This contact with local
governments, civil society, the
press, and universities is “a way to
help our embassy in Rome, and the
U.S. government more broadly, understand
what is on peoples’ minds
here—and, just as importantly, to
promote the most honest possible
understanding of the U.S. “
Mr. McIlhenny’s youthful and casual
appearance is a bit deceptive,
considering he already has quite an
impressive career behind him. A former
member of the National Security
Council staff at the White House,
he served as the U.S. representative
(Permanent Observer) to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
in Paris from 1995-99—in addition
to other postings in Washington,
Latin America, and Europe over the
last 21 years. By the time he arrived
here in Florence, he was not a novice.
And his experience and initiative
have created a dynamic period
for the Consulate in Florence.
CULTURAL AFFAIRS OFFICE
One of the Consulate’s main missions
is to represent U.S. interests
at the level of local and regional
government throughout Tuscany
and Emilia Romagna. McIlhenny
speaks passionately of his role to
convey accurate views of U.S. policies
and society here, and has managed
to create some innovative new
services to facilitate his work.
At his urging,
the State Department
opened a
new office for
cultural and education
affairs at
the Consulate,
dedicated to promote
better understanding
of
the U.S. by using,
precisely, culture.
In a much more
inviting approach
to informing Italians
and Americans
alike on U.S.
policy, McIhenny
has taken the
stance that there
is no better way
to do this than by
example. These
days, the Consulate is continuously
hosting various artists and prominent
figures in American cultural
and political life, brokering direct
and relaxed contact with their Italian
counterparts.
Though cultural diplomacy may
have been missing from “local” U.S.
foreign policy in recent years, it now
seems to have taken a priority under
McIlhenny. He believes culture is a
common ground and can be used to
foster better understanding. “Culture
can be extraordinarily important in
reminding people we communicate
in common idioms.”
And, he adds, cultural diplomacy
is fun here in Florence because
XVI EDITION SUMMER SEASON 2005
19 JUNE - 28 JULY

www.theflorentine.net
Life in Italy
19
Thursday 7 July 2005
Culture & CUSTOMS
there is such a high level of cultural
awareness and interest.
A recently acquired enormous
painting by the noted American
artist Gregory Deane hangs in the
Consulate’s library.
Deane is one of many artists who
have been invited to exhibit their
works at the Consulate. McIhenny
explains how Deane’s works, in particular,
are a testament to the success
of multicultural life in the U.S. According
to the Consul General, the
artist’s ability to combine elements
from the many immigrant cultures
that co-exist in his area of California,
provides a striking example of a
piece of art that can make a person
contemplate some of the successes
of American culture.
A painting such as this, commented
McIhenny, can have for
some a more profound effect than
any long-winded speech on U.S.
policies and affairs a Consul General
would otherwise offer.
SERVICE TO U.S.
CITIZENS
The Consulate is, obviously,
not just about
promoting U.S. policy
in Italy. Another key
mission is to provide
services and aid to U.S.
citizens visiting and living
in the Tuscany and
Emilia-Romagna regions.
In large part, this
entails the more technical
aspect of Consulate
functions, managed on
a day-to-day basis by
Consul Steve Harper.
Like McIhenny he is a
career Foreign Service
Officer with wide experience
at Embassies around the
world, including service in Guatemala,
Bangladesh, Bolivia and
Croatia.
“ The Consulate’s
Commercial offi ce
has, in the last
few years, worked
with hundreds of
U.S. companies
interested in doing
business in Italy.”
In Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna,
and the Republic of San Marino,
which are the areas under the jurisdiction
of the Consulate in Florence,
well over one million tourists
pass through each year, 20,000 U.S.
citizens are permanent residents,
and there are about 5,000 students
attending schools at any given time.
Considering these numbers, one can
imagine that this part of the Consulate
is always bustling.
When asked exactly what services
the Consulate offers to U.S.
citizens, Mr. Harper
immediately rattles
off an extensive list of
choices. He also happily
procures a heavy
load of documents offering
more detailed information
on the many
functions of this section
of the Consulate. Mr.
Harper explains that
the Consulate “offers
a full range of services
with the exception of
pension assistance”.
This means U.S. citizens
can replace and
renew passports, here.
They can register
new U.S. citizens who
are born, get assistance if injured
or have been arrested, register to
vote, and get some help with tax information.
There are handouts that
provide lists of lawyers and doctors
who speak English, information on
how to obtain an Italian driver’s license,
how to obtain Italian citizenship,
get a divorce, get reimbursed
for IVA Tax, to name just a few.
There is also a notary service available
for those who would prefer to
avoid complicated and expensive
Italian notaries.
In 2003 the Consulate re-opened
a non-immigrant visa office, serving
citizens of Italy and other countries
who require visas to travel to the
U.S. The Consulate has become the
main visa application point for 8 of
Italy’s 20 regions, and this year will
conduct approximately 10,000 individual
visa interviews.
THE COMMERCIAL OFFICE
And, yes, there is yet another section
of the Consulate, the Commercial
Office, whose aim is to promote
U.S. business in Italy. Though the
number one and number two private
employers in Tuscany are American
owned companies Nuovo Pignone
General Electric and Eli Lilly, on a
larger scale, the U.S. has an $18 billion
trade deficit with Italy.
The Consulate’s Commercial
office has, in the last few years,
worked with hundreds of U.S. companies
interested in doing business
in Italy. The Consulate’s services
include arranging business appointments
in Italy for U.S. companies,
organizing and hosting American
businesses that come here to participate
in Italian trade shows, and
organizing Italian buyer delegations
to travel to U.S. trade events. This
dynamic section is responsible for
U.S. export successes that have netted
millions in contracts for American
companies in recent years.
CONSULATE
INFORMATION
Lungarno Vespucci, 38
50123, Florence
Tel: 055 266951
fax: 055 215550
Email: florence@state.gov
Hours:
9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday
Florence Consulate website:
www.usembassy.it/florence/
Registration of U.S. Citizens
abroad:
http://travelregistration.state.
gov/ibrs/
State Department Travel
Information:
www.travel.state.gov

20
Thursday 7 July 2005
The ARTS
Life in Italy
www.theflorentine.net
When Tourists Feel Strange:
15 years after The Stendhal Syndrome
By Joseph E. Calderone
When Inge was struck by
Brunelleschi’s sculpted
wooden “Crucifix” and
Nardo di Cione’s “Last Judgement”
in the Strozzi Chapel, and by the
magnificently frescoed Spanish
Chapel where everything is in the
feminine, she saw those raised fingers
in the fresco accusing her. “It’s
my fault my mother died…But, am
I dreaming?” She returned to her
pensione with a stinging sense of
alarm, a sense that she was an outsider
in this place. “What am I doing
here?” she wondered. Inge felt
as though she had disturbed the delicate
order of things. Everyone was
beginning to talk about her in many
different languages. “I had caused
a big scandal,” she said, “it seemed
they were writing about me in newspapers,
they were talking about me
on the radio, and they were following
me on the streets.”
Perhaps you recall the scene from
E.M Forster’s travel novel, A Room
with a View, when Lucy is caught
in Piazza Santa Croce on a hot and
humid afternoon without her Baedeker’s
guidebook. Although she
admires the majesty and aesthetic
beauty of the church Lucy feels lost
without her guidebook and lacks
the confidence to view the art in its
context. Later in the novel, she is
in Piazza della Signoria and notices
two Italian men arguing. Then she
witnesses the savagery of one of the
men being stabbed, blood trickling
from between his lips. In one moment
she is witness to conflicting
imagery of beauty and horror, eros
and thanatos. This condition of sundromos,
or ‘running together’ of disparate
emotions evokes in Lucy an
inexplicable hysteria and psychosomatic
reaction. She faints unexpectedly
only to be revived by George,
an unrefined man of whom she dismisses
then later falls in love. Much
has changed since the days of innocent
Victorian women swooning in
piazzas under heavy layers of petticoat,
but today, at the very least, we
have some hard science to explain
these phenomena.
Although these true and fictional
stories seem to have been pulled
directly from a ‘News of the Weird’
column, they share an element in
common: they are all symptoms of
a psychiatric condition typical to
Florence called Stendhal Syndrome.
Any tourist who becomes struck by
this illness is in the great majority
of cases referred to the hospital of
Santa Maria Nuova’s first aid station.
Stendhal Syndrome is a psychosomatic
illness that causes rapid
heartbeat, dizziness, confusion, and
even hallucinations when the individual
is exposed to an overdose of
beautiful art, paintings, and artistic
masterpieces. It shares common
characteristics with other syndromes
like the Stockholm and Jerusalem
syndromes.
Like other syndromes it is a complexity
of symptoms leading to an
abnormal state of mind and body. If
you happen to be struck by this illness,
you will probably get a housecall
or an emergency visit from my
aunt, Graziella Magherini, the psychiatrist
and brains behind the theory.
Over a ten-year period, from
1977 to 1986, she observed a correlation
between certain psychiatric
disorders and travelling combined
with the viewing of artwork that
manifested in abnormal behaviour.
It has been 15 years since her discoveries
were published in a book
entitled La Sindrome di Stendahl
(1990). The study won Dr. Magherini
global critical acclaim. Cult
filmmaker Dario Argento directed
a horror movie by the same name.
As recent as 2003, Tony Award-winning
playwright, Terrence McNally,
directed a two-act play starring Isabella
Rosellini, and The New York
Times Magazine’s “Fall Fashion
Issue” dedicated an article to her
theory. The Stendhal Syndrome
has gotten a lot of mileage. But why
is there still such a fuss over these
findings? We asked Dr. Graziella
Magherini the reasons behind the
timelessness of her theory.
Is there a timeless quality about your
findings that continues to catch people’s
interest?
The Stendhal Syndrome is current
and constantly renews itself.
As long as there are people visiting
museums and reflecting on artwork
the theory will always be acknowledged:
even in its more ‘physiological’
forms. That is, if a tourist encounters
a work of art with a receptive
soul, desiring to ‘understand,’
the work will prove to be a moment
of uncertainty and of suffering that
becomes an “obligatory” passage
until the tested emotion transforms
itself into an aesthetic and conscious
pleasure. The clinical cases
that I have discovered and studied
are only the tip of the iceberg of a
phenomenon much more diffuse
that forms the basis of the “aesthetic”
experience.
How did you feel about Dario Argento’s
treatment of the subject matter?
Did you think it was exploitative?
Regarding Dario Argento’s film, I
contributed to the first part, the part
of the film that dealt with the spontaneous
emergence of the psychic
episode of suffering in the young
female police officer in front of the
paintings. The theory was realized
very well. The second half of the
film, on the other hand, is uniquely
Dario Argento’s. Film is, after all, a
collaborative process.
A few years ago someone attacked
the David with a hammer? Was this
part of the syndrome?
Yes. Even the need to disfigure
art is a part of this syndrome.
Why are people fascinated by mental
illness?
People are fascinated by mental
illness because unbeknownst to
them mental illness touches then,
unconsciously, the insane part of
every sane person.
Does the Syndrome have something
to do with the magic of Florence?
Florence is certainly a city capable
of unchaining the syndrome. In
a small territory there is such a large
concentration of history, culture,
and artistic beauty. It’s an overdose.
Under these circumstances the past
re-emerges and imposes itself on the
mind. Visits to a city like Florence,
full of history and art, touch everyone’s
personal lives.
Is it time to re-release the book? In
English this time?
Yes. Although it has been translated
in many languages, I would be
very happy to see it in English.
American Cars Club
www.americancarsclub.it
On The Road Cars Show
American cars fair and fashion
July, 15-16-17 2005
info@americancarsclub.it

www.theflorentine.net
Life in Italy
21
Thursday 7 July 2005
Food & WINE
Wine and Dine:
Sleepy Settignano’s Best Kept Secret
By Tova Piha
A
stone’s throw away from Florence,
yet overlooked by most
tourist itineraries, is Settignano,
a largely undiscovered treasure
of a town that sits quietly and tranquilly
to the northeast of the city.
Although its vistas are perhaps not
quite on a par to those of Fiesole, its
dignified and peaceful charm, having
inspired artisans and artists for
hundreds of years, remains uncontaminated
and timeless.
Here Michelangelo spent much of
his youth, reportedly watching and
developing a passion for the sculpting
craft of the native stonecutters,
who worked the pietra serena stone
found in the nearby caves of Maiano
into the doorframes, pillars, and
bricks used in the construction of
palazzi throughout both Florence
and Settignano.
Here in Settignano you will
also find the beautiful, manicured
gardens of the Villa Gamberaia,
through which you can stroll/spend
an afternoon in for a 10 euro entrance
fee (open 9-18, Via del Rossellino
72; in July and August e-mail
villagam@tin.it to book a visit). The
serene, symmetrical gardens, a work
of topiary art developed and completed
by various owners of both
Italian and foreign nobility, offer
wide views and shaded paths, sunny
spots, quiet corners, chirping birds,
reflecting pools, and splashes of colourful
flowers.
It is on the road to these gardens,
however, that you will discover a
very much living, breathing, working
example of small-town Tuscan
life, untouched by contemporary
rush and yet not behind the times.
On the corner of Via del Rossellino
and Via S. Romano is La Sosta del
Rossellino (the respite of Rossellino,
famous sculptor and architect),
an intimate and warm winery-restaurant
very much true to the family-established,
family-owned, and
family-run Italian tradition. As such,
it offers a truly Italian experience to
a mostly Italian, often regular, clientele.
You will not find yourself in the
company of many expatriates should
you choose to respite here! With
room to accommodate forty people, if
you’ve got a table (which, mind you,
were all designed and hand-painted
by a friend of the family-owners), it’s
yours for the evening. And as the
Italians do, you should feel perfectly
free to eat and drink, talk and laugh
late into the night.
Your evening’s gracious host will
be Damiano Miniera, owner and
father, creator, inventor, chef, and
storyteller. Damiano came to Florence
from Corleone, Sicily when he
was eighteen to complete his military
service. And while Settignano
is known for the various artists; including
writers, painters, and architects;
who have made it their home,
in Damiano the town attracted a culinary
artiste. Indeed, he is in charge
of the cooking, which he does during
the day, allowing him to greet,
serve, and chat to his customers in
the evenings. In the kitchen Damiano,
with patience and passion,
prepares local Tuscan fare but with
a personal, innovative touch. He is
known for his homemade gnocchi,
already quite difficult to make the
traditional way, but Damiano will
have none of the eggs and flour
that usually facilitate the process
but also make the pasta heavier,
denser. Damiano’s gnocchi, made
solely of potatoes, are pure and
light, delicate and divine.
To accompany Damiano’s creations,
each dish is paired with a
particular wine, chosen carefully to
best complement the food’s tastes
and ingredients. Coca-cola and beer
are appropriately absent from the
menu, and wines line the shelves
on the wall of the enoteca, just as
books line those of a biblioteca, a
library. And at La Sosta, even the
serving of the wine has been given
thought to. Each glass is decanted
with the Versovino, a glass-blown
device invented and patented by
none other than Damiano himself!
The little decanter attaches directly
to the neck of the wine bottle, and
in addition to making sure that each
glass of wine contains the exact
standard volume of 100 mL, it individually
aerates the wine for each
glass served at La Sosta. On average,
one pays 40 to 45 euros a head
for a full, three-course dinner, and
both the Versovino (www.versovino.com)
and bottles of wine can be
purchased at the enoteca.
The restaurant itself is rustic and
welcoming, decorated with warm
colours and organic designs. The
bars protruding from the wall over
the fireplace, intended for hanging
meat but now empty, are a reminder
of the enoteca’s humble beginnings
as a pizzicheria, when it was more of
a deli, selling meats and cheeses, bits
and bobs. In the wintertime, a blazing
fire adds further warmth to the
ambience, and in the summer, the
tall windows with a twinkling view
of Florence are kept wide-open.
When making reservations (055
697245), be sure to ask for a table
with a view, and although there is no
outside seating per se, for a particularly
romantic, intimate evening, one
can reserve the only table (only for
two) on the petite terrace.
Thus Settignano, an inspirational
home for many an artist and artisan,
is also the home to practitioners
of the art of restauranteering. Damiano
and his daughter Silvia have
put it all together with the utmost of
care and attention, and dining with
them, at La Sosta del Rossellino, is
a cultural as well as culinary experience
that, just like Settignano itself,
should not be overlooked.
o

22
Thursday 7 July 2005
Travel & LEISURE
Enchanting Taormina
By Rocelle Del Borrello
Life in Italy
www.theflorentine.net
Taormina has long been Sicily’s
most favourite resort town.
Situated in the northwest of
the island, it is perched on a coastal
escarpment that looks out onto the
Tyrrhenian sea between Messina
and Catania. Its ancient narrow
streets are full of small specialist
shops, cafes, and restaurants, which
invite visitors to step into the spell
cast by this intriguing town.
Indeed, this romantic city has
been the inspiration of writers and
poets alike, including D.H. Lawrence
who lived in the town for a
number of years. Here in Taormina
he found the inspiration to write his
most famous work: the passionate
love story of Lady Chatterley’s
Lover.
Taormina was settled in 395 BCE
by residents from the nearby town
of Giardini- Naxos, Sicily’s oldest
Greek-established city dating
back to 735 BCE. Taormina flourished
during ancient Roman times,
its beauty and culinary products
praised by many ancient writers.
Taormina survived the fall of the
Roman Empire, but her importance
did decrease after later invasions
by the Arabs, Byzantines, and Normans,
who all left their mark on the
city with the fortifications they built
above it.
The ancient quality of the town
is truly magical; even a simple walk
through the main street will have
you smitten. The array of specialty
shops full of fashion designer clothing,
jewellery, ceramics, mosaics,
puppets, antique books, and artwork
are fascinating to browse through.
The sunny squares along the main
street are perfect for soaking up the
golden sunshine and admiring the
views. The narrow streets, with their
characteristic wrought iron balconies,
lanterns, and lava stone pave-
ment, are full of delicate homes and
intricate churches.
The best view in Taormina is to be
seen from the Greek Amphitheatre,
which looks out
onto the crystal
clear Tyrrhenian
Sea towards the
Mount Etna volcano,
a true symbol
of Sicily. The
amphitheatre was
built in the third
century BCE by
the Greeks and
is still the site of
summer festival
performances. Below the theatre
are the enchanting public gardens,
home to rare plants and characteristic
stone structures, which are scattered
throughout the gardens like
little magical castles.
June is dedicated to the annual
Taormina BNL film festival, which
begins on the 11th and runs until
the 18th and features screenings of
both Italian and international films
in the charming setting of the
Greek theatre. At this year’s
festival, Ingmar Bergman will
be awarded the Fellini award
for cinematic excellence. He is
only part of this year’s line up of
international guests.
Apart from the film festival
there is the equally impressive
Taormina Arte festival which
features a variety of visual and
performing arts. A terrific array
of events are performed in the
Teatro Antico and the Palazzo
dei Congressi of Taormina. This
year the list includes: Diana
Ross (in concert on July 9); Womad
in Taormina, a three-day
festival of world music (from
July 14-16); Italian classical artists
like Edoardo Bennato (July 10); and
contemporary music from the Italian
singer Giorgia, who will host
a concert with
Ricky Fanté on
July 12.
August in
Taormina is dedicated
to those
with more classical
tastes, and
begins with the
Vilnius
Festival
Orchestra, fea-
turing
violinist
Vadim
Repin,
on the first of the month. Following
is the third annual opera season of
Taormina with a new production of
Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
on the 9th, 10th and 12th. The
Summer winds down with the ballet
of Don Quixote, choreographed by
Milena Zullo and featuring the Ballet
Company of Rome, on the17th.
A final concert by Francesco De
Gregori concludes August festivities
on the 21st of the month.
This year, Taormina Arte features
the newly-started Sinopoli Festival,
whose impressive programme includes
an opening concert with the
La Scala Philarmonic, conducted
by Daniele Gatti, and the Sinopoli
Chamber Orchestra of Taormina
Arte, which will perform the music
of maestro Sinopoli.
Staying in Taormina can be costly
but don’t overlook the nearby
coastal town of Giardini Naxos; it
is a good alternative for more reasonably
priced accommodation. A
good idea would be to stay on the
beach at Giardini Naxos during the
day and then climb up to Taormina
during the afternoon to browse the
shops and eat an exquisite seafood
dinner.
It’s easy to reach Taormina by
express bus from Catania airport.
You’ll have to park your car outside
town as the centre of Taormina is
closed off to traffic in the Summer.
The good news is there’s really no
need for a car as Taormina is small
and best negotiated by foot anyway.
A funicular cableway connects the
town to coastal Mazzarò below.
For information on the
Taormina Film Festival:
www.taorminafilmfest.it/2005/
english/
For information on the
Taormina Arte Festival:
www.taormina-arte.com/2005/
For accommodation suggestions
see the Taormina Hotel
Association site:
http://www.taohotels.com
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23
Thursday 7 July 2005
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