Without the Arno, Florence would be like Romolo - The Florentine

Anno 3 numero 49 - Firenze Thursday 8 February 2007 

Big Brother 

gets bigger 

20 additional anti-rape 

surveillance cameras 

around centre 

VOLVO XC70. 

DON’T STOP TO EXPLORE. 

Media empire 

thwarted 

Anti-monopoly bill 

angers Berlusconi 

Silver River sings the blues 

Below-average water levels threaten the Arno 

Without the Arno, Florence would be like Romolo without Remo. Yet once again, the 

dangerously low water levels in Tuscany’s most legendary waterway has caused some 

to become increasingly concerned about the fate of the city’s most distinctive trademark. 

In fact, water levels are down in most of the region’s fresh-water basins, with both the 

parched Mugnone and Lake Bilancino recording considerable decreases in water levels compared 

to last year’s records. 

While most environmental experts have been pointing their fingers at the milder and drierthan-usual 

temperatures experienced this winter, they do caution against declaring a water 

shortage a ‘state of emergency’. In fact, the majority of experts are waiting until the summer 

in order to reassess the bleak situation, while remaining hopeful that a rainy spring will bring 

water levels back up to average. Others instead seem to blame the Arno’s excessive aridness 

on the ‘crazed river’ itself. According to environmental councilor, Claudio Del Lungo, history has 

shown that the Arno is capable of just about anything: ‘one day in 1985, the recorded water levels 

were frighteningly low, while just 20 years prior Florence was almost completely drowned 

by the flood’. The river is prone to go from torrents to trickles, and back again, it seems. While 

experts have unanimously refuted to declare a state of emergency, the rest of us are left reminiscing 

of Florence’s beloved silver river. 

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Making 

connections 

through theater 

Day of memory takes 

center stage at FITC event 

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by Mary Ann Pinto 

by P.M. Louis 

see pg.4 see pg. 6 

see pg. 18 see pg. 21 

MOBILE 

MISBEHAVIOUR 

Cell phone abuse rampant 

in local schools 

Armed with cellular phones, 

teenage bullies have become 

as terrifying as a pack of hungry 

lions hunting for prey. In wake of 

the recent string of indecent, violent 

episodes involving teens and 

mobile phone use, many have 

been questioning the degree to 

which teens should be punished 

for committing such harmful acts. 

Questions abound. Are they too 

young to be able to appreciate the 

consequences of their actions? 

Where do we draw the line regarding 

cell phone use and ‘abuse’? 

Should juvenile laws be amended 

in order to address such misbehaviour 

by way of mobiles? 

see pg. 2

2 

Thursday 8 February 2007 

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Programs, CLIDA Centro Linguistico Dante Alighieri, Eurocentre, Europass 

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Institute of America, Gonzaga University, Harding University In Florence, 

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International School - Upper & Lower, Istituto Americano, Istituto Europeo, 

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Tecnico “A. Volta”, Live Institute, James Madison University, Jennifer Williams 

- Scuola Biblica, Kent State University, Koiné Center, Scuola del Cuoio 

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Medical Service, Internet Service, Lory Copy Store, Nuovo Pignone, Odeon 

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Unicef, United States of America Consulate, Walking Tours of Florence 

News & Views 


PICK-UP POINTS Florence NEWS 

MOBILE MISBEHAVIOUR 

Cell phone abuse rampant in local schools 

Meanwhile, photos and video clips 

of beatings and violence toward 

other classmates, sexually explicit 

shots and even videos of sex in the 

classroom continue to send shock 

waves throughout Italian schools. 

Last week, a middle school in the 

province of Florence was added 

to the long list of sites of incidents 

involving teenagers and mobile 

phone misuse. 

A middle school in Calenzano is 

still reeling after a photo of a girl’s 

backside was shot by bullying boys 

on a cell phone and then passed 

around from one schoolmate to 

another until the entire school got 

wind of the photo. It all happened 

while in religion class, when a boy 

pulled down the 13-year-old girl’s 

trousers in order to get a snapshot of 

her bare bottom. He and his friends 

then mocked her into silence and the 

photo began circulating on cellular 

phones throughout the school for 

several days until the intimidated girl 

fi nally told her parents about what 

happened. Needless to say, her 

mother was outraged and appalled. 

After failing in several attempts to 

speak with the school principal, 

the woman went to the police and 

reported the crime to local Carabinieri. 

After days of humiliation and 

embarrassment, the girl’s mother 

decided to pull her from the school 

continued from pg. 1 

and enroll her in a private school in 

order to save her daughter from the 

pain of being incessantly heckled in 

the school corridor. 

A verbal battle consequently 

ensued between the girl’s mother, 

who accused the principal of not 

punishing the boys enough for their 

act; the school principal, who issued 

a memo advising all girls attending 

the school that they were not to come 

to school wearing low-rise pants; and 

the mother of the accused, who contends 

that even though her son made 

a mistake, ‘he didn’t even touch the 

girl’. According to the boy’s mother, 

the three-day suspension from school, 

which he did received from the principal, 

was punishment enough. Instead, 

the school principal remains strong in 

her conviction that she ‘did the right 

thing’ in punishing the boy and issuing 

the memo banning low-rise pants. 

Meanwhile the victim of the crime has 

been forced to change schools in 

order to overcome the trauma caused 

by such an experience. 

Reversing the brain drain 

U.S. initiative aimed at encouraging Italian entrepreneurs 

Five of Italy’s best engineering 

and science students have 

kicked off the fi rst edition of 

a novel work-study exchange program, 

called the Fulbright-BEST 

(Business Exchange and Student 

Training) Silicon Valley Exchange 

Program, launched by the U.S. 

Embassy in Italy. The six-month 

pilot program will allow these students 

to gain valuable knowledge 

and experience in California’s own 

Silicon Valley, where they will 

attend business classes at the Santa 

Clara University of California and 

work as interns in one of Silicon 

Valley’s fastest-growing companies. 

U.S. Ambassador to Italy, Ronald 

Spogli, has stated that ‘the BEST 

Program is designed to encourage 

entrepreneurship in Italy by allowing 

students, young managers and 

regional and municipal offi cials 

to learn fi rst-hand how entrepreneurship 

in the U.S. works.’ The 

Fulbright BEST program is part 

of a larger initiative set up by the 

U.S. Embassy called ‘Partnership 

for Growth’, aimed at enhancing 

economic dynamism in Italy and 

stimulating economic competition 

through new and innovative business 

ventures. 

For more information see 

http://italy.usembassy.gov


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editor in chief Nita Tucker 

managing editor Linda Falcone 

news editor Brenda Dionisi 

cultural editor Jane Fortune 

events Marco Badiani 

this issue’s contributors 

James Douglas, Sabine Eiche, Mary Ann 

Pinto, Deirdre Pirro, Samuel Jay Keyser, 

Richard Keenan, P.M. Louis and Ellen Wert 

pubblicità/sales Giacomo Badiani 

pubblicita@thefl orentine.net 

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Registrazione Trib. di Prato n.4 del 12/09/06 

The much-anticipated three-year 

event schedule prepared by the 

Fondazione Strozzi was presented 

last week, marking the debut 

of Florence’s newest cultural alliance. 

The Fondazione Strozzi unites 

the city’s public and private sectors, 

becoming the leading authority on 

cultural events in the city. It is a 

bona fi de cultural think tank alla 

fi orentina, aimed at promoting ‘creativity 

and innovation’ and thereby 

ensuring the city’s centuries-long 

dedication to maintaining its artistic 

and cultural heritage. The threeyear 

schedule is an ambitious one, 

offering not only seven world-class 

art exhibits, but also a wide array of 

concerts, seminars, encounters and 

multimedia events to be held in a 

transformed Palazzo Strozzi. The 

renovated palazzo will boast a bar, 

bookshop and restaurant in hopes of 

welcoming over hundreds of thousands 

of visitors at a time. 

The 2007–2009 program is, in 

part, dedicated to the contemporary 

art and culture world, an area which 

has recently become a battleground 

for debate due to the general lack 

of interest by public offi cials in this 

specifi c realm of artistic expression. 

Aside from the events scheduled, 

which celebrate modern and contemporary 

art, general director of 

the Fondazione, James Bradburne, 

announced that the 1,500-squaremetre 

Strozzina will become the offi - 

cial home of contemporary art in the 

city and will showcase photography, 

design and architecture and video 

and digital art exhibitions celebrating 

the work of the world’s most 

highly acclaimed contemporary artists, 

such as Bill Viola, James Turrell, 

Damien Hirst and Candida Hofer. 

The Strozzina will also be an impor- 

News 

Close encounters 

for culture 

Fondazione Strozzi presents 

far-reaching calendar 

tant springboard for Tuscany’s young 

and up-and-coming contemporary 

artists. Bradbourne also added that 

Fort Belvedere ‘will probably host 

modern and contemporary sculpture 

exhibitions as of 2008’, though 

things are still up in the air regarding 

this possible venue, while Palazzo 

Strozzi’s main fl oor will host the 

classic ‘internationally recognized’ 

art exhibits, which will attract visitors 

from around the globe. 

Fondazione Strozzi’s fi rst event 

is the much-anticipated Cézanne 

a Firenze exhibition, running from 

March 1st to July 29th, which will 

showcase the private art collections 

of Egisto Paolo Fabbri and Charles 

Alexander Loeser alongside several 

of Cézanne’s impressionist masterpieces. 

Next up is an exhibit celebrating 

female fashions from the 

1980s and 1990s, with pieces by 

Issey Miyake, Vivian Westwood and 

Thierry Mugler on display, running 

from October 2007 to January 2008 

and in collaboration with Pitti Discovery. 

In 2008, three mega-events 

are in store, starting in spring with 

an exposition on ancient Chinese 

art, Celeste Impero, after which it 

will travel to Rome. From July to 

December, Palazzo Strozzi will host 

Dipingere a luce which will showcase 

circa 60 Impressionist masterpieces. 

Later in autumn, an event 

called Donne al potere will be held 

in celebration of two queens hailing 

from the infamous Medici family. 

The largest and most important 

event of 2009 will be an interactive 

event dedicated to Galileo Galilei, 

called Macrocosmo, beginning 

in spring. It will be followed in 

autumn by exhibit which will journey 

through illusion and reality in 

art, Dolci inganni. 

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Florence NEWS 

Table of CONTENTS 

Florence News 

Silver River sings the blues 

Big Brother gets bigger 

Memory train 

remembers Holocaust 

National News 

Media empire thwarted 

Promises in progress 

Sport News 

Time to draw the line 

Rossi pens new Yamaha deal 

Movies Reviews 

The Holiday 

An Inconvenient Truth 

Stranger Than Fiction 

Breaking and Entering 

EVENTS 

1- 5 

6 

7 

8 

9 - 13 

What’s happening in Florence 

Up Close & 

Personal 

An Interview with 

Antonina Bargellini 

Mosaics 

Italian Voices 

‘Mah’ 

14-15 

The past in wax at ‘La Specola’ 

Jane’s GEMS 

Culture & Customs 

To whom we owe it all 

Culture & Customs 

The night the bridges came 

falling down 

Travel & Leisure 

Seeing in the rain 

The Arts 

Making connections 

through theater 

The Arts 

Stark contrasts 

Classifi ed 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23

4 

Thursday 8 February 2007 News 


News in BRIEF 

News in BRIEF 

‘Giovanni’ from the block 

Want to be on a fi rst name 

basis ■ with the city of Florence? 

Call Nine out lives the for name two-wheelers ‘Andrea’ and 

3,201 The Florentine men and boys municipal will answer. police 

According will be sending to a recent 96 abandoned city-wide 

name and unreclaimed search, ‘Andrea’ bikes takes to fi the rst 

place underprivileged as the most people common of Okolo fi rst 

name in the African throughout Congo, the as Munici- part of 

pality a project of Florence. called Una Marco bici slides per il 

into Congo. second Upon place city councilor with more Gra- 

than ziano 3,000. Cioni’s Third motion place to donate goes 

to these Alessandro two-wheeled at 2,700. wonders And for to 

women? one of Africa’s Try Francesca—at most poverty- least 

2,012 stricken Florentine areas, the Florentine girls go city by 

that administration name. There has are once also 1,794 again 

donne confi rmed who its answer dedication to ‘Laura’ and 

and long-standing 1,542 called commitment ‘Silvia.’ to aiding 

the disadvantaged in Africa. 

Tales from the nose 

that ■ grows 

A Vandal centuries-old slashes giant oak featured 

Tournabuoni’s in Carlo treasure Collodi’s The 

Adventures Last week, of owners Pinocchio of the is Floailing,rentine tree art experts gallery said Tournabuoni 

on Monday. 

Experts Arte, Roberto from all over Casamonti Tuscany and are 

being Anna called Ostellari, to protect were astonished the 600year-old 

to fi nd one oak of that their is most included valuable on 

UNESCO’s pieces on display World Heritage at Bologna’s List. 

It Arte inspired Fiera slashed Collodi, to who bits wrote by an 

a unknown fi nal episode vandal. The in work which of the art, 

wooden entitled Psico-foil puppet was by the suspended 83-year- 

from old Sicilian the giant artist oak Carla and Accardi, left to 

die. was Collodi valued at originally over 300 wrote thousand Pinocchio 

euro. Casamonti in a serialised and form Ostellari for a 

weekly are baffl children’s ed by the magazine. vandalous The act, 

grisly stating ending ‘we horrifi can’t ed believe the story’s why 

young someone readers would and want the protests to com- 

prompted mit such an the act author when to there resume were 

writing. other more Collodi valuable penned pieces a further left in 

19 our episodes, kiosk, including wrapping a few up pieces with 

a by classic Fontana fairy-tale and a happy Picasso’. ending The 

in police which are the currently wooden investigating Pinocchio 

fi this nally peculiar becomes act a of real vandalism. boy. 

■ 

Hop to the rescue 

For over a month now, the World 

Wildlife Fund of Florence has 

been fresh on the heels of frogs 

and their other long-legged family 

members in an effort to rescue 

them from being unknowingly fl attened 

by passing cars. The WWF 

has been recruiting several volunteers 

as part of an initiative called 

Operazione Salvarospi which is 

aimed at curbing the bloodshed 

of frogs, toads and other amphibians 

living in and around the 

WWF Focognano Oasis on the 

outskirts of Florence. Director of 

the oasis, Carlo Scoccianti, has 

stated that amphibians in the area 

are most at risk at this time of year 

because they are waking from 

hibernation and are in search of 

wet and humid environments. As 

a result, WWF volunteers will be 

patrolling the high-risk streets surrounding 

the Focognano Oasis, 

as well as high-humidity areas 

in and around Florence, such as 

Osmannoro and Figline Valdarno. 

Those interested in giving a helping 

hand can call 055477876. 

Big Brother gets bigger 

20 additional anti-rape surveillance cameras around centre 

In addition to the 96 surveillance 

cameras in Florence, 

the city’s Safety Committee 

has announced that another 20 

cameras will be installed throughout 

city streets in order to curb 

the ever-increasing incidences of 

sexual assaults in the central core. 

This decision was taken in light of 

recent statistics revealing that the 

number of sexual assaults in the 

city is up 10.9 percent from last 

year, and up 5.6 percent in the rest 

of the province. Several weeks ago, 

Florence’s Prefect, Andrea De Martino, 

released the city’s 2006 Public 

Safety Report, which reported 

a signifi cant rise in the number of 

Hard day’s night 

Report exposes shaky employment stats 

The employment rate in Tuscany 

rose in 2006 to almost 

65 percent, though statistics 

revealed that most workers were 

at an increased risk of fi nding 

contract, or precarious employment, 

thus following the general 

trend in the rest of Italy toward an 

increased use of unstable employment 

contracts offered by both the 

public and private sectors. In fact, 

the regional newspaper La Nazione 

recently reported that as many as 

500 people at Florence’s city hall 

are contract, or precarious, workers. 

The 2006 Istat report, released 

a few weeks ago, reveals that there 

is work to be found in the Tuscan 

region, but the pay stub still leaves 

much to be desired. In fact, the 

report illustrated that an average 

sexual aggressions and violence 

toward women in 2006, as well as 

an increased number of robberies 

and thefts in the centre. De Martino 

asserted that the statistics revealing 

a higher incidence of sexual assaults 

are essentially due to ‘an increased 

number of rape victims who are 

now going to the police and reporting 

sex crimes’. 

Public Order offi cials have also 

cited that most victims of rape in the 

past year tended to be younger foreign 

women who have come to Florence 

on holiday or to study. Moreover, 

alcohol consumption seems to 

have played a considerable role in 

several sexual assaults reported in 

2006. Other crime statistics released 

by the Prefect have shown a general 

increase in the number of commercial 

and residential thefts in the rest 

of the province, more so than in the 

city. As well, drug-related crimes and 

homicides seem to have dropped 

slightly, while crimes related to 

prostitution and pornography have 

risen. Although the statistics show 

a general decrease in crime in the 

central core, De Martino asserts ‘the 

citizens of Florence feel less safe and 

their sense of safety has signifi cantly 

decreased in this past year’. 

salary in Tuscany in 2006 was just 

around 1,000 euro net—yes, that is 

right—making it just over the poverty 

line. 

This sorry state of affairs refl ects 

the dynamics of the new labour market 

in Tuscany, making the number 

of stable, regular employment work 

contracts a thing of the past. This 

tendency follows the same shift evidenced 

in the national labour market, 

albeit the skies seem clearer 

over the former Grand Duchy territory 

than in the rest of the country. 

More precisely, Istat reported a 4.7 

percent decrease in unemployment 

from 2006, and on a happier note, 

the number of female employees in 

the Tuscan workforce are almost 

equal in number to their male counterparts. 


COAST 

IS CLEAR 

Expert calms fears 

about Tuscany’s 

disappearing coastline 

According to the University of 

Florence’s leading physical 

geography professor, Enzo Pranzini, 

there is no need to fret about 

Tuscan’s disappearing coastline 

due to erosion, which in the last 

120 years has worn away hundreds 

of metres of beach, nor to 

the threat of rising sea levels. 

In the wake of the alarming data 

and previsions that have continued 

to bombard the world regarding 

the acute climate change in 

course and the extent to which 

the greenhouse effect has, and 

will, negatively effect our environment, 

Pranzini contends that the 

Tuscan Maremma is pretty much 

safe and sound, so to speak. 

Although he denies a looming 

environmental catastrophe 

on the horizon, he does not disallow 

the possibility that there will 

probably be signifi cant changes 

to the already marshy land near 

the coast. In fact, he admits that 

the wettest areas, such as Lake 

Massaciuccoli, as well as the wet 

plains surrounding Pisa, San Rossore, 

Follonica and Castiglione, 

will eventually fl ood, becoming 

marshland. 

Apparently, the Tuscan coastline 

gets a good bill of health, 

because through human intervention 

it is still possible to save 

disappearing beaches, especially 

if one looks at the areas surrounding 

Marina di Massa and Ronchi, 

where sand and rock barriers 

were installed about 300 metres 

from the coastline in 2000 by 

the Tuscan Region. Since then, 

the coastline in these areas has 

ceased to erode. As a result, in 

2003 the Tuscan Region fi nanced 

similar interventions throughout 

the region.


TIES THAT BIND 

Most Tuscans say yes to 

common-law unions 

As one of the most ancient 

cruxes of liberalist thought 

in Europe, not many can deny 

the fact that Tuscany is perhaps 

the most progressive of Italian 

regions. Well, Tuscan citizens 

have once again confi rmed their 

commitment to the socialist 

cause in support of the very controversial 

Pacs legislation, which, 

if passed by parliament, will give 

legal status to civil unions on the 

national, regional and provincial 

level. Recent debates have fl ared 

behind closed parliamentary 

doors as of late about whether or 

not to follow the general European 

trend toward the legal recognition 

of common-law couples. 

And all while, the majority of 

those Florentines in favour of the 

cause are probably not aware 

that, just over ten years ago, Pisa 

was the fi rst city in Italy to offi cially 

record the presence of commonlaw 

couples, registering over 40 

civil unions in the city and province, 

including fi ve gay couples. 

Soon after, Florence, Scandicci, 

Pistoia, Piombino and Empoli 

followed in Pisa’s footsteps by 

keeping offi cial accounts of the 

number of unwed couples in their 

jurisdictions. Without a national 

law to address the issue, these 

municipal efforts did not have 

much success, with very few couples 

declaring their common-law 

status in city halls. 

VISIT OUR BLOG 

http://theflorentine. 

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News 

Memory train 

remembers Holocaust 

Tuscan students embark on a journey to Auschwitz 

Last week, 500 Tuscan 

high school 

and university students, 

alongside teachers 

and municipal offi - 

cials, travelled on the 

Treno della Memoria to 

Auschwitz in order to 

commemorate Europe’s 

Holocaust victims. In a 

moving display of solidarity, 

students participated 

in a memorial celebration 

in one of Auschwitz’s lagers, 

and were accompanied by regional 

councilor, Ugo Caffaz, where they 

prayed and sang songs in Hebrew, 

Top spot for 

taxpayers 

Siena, Pisa and Florence 

are country’s costliest 

Yes friends, the rumors are true: 

Tuscany is offi cially the most 

costly region in Italy. Cgia of Mestre, 

in the Veneto region, recently 

released a report which classifi es Italy’s 

most expensive cities on basis of 

the amount of money taxpayers hand 

over to municipalities each year. The 

report revealed that Florence takes 

fi fth spot in the list of Italy’s most 

expensive cities. More precisely, 

each Florentine dishes out about 

1,150 euro a year in municipal tax in 

exchange for the goods and services 

the city provides. If this seems a lot, 

then consider living in Siena, where 

taxpayers shell out almost 1,500 euro 

as well as in the Rom 

language. Caffaz remembered 

the hundreds of 

Tuscans who, in the 

wrong place at the wrong 

time, found themselves 

on a freight train heading 

towards their horrifi c 

demise, ‘about 700 innocent 

Tuscans also shed 

their blood there during 

the Holocaust, including 

the many civilians, politicians, 

workers and youth that were 

captured and shipped to evil places 

such as Ebensee, Mautahausen and 

Martheim’. 

yearly, or in Pisa where residents 

must pay 1,180 euro each year to the 

municipal administration. 

Florentine newspaper Il Firenze 

reports that the highest fees in Florence 

are for Ici property and garbage 

disposal taxes. In light of these fi ndings, 

city councilor Tea Albini, warns 

that ‘this classifi cation does not give 

a clear picture of the situation. Compared 

to other Italian cities, the vast 

array of services that the city offers 

its citizens, stand apart in terms of 

quality. Taxpayers do pay more in 

Florence, but the living standards 

are higher than in other Italian 

urban centres’. 

BETTER LIFE GONE BAD 

Foreigners reign in Florence’s Meucci Detention Centre 

Although there are only 22 inmates in 

Florence’s Meucci Juvenile Detention 

Centre, located on Via degli Orti Oricellari, 

the vast majority of them are immigrants, 

mostly coming from Romania and 

Morocco. These youth have come to Italy 

in search of a better life and a more promising 

future yet have sadly ended up on 

the wrong path. The inmates range from 

14 to 21 years of age, and most are being 

detained for crimes related to drugs, robbery or theft. In this correctional 

institute for minors, detainees are required to attend morning educational 

classes and afternoon artisan courses while serving their sentence, though 

director of the centre, Aldo Nesticò, argues that Meucci ‘lacks the necessary 

funds for things such as paper and pens, even toilet paper’. While such 

classes are designed to help the youth gain the essential knowledge, skills 

and experience needed upon release, the recidivism rate remains high. 

5 



EMERGENCY 

SUMMIT 

SAFEGUARDS 

COUNTRYSIDE 

Tuscan residents, urban planners, 

government offi cials and 

concerned citizens have been 

unyielding in their fi ght against the 

development of a large residential 

project in Montichiello, located 

in the characteristic Sienese Val 

d’Orchia. 

An emergency summit, held in 

Siena on January 22nd involved 

regional, provincial and local 

authorities, who opted to temporarily 

block the construction of a 

20-unit residential condominium 

in the heart of the Sienese Chianti, 

an area which has been declared 

the patrimony of all of humanity by 

Unesco. 

Authorities have enforced 

Article 45 of the Urban Planning 

Code, which allows for ‘an indirect 

safeguarding procedure’ in 

order to uphold the architectural, 

cultural and ecological integrity of 

Tuscan cities and towns. 

As a result of such controversy, 

leftist federal minister, 

Francesco Rutelli, and president 

of the Tuscan Region, Claudio 

Martini, met in Rome a few weeks 

ago in order to draft an agreement 

between national and regional 

governments which would oversee 

the establishment of a provincial 

‘Urban Code’ specifi cally 

intended to safeguard and ensure 

the quality and distinctness of the 

Tuscan countryside. 

�� 

��

6 

Thursday 8 February 2007 News 

National NEWS 

News in BRIEF 

■ 

New hope for Lou Gehrig 

victims 

Italian researchers have increased 

chances for treating Lou Gehrig’s 

disease, a fatal and incurable 

nerve-wasting disease. A team 

led by Sebastiano Cavallaro at a 

National Research Council lab in 

Catania says it has found the 57 

genes responsible for the disease. 

Cavallaro cautioned that a number 

of genetic and environmental factors 

are implicated in the disease, 

which affects over 350,000 of 

the world’s population and kills 

over 100,000 every year. But, he 

said, the gene research, published 

in the international journal BMC 

Genomics, ‘could pave the way 

for early diagnosis and possible 

treatment’. 

■ 

Fini in fi rst place 

Silvio Berlusconi caused a stir 

in his centre-right alliance last 

week, apparently anointing rightist 

leader Gianfranco Fini as 

his likely successor. Speaking 

to journalists, the 70-year-old 

former premier spoke about his 

hope of uniting the four key centre-right 

parties into a federation 

and possibly even a single party. 

‘If we form a single party I think 

that Fini’s candidacy is the most 

prestigious and authoritative to 

lead it’, he said. Fini is currently 

leader of the rightist National 

Alliance party, the second largest 

in the opposition. He has 

stood by Berlusconi since the 

former media tycoon entered 

Italian politics in 1994. Berlusconi, 

defeated by centre-left 

chief Romano Prodi in last April’s 

general election, has hinted several 

times that he is unlikely to 

run for premier next time if the 

current legislature lasts the full 

fi ve years. 

■ 

Expecting in Egypt 

Visitors to Milan can marvel at 

the arts of ancient Egypt’s superwomen 

in a show which opened 

there last week. The exhibition, 

which features 50 previously 

unseen artifacts from Turin’s 

famed Egyptology Museum, 

shows why ancient Egypt’s 

women were far ahead of their 

contemporaries. On show for 

the fi rst time are papyri showing 

advanced gynecological knowledge 

and advice on all aspects 

of childbearing—including some 

of the world’s fi rst pregnancy 

tests. Nefer-Woman in Ancient 

Egypt, organised by the DNArt 

Foundation in collaboration with 

Palazzo Reale, runs until April 9. 

Media empire thwarted 

Anti-monopoly bill angers Berlusconi 

Opposition chief Silvio Berlusconi 

has accused the government 

of deliberately targeting 

his media empire with a ‘criminal plan 

of attack’ on his three-channel private 

TV network Mediaset. ‘Mediaset 

will be forced to defend itself’, said the 

billionaire media mogul, who threatened 

to ‘lead fi ve million people on to 

the streets’ in protest and use his TV 

channels to mobilise public opinion 

against the reforms. Premier Romano 

Prodi, responded that ‘demonstrations 

are a sign of active democracy 

and should always be respected but 

protests in aid of personal interests 

are less than praiseworthy’. 

The media bill was drawn up by 

Communications Minister Paolo 

No show 

show-down 

Judge is defendant in 

anti-crucifi x case 

An Italian judge who refuses to 

have crosses in his court room 

refused to appear at his hearing on 

whether he had broken the law. Prosecutors 

are seeking to convict Judge 

Luigi Tosti on six counts of walking 

out of court rooms when he saw crucifi 

xes hanging there. Tosti, who was 

suspended from his duties a year ago, 

did not show up in court. His lawyers 

said he intended ‘to keep up his 

protest against the presence of monoreligious 

symbols’. 

The Italian judiciary’s self-governing 

body, the Supreme Council of 

Magistrates, removed Tosti from his 

Gentiloni and has just begun its passage 

through parliament. Gentiloni’s 

bill would force both Mediaset 

and Rai to move one of their three 

terrestial channels to digital within 

15 months of its approval, with the 

freed-up airwaves being sold to 

competitors. It would introduce a 

45 percent cap on any given broadcaster’s 

share of the TV advertising 

market and reduce the amount of 

advertising permitted per hour of 

programming from 18 percent to 16 

percent, with in-show advertising 

included in the calculation. 

The Italian TV system is currently 

dominated by the three-channel 

state broadcaster Rai and Mediaset. 

Together they account for some 

90 percent of audience share and 

almost 96 percent of money spent 

on TV advertising, with 66.4 percent 

going to Mediaset and 28.8 

percent to Rai. This situation has 

been criticised by the Constitutional 

Court, the Antitrust Authority, the 

Communications Authority and the 

European Commission. 

post last February and cut off his pay 

because of his ‘unjustifi able behaviour’. 

The decision, which reignited 

debate on crucifi xes in public buildings, 

came after Tosti was convicted 

by a criminal court a month before. 

The court gave Tosti a seven-month 

suspended sentence for refusing to 

perform his duties in the Marche 

town of Camerino. 

Crucifi xes are customary rather 

than mandatory in Italy’s public 

buildings. Offi cially, Catholicism 

is not Italy’s state religion and the 

separation of Church and State is set 

down by the postwar Constitution 

and mandated by a 1984 Concordat 

that ended most of the Catholic 

Church’s privileges. In practice, with 

Catholicism being such a part of 

Italy’s cultural identity, local bodies 

decide whether they want crosses in 

the courthouse. Similar arrangements 

are in place in other public buildings—most 

notably schools, where 

there have been a raft of polemics. 

MILLIONS FOR MIDDLE EAST 

Italy champions Lebanese peace-keeping operations 

Italy reconfi rmed a promise of 120 million euro in aid last week as donor 

countries met in Paris to help Lebanon recover from last year’s war 

between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo 

D’Alema, defi ning the donors’ conference a political and economic ‘boost’ 

for Beirut, said Italy would also offer to renegotiate commercial debt repayments. 

French President Jacques Chirac, presiding over the work of the 

Paris conference, publicly thanked Italy for its fresh display of ‘generosity’, 

noting that Rome had already sustained heavy expenses for Lebanon. 

Italy is currently the biggest contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping 

operations in Lebanon, supplying 2,500 of the 11,500 soldiers in the UNI- 

FIL force. The force will come under Italian command on February 17. 


PROMISES IN 

PROGRESS 

Liberal reforms brought 

to parliament 

fresh government drive to liber- 

A alise the Italian economy was 

hailed by consumer groups last 

week but also sparked protests, 

including one by fuel station operators, 

who called for a 14 days of 

ongoing strikes. 

The reforms approved by Premier 

Prodi’s cabinet will have immediate 

effect and include streamlining 

business start-up rules, liberalising 

the opening hours of small businesses, 

abolishing certain mobile 

phone and bank charges and allowing 

supermarket chains to sell petrol 

and newspapers. The measures 

follow a fi rst deregulation package, 

approved in July, aimed at ending 

anti-competitive practices in several 

protected fi elds. These measures 

affected lawyers, notaries, pharmacists, 

taxi drivers, banks and car 

insurers. Prodi said the new decree 

would further the government’s 

goal of boosting competition and 

bringing down prices to the benefi t 

of the consumer. 

Other measures in the decree 

include the abolition of extra bank 

charges on overdrafts; more advantageous 

terms for mortgage holders; 

the elimination of some of the 

red tape for people opening up 

small businesses, particularly hairdressers, 

barbers, beauticians and 

driving instructors; greater transparency 

in airfare advertising; a 

requirement for public services to 

accept payment using credit and 

banking cards; and clearer expiration 

dates on food products. The 

decree will make it easier for motorists 

to obtain car insurance or sell 

their vehicles and allows them to 

use personalised number plates. It 

also provides tax-break incentives 

for individuals, businesses and 

non-profi t organisations who give 

money to job-training institutes, and 

it forces the post offi ce to compensate 

customers if post is delivered 

late or goes missing. 

Although the decree has already 

come into effect, it must now be 

approved by parliament to prevent 

it lapsing. Consumer groups said 

they hoped it would not be watered 

down during the parliamentary 

process as protests gather pace. 

‘Bersani must hold out against the 

lobby groups and corporations and 

parliament must approve the decree 

as it is, without too many revisions’, 

representatives said.


Time to draw the line 

Italian football halted due to tragic death 

Football in Italy has been put 

on hold indefi nitely following 

the death of a police offi cer 

during last week’s Sicilian derby 

between Catania and Palermo. The 

38-year-old offi cer suffered fatal 

wounds as he attempted to break up 

fi ghting between rival fans outside 

the grounds. 

Italian Football Federation commissioner 

Luca Pancalli has called 

a halt to all football in the country 

for the foreseeable future. ‘Enough 

is enough’, says Pancalli. ‘This is no 

longer a sport. All football tournaments 

will be suspended until we 

solve the problem of violence during 

matches. It’s unacceptable for such 

incidents to happen in a country 

like Italy. At this moment, I’m not 

thinking about the bid, but should 

we lose our 2012 bid for the European 

championships because of this 

situation, we’d only be getting what 

we deserve’. 

In response to the police offi cer’s 

tragic death, Catania president Antonio 

Pulvirenti has vowed to quit the 

club as quickly as possible. He told 

Violent incidents during the Catania-Palermo match 

reporters, ‘There shouldn’t be football 

in Catania anymore. A man died 

and it’s meaningless to talk about 

football. This sport no longer suits 

me’. 

Ironically, the game between 

Catania and Palermo began with 

a minute’s silence in memory of 

Ermanno Licursi, the club offi - 

cial who died after being attacked 

while trying to break up a fi ght at an 

amateur league match in the southern 

town of Luzzi. The nationwide 

soul-searching that followed that 

incident, however, seemed to have 

made no difference at all when Palermo 

took the lead and Catania 

fans started to hurl fl ares. Tear gas 

and a half-hour suspension failed 

to stop the trouble, which climaxed 

when a home-made bomb exploded 

in offi cer Filippo Raciti’s face. 

Violence has reached epidemic 

proportions in stadiums throughout 

the country, from the professional 

league down to amateur level. 

Brawls, fl ares, fi re-crackers and 

explosives abound. During the last 

few weeks, Fiorentina fans stabbed 

Motor GP 

ROSSI PENS NEW YAMAHA DEAL 

Valentino Rossi has confi rmed 

that he will stay with Yamaha 

until the end of the 2008 Moto GP 

season. The 27-year-old Italian has 

been thinking of a possible switch 

to four-wheeled motor sport at the 

end of his current deal. Prior to the 

team’s Sepang test in Malaysia, the 

fi ve-time world champion said that 

re-signing with the Japanese manufacturer 

was the ideal situation for 

him. ‘I’m very happy to have renewed 

my contract with Yamaha until the 

end of 2008. It means that now, I 

Sports 

7 


Sports & Leisure NEWS 

a Livorno supporter before a game 

in Florence; Atalanta fans battled 

with police guarding coaches carrying 

visiting Catania supporters; 

and a match in the fourth division 

Serie D was suspended after a linesman 

was hit by a drum thrown from 

the crowd. Raciti’s death could be a 

turning point in Italy. 

In Italy, the majority of stadiums 

are owned by city councils, who 

rent them out to football clubs. 

As a result, clubs are unwilling to 

invest large sums of money improving 

security. Italian clubs are not 

directly responsible for maintaining 

order inside the stadiums. The 

police, who are paid a small overtime 

rate to work at matches, concentrate 

on keeping rival fans apart 

rather than nipping violent behaviour 

in the bud. Then there is the 

problem of Italy’s hard-core ‘ultra’ 

fans, which has turned the most 

volatile areas of stadiums into nogo 

zones for the police. 

In the face of these issues, the 

decision of Italian Football Federation 

chief Luca Pancalli to suspend 

all matches indefi nitely inspires 

hope—signalling that the country’s 

governing body is possibly ready 

to take a hard line to sort out the 

problem. Now it is up to the club 

presidents to take action ensuring it 

doesn’t happen again. 

Funeral of the assasinated offi cer 

can just concentrate on racing this 

season’, said Rossi. 

Despite missing out on last 

year’s world title due to a mixture of 

mechanical failures and a crash at 

the season fi nale in Valencia, Rossi 

believes that Yamaha’s overall performances 

were key in convincing 

him to stay. ‘The past three years 

with Yamaha have been very positive 

and this is why I am pleased to stay. I 

have great faith in the team and I am 

very excited about my future and the 

future of the 800cc bike’. 

Dangerous 

Games 

By Roseanne Wells 

In response to the disastrous 

and disheartening football match 

in Catania on February 2, Claudio 

Lotito, President of Lazio, 

remarked that security was the 

major weakness during games. 

The night match between Catania 

and Palermo sparked debate over 

who is responsible for insuring 

safety measures. Since most stadiums 

are currently owned by the 

city then rented out, police, not a 

private security force, are responsible 

for keeping exuberant fans in 

check for little overtime compensation. 

Lotito’s informal proposal, 

broadcast during the Italian TV 

program ‘Controcampo’, notes 

that ‘the clubs should own their 

stadiums in order to cater better 

for the security system’. 

In addition to selling the stadiums 

to the individual squads, the 

city would no longer be responsible 

for the activities at the games. 

This would place the fi nancial 

burden on the teams for the lack 

of updated security to control the 

huge numbers of rowdy spectators. 

But when fans sneak weapons, 

fl ares, fi recrackers, and bombs 

into stadiums, can football still be 

considered game? Lotito remarks 

that the security ‘must also serve 

as a fi lter to diminish the access of 

the thugs to the stadium zone’, but 

the violence is not limited to the 

fans without tickets; the seating 

for ‘ultra’ fans is unapproachable 

by the current police force. Even 

with a full-time security team, 

will football matches become any 

safer? Let’s hope that something 

changes, so the fans actually have 

a game to go to. 

News in BRIEF 

■ 

Manning guides 

Colts to victory 

Indianapolis beat Chicago 29- 

17 to win Super Bowl XLI in rainhit 

Miami. The Colts conceded 

a touchdown from the opening 

kick-off, but overcame a 14-6 

fi rst-quarter defi cit to triumph 

against the Bears at Dolphin 

Stadium. 

■ 

Abu Dhabi gets Grand Prix 

Formula One Management 

has recently announced that 

Abu Dhabi, the capital city of 

the United Arab Emirates, has 

secured the rights to host a Formula 

One Grand Prix in 2009.

8 


Movie REVIEWS 

Thursday February 8 

Movies in English showing in Florence 

by James Douglas 

ODEON THEATRE 

DREAMGIRLS 

Bill Condon’s adaptation of the 1981 

Broadway show Dreamgirls is a bigproduction 

musical given the lavish, 

big-screen treatment that visually at 

least may make up for its alleged shortfalls 

in the musical department. Supposed 

to be, but not confi rmed to be, 

the story of the rise to mainstream success 

of The Supremes and manager 

Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records in 

the 1960s, the movie chronicles the 

on- and off-stage lives of the trio. Jennifer 

Hudson’s showstopper ‘And I Am 

Telling You I Am Not Going’ has had 

the critics scurrying for superlatives. 

Monday February 12 

ODEON THEATRE 

THE HOLIDAY 

Grisly romantic comedy from the 

queen of the chick fl ick, Nancy Meyers’ 

The Holiday is an overstuffed turkey 

of a movie that bizarrely gets its Italian 

release way off season. However, even 

the most generous Christmas cheer 

would barely rescue this hopelessly 

miscast (Jack Black as romantic hero!), 

woefully misconceived transatlantic 

tryst tripe. Despite superior British 

cast (Winslet, Law, Sewell) and given 

the limitations of the incompetent Diaz, 

Meyers’ dull script and the movie’s idiotic 

premise, the director’s talents are 

wasted on mindless frivolity so lame it 

can barely move. For sad singles only. 

Tuesday February 13 

ODEON THEATRE 

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH 

‘You owe it to yourself to see this fi lm. 

If you do not, and you have grandchildren, 

you should explain to them 

why you decided not to’. So says 

eminent fi lm reviewer Roger Ebert in 

a dramatic departure from his measured, 

impartial style. And he underlines 

the impending catastrophe now 

more than ever in the news that global 

warming represents. Al Gore’s environmental 

campaign laid out the facts 

and let the audience draw the obvious 

conclusion. Davis Guggenheim’s fi lm 

of this campaign, An Inconvenient 

Truth, serves to reinforce the point. 

An alarming and essential documentary 

that reminds us of what it is to be 

human. A global warning. 

Wednesday February 14 

BRITISH INSTITUTE 

Femmes Fatales 

BAD TIMING 

Nicolas Roeg’s 1980 neo-noir Bad 

Timing has memorable performances 

from his wife Theresa Russell 

as Milena Flaherty, troubled 

femme fatale, and Art Garfunkel 

as her hapless victim. Fragmented 

time lines, Viennese location, edgy 

soundtrack and an array of unpleasant 

characters, even a strangely 

subdued Harvey Keitel as the police 

inspector, make this a challenging 

and disturbing exercise in obsession 

and despair. The distributors tried to 

pull the plug on it at release, calling it 

‘sick’, ‘depraved’, etc. 


ODEON THEATRE 

STEP UP 

Clichéd crowd-pleasing dance movie 

for hip hop tweenies who didn’t get 

West Side Story, Footloose or Fame. 

For them Step Up may be a step up. 

For others an unusually chaste and 

unchallenging urban fairy tale. 

Weeks 8 February - 22 February 2007 

Monday February 19 

ODEON THEATRE 

STRANGER THAN FICTION 

At last, a movie with a mind! Marc 

Forster’s intriguing Stranger than 

Fiction is the story of Harold Crick 

(Will Ferrell) who hears the narrative 

of his life from a mysterious voice in 

his head. This intelligent and funny 

examination of the intertwining of fi ction 

and reality has a particularly fi ne 

performance from Emma Thompson 

as the novelist whose fi ction becomes 

Crick’s reality. It may be the familiar territory 

of interfaces opened up by the 

likes of Woody Allen and more recently 

Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation) but Forster’s 

movie is consistently inventive, 

thought-provoking and entertaining. 

Tuesday February 20 

ODEON THEATRE 

BOBBY 

Emilio Estevez’s 

Bobby is the story 

of the assassination 

of Senator 

Robert Kennedy 

at the Ambassador 

Hotel, Los 

Angeles in 1968. 

Ladling 60s idealism 

and liberal politics into his script 

and direction, Estevez takes the interlinked 

stories of 22 hotel staff and 

guests who witnessed the event and 

in the Altman-like ensemble mosaic 

pieces together the spirit of the age. 

With an extraordinarily high-powered 

cast and a passionate appeal for peace 

and justice, the movie impacts movingly 

in our time, and the presence of 

Kennedy himself in authentic newsreel 

footage rather than in the performance 

of an actor adds resonance to the tragedy 

of lost promise. 


Wednesday February 21 

BRITISH INSTITUTE 

Femmes Fatales 

BODY HEAT 

Sizzling neo-noir thriller with Kathleen 

Turner as the femme fatale treading in 

the footsteps of many predecessors as 

she lures her lover into a plot to kill her 

husband. With more than a hint of the 

classic Double Indemnity, Lawrence 

Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981) holds its 

own as ‘great trash’—taut, convincing, 

sexy, suspenseful and darkly satisfying. 


ODEON THEATRE 

BREAKING AND ENTERING 

Anthony Minghella’s Breaking and 

Entering takes the urban transition 

zone of London’s King’s Cross redevelopment 

area for its locale. And it is in 

this everyman’s land of contemporary 

London that the parallel and intersecting 

lives of a representative cross-section 

of London life play out their stories: 

Jude Law as Will, the high-fl ying 

architect; Miro, the Bosnian refugee 

and athletic cat burglar; Amira (Juliette 

Binoche), his mother; Oana, the Russian 

prostitute; and more. The characters 

learn to live together and say ‘I’m 

sorry’ when circumstances demand 

apology as the only way forward.


The Florentine cannot be responsible for changes in program details. 

OUR TOP PICKS 

VINOLIO 2007 – Food and wine trade expo – February 9–11 

Fortezza da Basso 

With Vinolio in its fi rst year, the expo hopes to become an important national and international 

reference point for the wine, olive oil and gastronomic sectors. More than 4,000 businesses and 

accredited buyers will gather within the 50,000 square meters of the Fortress. The Florence trade 

expo will showcase the world’s most recent technological inventions, and support the biodiversity 

typical of agricultural traditions in Italian production. Not just a trade fair for buying and selling, 

Vinolio is a worldwide cultural event which uses the city of Florence as its stage. 

AREZZO WAVE BAND 2007– February 16, Prato 

On February 16, the Arezzo Wave Foundation will present the winners of the live regional contest 

Arezzo Wave Band 2007. This event aims to discover innovative musical talents that will perform 

in the Italia Wave event scheduled for July 2007. Regional contests began in January and will 

continue until the middle of March. Each region will be able to present one winning band for the 

July ‘play-off’ fi nals. For more information call 0574-1836753 or visit www.arrezzowave.com. 

PRESIDENT’S DAY COMMEMORATION – February 19, 5:30pm 

Salone Brunelleschi, Palagio di Parte Guelfa 

The monument dedicated to George Washington, located in Parco delle Cascine’s Piazzale Kennedy, 

has received a much needed make-over. The restoration project, sponsored by the Tuscan 

American Association, will be presented on February 19 at Palagio di Parte Guelfa in commemoration 

of President’s Day and Washington’s 275th birthday celebration. Event speakers 

include International Relations Councilor Eugenio Giani, U.S. Consul General, Nora Dempsey 

and architect Claudio Cestelli. The Tuscan-American Association is an independent non-profi t 

organization founded in 1996. Its mission is ‘to deepen and broaden ties and promote cultural 

and economic exchange between the United States and Tuscany’. For more information visit: 

segreteria@toscana-usa.org. 

STING IN CONCERT –February 21, Teatro Verdi 

Sting, accompanied by renowned lute-player, Edin Karamazov, has announced a much-awaited 

European tour to promote his latest album, ‘Songs from the Labyrinth’. A personal tribute to Elizabethan 

composer John Dowland (1563–1626), the album has achieved enormous success world-wide 

both from the critics and the general public, debuting at the top of the world’s charts. 

SNEAK PREVIEW – Chianti Classico 2006 – February 21, Florence 

Join the 100-plus producers of Chianti classico at the Chianti Classico wine-tasting. Participants 

can enjoy a sneak preview of 2005–2006 wines as well as those on the 2004 reserve list. Oillovers 

can also enjoy samples of DOP oils from the 2006 harvest. For information and booking 

call: 055/8228523 

PEP BOU: the soap bubble magician – February 8-10 

Teatro Rifredi –Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 303 

Pep Bou’s shows are based on the creation of soap bubbles. Each bubble takes on a life of its 

own, becoming an actor of sorts as it fl oats over the stage. Pep Bou’s style of theatre alludes to the 

transparent nature of the bubbles and the characters who blow and pop them. The inhabitants of 

his imaginary world illustrate the fragile nature of the human condition. His third time at Teatro 

di Rifredi, Pep Bou has always worked magic on enthralled audiences. 

WALKER EVANS EXHIBIT – Until March 11 

Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografi a (MNAF 

Piazza S.M.Novella 14/a rosso - Leopoldine 

Photography lovers can line up at the Alinari National Museum of Photography, an offshoot of 

the historic Alinari Brothers’ company, to view the interesting retrospective by Walker Evans. Until 

March 11, the American photographer known for his visual documentation of rural America 

during the Great Depression will be on display for all eyes to enjoy. For more information call: 

05523951 or visit: www.alinarifondazione.it 

t 

What’s on & Where to Go 

t 

t 

9 


Events in FLORENCE FEB 9 TO FEB 22 

mbership card necessary 

FRIDAY 9 

n DANCE 

da Tango a Sirtaki 

A tribute to Zorba, with Raffaele Paganini 

Teatro Verdi, via Ghibellina 99, tel. 

055.212320, www.teatroverdifi renze.it, 

20.45 

n MARKETS & FESTIVALS 

Vinolio 

Wine and oil, agricultural and food fair 

Fortezza da Basso tel. 05549721 - 

055496404 - www.fi renze-expo.it, 9-20 

n MUSIC & CONCERTS 

Alter*nite 

rock, techno, goth, drum & bass 

Ippodromo Le mulina, 22.00 

Jeffrey Tate 

Pelle Carlberg 

Sintetika, Via Luigi Alamanni 4, info 333- 

3591575, www.sintetikalive.it, 22.00, membership 

only 

Six Dixiers 

Jazz Club, via Nuova de’ Caccini 3, tel. 

055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

St. Thomas the Apostle Church Choir 

(United States) 

A. Vivaldi, W. A. Mozart, G. F. Händel music 

Chiesa di San Marco, via Maggio 18, www. 

amicimusicasacra.com,18.00 

Tony Levin & California Guitar trio 

Auditorium Flog, via Mercati Michele 24b 

tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 

n THEATRE (in Italian unless otherwise noted) 

Laboratorio Zelig 

Teatro 13, Via Nicolodi 2, 21.15, €10/7 

Paolo Rossi in “Chiamatemi Kowalski 

- Evolution” 

Saschall, Lungarno Aldo Moro 3, tel. 

055.6504112, www.saschall.it, 21.00 

Pep Bou: il mago delle bolle di sapone 

Teatro di Rifredi, via Vittorio Emanuele II 

303, tel. 055.4220361, www.toscanateatro.it, 

21.00 

Serata gasp! 

cabaret, theatre and music 

Scantinato - la casa del teatro, Via San Domenico 

51, info 055-573857, 21.15 

Trappola per topi 

Teatro Le Laudi, via L. da Vinci 2r, tel. 

055.572831, www.caspi.it/teatri/defaultLaudi.htm, 

21.00, Sun 17.00 

SATURDAY 10 

n DANCE 

Au cafè 



20.45, on Sun 16.45 

n GUIDED TOURS 

Antica Farmacia di S.Maria Novella 

Piazza Santa Maria Novella, 15.00, info and 

booking 335-5312904 


Vinolio 

See Feb 9 


Bonsoir Joli Monsieur 

Pinocchio Jazz Club c/o Associazione Le Vie 

Nuove, v.le Giannotti 13, tel. 055.683388, 

www.pinocchiojazz.it, 22.00 

Carmen Consoli 

Nelson Mandela Forum (ex Palasport), viale 

Pasquale Paoli, tel. 055.678841, www. 

mandelaforum.it, 21.00, € 21-35 

Circuito 4 piste 

Reggae-roots, rock-cartoons, goa-trance, 

house 

Ippodromo Le mulina, 22.00 

Marc Andrè Hamelin, piano 

Teatro della Pergola, via della Pergola, 18, 

tel. 055.22641, www.pergola.fi renze.it, 

16.00 

Nobody’s Perfect: Pikaya Live + Alex 

Neri 

Tenax, via Pratese 46, tel. 055.308160, 

22.30 

Norge - Led Zeppelin Tribute Night 


tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 

Sound power funk 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Tricobalto 

rock, psychedelic and funk music 



only 


I barroccini di via dell’Ariento 

see ongoing 

I’ fi gliolo di prete 

in vernacular, see ongoing 

La macellara 

see ongoing 

Pep Bou: il mago delle bolle di sapone 

see Feb 8 

Serata gasp! 

see Feb 9 

THEATRE 


see Feb 9 

SUNDAY 11 


I crinali del Chianti: da Gaville alla Badiaccia 

a Montemuro 

trekking, starting point Bagno A ripoli, 

6.00

10 




Gruppo Trekking di Bagno a Ripoli, www. 

trekkingbagnoaripoli.it, info 335.8483345 

or 055.633058 


Santo Spirito Fair 

Piazza S.Spirito, info 055.27051, all day 

Vinolio 

See Feb 9 


Carmen Consoli 

see Feb 10 

Endless Medley 

aperitivo and music 7€ 

Decamerone, viale Lavagnini 40r, 19.00 

Il principio dell’errore 

acoustic Italian rock 

Circolo Arci Faliero Pucci, via G. D’Annunzio 

182, Mensola, 22.00 

Jeffrey Tate 

see feb 9 

Teatro Comunale, Corso Italia 16, tel. 

055.213535, www.maggiofi orentino.com, 

20.30, Sun 16.30 

L’incanto del corno 

horn and piano 

Auditorium della Clinica Medica di Careggi, 

viale Morgagni, www.agimusfi renze.it, 

10.30, free 

Nicola Benedetti & Alison Rhynd 

violin and piano 

Saloncino del Teatro della Pergola, via della 

Pergola, 18, tel. 055.22641, www.pergola. 

fi renze.it, 21.00 

Quartetto di Fiesole & Giovanni Riccucci 

Auditorium Sinopoli, Villa La Torraccia, via 

delle Fontanelle 24, Fiesole, 11.00 

n SPORTS & ACTIVITIES 

Fiorentina vs Udinese 

National Championship Soccer serie A 

Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi, 20.30 


Le cognate 

Teatro Augusto Novelli c/o Circolo La Rinascente, 

via Ponte a Jozzi 1, località Cascine 

del Riccio, 16.15 


see Feb 9 

MONDAY 12 

n CINEMA 

The Holiday 

(in English) 

Odeon CineHall, piazza Strozzi, tel. 

055.214068, www.cinehall.it, Shows 16.00 

– 19.00 – 22.00 

TUESDAY 13 

n CINEMA 

An Inconvenient Truth 

(in English) 



– 18.10 – 20.20 – 22.30 


The stained class windows of St. James 

Church 

Via Rucellai 9, info and booking 055- 

461428, 15.30 


Mercato delle Cascine 

Clothing, leather, fruit, shoes, fl owers, household 

appliances 

Parco delle Cascine, 8-13 


Jam session + House band 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Jazz Engine 

Arena Il Girone, Località Il Girone, Fiesole, 

21.30 

Live music with Flamenco by Luis Cardillano 

O’ Munaciello, Via Maffi a 31r, 21,00 


Il Vangelo secondo Gesù Cristo 

see ongoing 

Lina Sastri in “Corpo Celeste” 

see ongoing 

WEDNESDAY 14 

n LECTURES & CONFERENCES 

Love, love, love: readings and music 

for St Valentine’s day 

This programme will bring together readings 

and music for St Valentine’s day 

The British Institute of Florence, Library and 

Cultural Centre Lungarno Guicciardini 9, 

info 055.26778270, 18.00, admission free 


Festa di San Valentino 

Candlelight dinner, reservations only. 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 30 

Gli infradito 

Tex-Mex and lounge blues 

Rex Café, via Fiesolana, 25, 22.00, free 

THURSDAY 15 

n CINEMA 

Step up 

(in English) 



– 18.10 – 20.20 – 22.30 


The private passage of the Grand Duchess 

into SS. Annunziata 

Piazza SS Annunziata, info and booking 

055-461428, 10.00 


Flower market 

Via Pellicceria, 8-13 


Daniel Medeiros & Lanzoni-Spitilli-Negri 

Trio 

a mix of Brasilian music and jazz 


Marcello Colasurdo e Paranza 


tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 

Sunrise jazz orchestra 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 


In alto mare 

Teatro Cantiere Florida, via Pisana 111r, tel. 

055.573857, www.elsinor.it, 21.00, €5/7 

Quella del piano di sopra 

see ongoing 

Quix. Un Don Quixote contemporaneo 

see ongoing 

FRIDAY 16 


Alter*nite 

see Feb 9 

Festa di azione gay & lesbica 


tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 

Jazz & Friends 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Stefan Anton Reck 

Teatro Comunale, Corso Italia 16, tel. 

055.213535, www.maggiofi orentino.com, 

20.30, Sun 16.30 

Three In One Gentlemen Suit 



only 


In alto mare 

see Feb 15 

La cena dei cretini 

Teatro Everest, via Volterrana 4 c/d , tel. 

055.2321754, www.teatroeverest.it, 21.00 

SATURDAY 17 


Fortezza Antiquaria - antique market 

Piazza Indipendenza, info 055.3283550 


All For Col 




Circuito 4 piste 

see Feb 10 

European Electronic Techno Festival 

Fortezza da Basso, v.le Strozzi 1, tel. 

055.4455280, www.fi renze-expo.it, from 

22.30, all night 

Giardini di Mirò 


tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 

The elegant gypsy quartet 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Vadim Repin & Nikolai Lugansky 

violin and piano 

Teatro della Pergola, via della Pergola, 18, 

tel. 055.22641, www.pergola.fi renze.it, 

16.00 



see Feb 16 

SUNDAY 18 


Il Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografi 

a 

Piazza santa Maria Novella, 15.30, info and 

booking 335-5312904 


5th edition “Carnevale Fiorentino nel 

Mondo” 

multi-ethnic carnival 

Historical city center, info 055.2768030, 

from 14.00 

Commemorazione dell’Elettrice Palatina 

corteo storico 

from piazzetta di Parte Guelfa to piazza Signoria, 

from 10.00 on 

Fierucolina Market 

Piazza Santo Spirito, all day 

Fortezza Antiquaria - antique market 

see Feb 17 


Bianchini, Geroni & Laraia 

aperitivo and music 7€ 

Decamerone, viale Lavagnini 40r, 19.00 

Il fl auto all’Opera 

fl ute and piano 

Auditorium della Clinica Medica di Careggi, 

viale Morgagni, www.agimusfi renze.it, 

10.30, free 

Stefan Anton Reck 

see Feb 16 

Trio Altenberg 

Saloncino del Teatro della Pergola, via della 

Pergola, 18, tel. 055.22641, www.pergola. 

fi renze.it, 21.00 


Everlast Mabo Firenze - Hatria Basket 

Atri 

basketball 



mandelaforum.it, 18.00 

Everlast Mabo Firenze - Hatria Basket 

Atri 

basketball 



mandelaforum.it, at 18.00 



see Feb 16 

MONDAY 19 

n CINEMA 

Stranger than fi ction 

(in English) 



– 5.50 – 8.10 – 10.30 



Cochi e Renato in “Nuotando con le lacrime 

agli occhi” 

Musical comedy 



20.45 

TUESDAY 20 

n CINEMA 

Bobby 

(in English) 


055.214068, www.cinehall.it, Shows 

15.30 – 17.50 – 20.10 – 22.30 


Behind closed doors of the famous 

Teatro Comunale 

Corso Italia 12, info and booking 055- 

461428, 9.30 


Mercato delle Cascine 

see Feb 13 


Carnevale 2007, Gem Boy 


tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30, 8€ 

Concerto di Carnevale 



21.00 

Grande festa di carnevale 

Prize awarded to most orignal mask 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Mia Cooper & Papa’s Gang 

Arena Il Girone, Località Il Girone, Fiesole, 

21.30 


Gioie. Frammenti di vita di Anna Maria 

Luisa de’ Medici, Elettrice Palatina 

see ongoing 

Giorgio Albertazzi in “Memorie di 

Adriano” 

see ongoing 

WEDNESDAY 21 

n DANCE 

A tribute to Milloss: Estri 

Feb 21-March 3 (Feb 23, 26 and March 2 

excluded), Teatro Goldoni, Via Santa Maria 

15, tel. 055.2335518, 20.30, Sun 15.30 

n LECTURES & CONFERENCES 

Siân Ede: Art and science: how contemporary 

art is refl ecting the obsession 

with science 

Siân Ede is Arts Director of the United Kingdom 

branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian 

Foundation, and author of Art and Science. 

The British Institute of Florence, Library and 

cultural center, Lungarno Guicciardini 9, 

info 055.26778270, 18.00, admission free 


Anteprima Vini Chianti Classico Gallo 

Nero 2006 

Stazione Leopolda, viale Fratelli Rosselli 5, 

tel. 055.212622, www.stazione-leopolda.it, 

14-20 


Martino Fantasma (alive folk) 


Masuk Chamber Choir (United States) 

Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Ricci, via del Corso, 

tel. 055.289367, 19.00 

Sting 



20.45, 35-75€ 

That’s all jazz 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 


Miserabili. Io e Margaret Thatcher 

Saschall, Lungarno Aldo Moro 3, tel. 

055.6504112, www.saschall.it, 21.00


THURSDAY 22 

n CINEMA 

Breaking and Entering 

(in English) 


055.214068, www.cinehall.it, Shows 

15.30 – 17.50 – 20.10 – 22.30 


Fondazione Giorgio La Pira 

Via La Pira, info and booking 055-461428, 

15.00 


Flower market 

see Feb 15 


“O la bossa o la vita!” 

Bossa Nova and Brasilian music 


055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Crowpath 

Ambasciata di Marte, via Mannelli 2, tel. 

055.6550786, www.ambasciatadimarte. 

org., 23.00, free 

Slow Train Soul (Z Star & Pudddu Varano 

UK) 


tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30, 8€ 

Tell Mama 

Janis Joplin tribute 



Alessandro Preziosi in “Datemi tre caravelle!” 

see ongoing 

ON GOING 

n EXHIBITS 

Sasha Sosno & Vladimir Kara “Presenza 

- Assenza” 

Until Dec 31, 16-19.30, closed Mon. & 

Hols, FYR Arte Contemporanea, Borgo degli 

Albizi 23, info 055.2343351, www.fyr.it 

Mostra on line “Die Flut” Alluvione 

1966 

Photo by Ivo Bazzichi 

Until March 31, Kunsthistorische Institut di 

Firenze, info 055.27681 

Marmo d’Arte a Firenze 

Until March 30, 9.30-12.30; 14.30-18.00, 

Parco d’Arte E. Pazzagli, Via Sant’Andrea a 

Rovezzano 5 

Furini - La Notte del Barocco 

Until April 1, Museo degli Argenti di Palazzo 

Pitti, piazza Pitti 1, info 055.294883 

Archeologia e restauro in Toscana 

Until Feb 28, Mon 14-19; Tue and Thur 

8.30-19; Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun 8.30-14, 

Museo Archeologico, Via della Colonna, 36 

C’era una volta... Pinocchio at Palazzo 

Pitti. 

Drawings and book exhibition 

Until March 25, 8.15-18.50, Galleria d’Arte 

Moderna, Palazzo Pitti, info 055.2388720, 

www.polomuseale.fi renze.it 

Back to Folk 

Collective drawing exhibition (Raymond 

Pettibon, Marcel Dzama, Vanni, Cuoghi, 

Enrico Vezzi, Matteo Fato) organised by 

Ivan Quaroni 

Until Feb 17, Galleria Daniele ugolini 

Contemporary, via Montebello 22r, tel. 

055.2654183, www.ugoliniart.com 

Creatività a colori 

Until Feb 28, 9-13 e 14-18, Museo Salvatore 

Ferragamo, via Tornabuoni 2, tel. 

055.3360456, www.museoferragamo.it 

Gli animali di Pinocchio 

works of Gaudenzio Nazario and the children’s 

publications from the fi rst half of the 

19th century.. 

Until Feb 28, 9-18.30; Sat 9-13.30, Biblioteca 

Marucelliana, via Cavour 43-47, tel. 

055.2722200, www.maru.fi renze.sbn.it 

Although it is not my profession. 

Michelangelo and the architectural 

drawing 

Until March 19, Casa Buonarroti, via Ghibellina 

70, info 055-241752, 9.30-14, 

www.casabuonarroti.it, € 6,50 

Toxic “Respect or Die” 

New Paintings 

Until Feb 16, 15-19, Sergio Tossi Arte Contemporanea, 

Via Pindemonte 63, info 055 

2286163 

Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Elettrice 

Palatina 

Until April 15, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, 

info 055.2388614, www.polomuseale. 

fi renze.it 

Egyptian Motifs in the ‘English’ Cemetery. 

Hope of Life after Death 

Until May 27, Mon 14-19; Tue and Thu 

8.30-19; Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun 8.30-14, 

Archaeological Museum, Via della Colonna 

36, www.beniculturali.it, info 055-23575 

Free entrance to the city museums for 

residents 

In the afternoon on the last Saturday of the 

month, Musei Comunali info 055.2768224 

Fashion and style. Interpretations of 

fashion in history 

Hidden wealth. An artistic collection of the 

Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova 

Until June 2008, 8.45-13.50, Palazzo Pitti, 

Galleria del Costume, info 055.2388713 

Young Stylists for Calcutta 

A selection of clothing from the pieces received 

in donation for vintage charity auction 

Until Feb 28, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzina della 

Meridiana, piazza Pitti 1, tel. 055.294883 

Walker Evans 

American PhotoJournalist 

Until March 11, MNAF - Museo Nazionale 

Alinari della Fotografi a, Piazza S.M.Novella 

14/a r, tel. 055.23951, www.alinarifondazione.it 

Un ponte sul Mediterraneo. Leonardo 

Pisano, the science of Arabia and the 

birth of Western mathematics 

Until March 10, Locali del Museo di Storia 

Naturale, Borgo degli Albizi 28, tel. 

055.7879594, www.archimede.ms 

Lo specchio della memoria 

Photo exhibition of polaroids by Andrei 

Tarkovsky on the occasion of the 20th anniversary 

of death. 

Until Feb 18, Archivio Storico del Comune 

di Firenze, via dell’Oriuolo 33, info 

055.2345943, www.comune.fi .it/archiviostorico/main.ht 

From now on’ by May Cornet 

Untill Feb 28, 10-13, 14.30-19, Galleria 

Bagnai, Via Coluccio Salutati, www.galleriabagnai.it 

Femmes d’autrefois 

paintings by Medea 

Until Feb 22, Maison Dumitru, B.go Pinti 

25R, info maisondumitru@libero.it 

Il Rinascimento dei bambini 

Until March 31, Istituto degli Innocenti - tel. 

055203711 

Il Re Bello e la sua Corte 

Bozzetti, elementi scenici e costumi dell’opera 

Il Re Bello. 

Until Feb 25, Teatro della Pergola, via della 

Pergola 18, tel. 055.22641, www.pergola. 

fi renze.it 

Lo spirito delle cose by Roberta Crocioni 

Until Feb 22, 11-13, 15.30-19.30, Galleria 

del Palazzo Palazzo Coveri, Lungarno Guicciardini 

19, info 055.281044, www.galleriadelpalazzo.com 

Non per caso by Daniel Spoerri 

Until April 29, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea 

Luigi Pecci, v.le della Repubblica 277, 

Prato, tel. 0574.5317, www.centropecci.it 

Personale di puntesecche di Antonio 

Manzi 

Until Feb 13, Archivio di Stato, viale Giovine 

Italia 6, tel. 055.244422 

Gianni Rodari nel mondo 

Exhibition of foreign editions by Rodari 

Until March 31, Museo Marino Marini, Piazzo 

San Pancrazio, tel. 055.219432, www. 

museomarinomarini.it 

Pitture e Collage dell’artista fi orentino 

Angelo Pontecorboli 

Drawings, collages, graphics and designs 

Until Feb 27, 9-17, free, SACI Gallery Studio 

Art Centers International, Palazzo dei Cartelloni, 

via S. Antonino 11, tel. 055.289948, 

www.saci-fl orence.org 

Anamnesi by Claudia Ballesio 

Until March 5, 16-19, closed Sun and Mon, 


11 



free, La Corte Arte Contemporanea, via de’ 

Coverelli 27r, tel. 055.284435, www.lacortearte.it 

Opere 1950-2006 by Vasco Bendini 

Until March 31, 10-13, 14.30-19.30, Frittelli 

Arte Contemporanea, via Val di Marina 15, 

info 055.410153 

15X15. 15 galleries and 15 artists 

Contemporary art exhibit 

From Feb 15 to April 16, 9.30.18.30, free, 

Forte di Belvedere, info 055.2645356 

Carnevale con gli artisti 

Works of painting and sculpture from various 

Italian regions and abroad 

From Feb 20 to March 20, Caffè Decò, 

Piazza della Libertà, info 335-7010657 

Desiderio da Settignano. La scoperta 

della grazia nella scultura del Rinascimento 

From Feb 22 to June 3, Museo Nazionale 

del Bargello, via del Proconsolo 4, tel. 

055.294883, www.polomuseale.fi renze.it 


Planetarium: meetings with the public 

2006, from January to May and from October 

to December ( on Thursdays and on 

Sundays), Planetario, via G. Giusti 29, info 

0552343723 www.fstfi renze.it 

Artisans of the Oltrarno, in search of 

artistic craftsmanship 

Genuine Florentine artisan traditions 

Info 055.3036108, www.fi renze-oltrarno. 

net, all year 

Guided visits by Associazione Akropolis 

January 11, 16, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, tel. 

055461428 - http://It.geocities.com/associazione_akropolis 

Hortibus Collection & Garden tours 

Starting point: piazza S.Trinita, every Thur 

and Sat at 15.00, info 348.9100783, www. 

hortibus.com, € 25, all year 

Itinerari e Incontri 

Guided visits, book presentations, and conferences 

Associazione Akropolis, Info 055461428, 

http://it.geocites.com/associazione_akropolis/ 

all year 

Baluardo a San Giorgio 

Every last Sunday of the month, 9.30-12.30, 

info 055-2616051, free 


Ciompi Antique fair 

Piazza de’ Ciompi, info 055.3283550, every 

week day and last Sunday of the month 

Mercato del Porcellino 

Florentine crafts with straw, hand-made embroidery, 

leather, woodwork,and fl owers 

Logge del Porcellino, every day, all day 

Mercato San Lorenzo 

Florentine crafts, hand-made embroidery, 

paper, leather etc 

Streets around Basilica San Lorenzo, every 

day, all day 

Christmas in the different area districts 

Until February 17, 2007, Various locations - 

info Q.1-Q.2-Q.3-Q.4-Q.5 - www.comune. 

fi .it 


Jazz...do it! 

Jazz & contemporary 

Caruso Jazz Café, via Lambertesca, 14/16r 

, info 055-281940, www.dulcisinfundo.org, 

www.carusojazzcafe.com, h 21.30 

Organ concerts 

Every day at 9.15 pm; on Saturdays at 6pm, 

Chiesa S.Maria de’ Ricci info 055215044 

Concerts at St. Mark’s English Church 

The “Orpheus Ensemble” presents sacred 

music, Italian opera arias and Neapolitan 

Songs with piano and voice 

St. Mark’s English Church, Via Maggio 16- 

18, info 340.8119192, every day at 21.15, 

€15, for The Florentine readers € 10 (Mondays 

free piano recital) 

Organ and instrumental concerts 

Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Ricci, via del 

Corso, info 055.289367, all year, Mon-Sun 

21.15, Sat 18.00, €11 

Ascolti musica. Concerts 

From January 25 to June 2m Scandicci Teatro 

Studio tel. 055757348 - www.scandiccicultura.org 

n NIGHTLIFE 

Ambasciata di Marte 

See web for Music program and concerts 

All year, Ambasciata di Marte, Via Mannelli 

2 , Campo di Marte, info 055-6550786, 

www.ambasciatadimarte.org, member only, 

h 22.00 

Caruso Jazz Cafè 

Jazz nights 

Via Lambertesca 14/16r, info 055 281940, 

www.carusojazzcafe.com 

Champagneria 

Pizza, disco,pub, pop and rock music 

Via Villamagna 71, Candeli (Bagno a Ripoli, 

Firenze) info 055 632815, www.champagneria.it, 

music on Fri and Sat, free entrance 

Golden View 

Restaurant with music, every Sun, Mon and 

Wed live jazz music 

Via dei bardi 58r, info 055 214502 

Jazz Club 

jazz nights 

Jazz Club, via Nuova de’ Caccini 3, info 

055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 

Maracanà 

Disco-risto-show 

Via Faenza, 4 - Firenze Info-line: 

055.210298, www.maracana.it 

Pinocchio Jazz Club 

jazz nights 




Tenax 

Disco 

Tenax, via Pratese 46, tel. 055.308160 

reggae-roots + rock-cartoons + goatrance 

+ house 

Le Mulina Race Course (trot racing) V..le del 

Pegaso, price: € 5,00, info 335-6070924 

n PARKS 

Boboli Garden 

Piazza Pitti, from nov to February h 8,15 to 

16,30 (17,30 during march), from april to 

oct h 8,15 to 18,30, entrance 8€ info 055 

2651838 

Villa Peyron 

via Vincigliata 2 Fiesole, info 055 454791 


Firenze Moms 4 Moms Network 

(in English) for many exciting events such 

as Playgroups, Mom’s Night Out, Couples 

Night Out and more 

For English Speaking Moms in Florence 

and the surrounding areas: check out this 

link http://www.fi renzemoms4moms.net/ . 

Form more information: infotiscali@fi renzem 

oms4moms.net or call # 333-572-8945. 

Mudi Lab - workshops and daily play 

courses 

Every day 9am.-6pm., Istituto degli Innocenti 

LA BOTTEGA DEI RAGAZZI, via dei 

Fibbiai 2 - tel. 0552478386 - www.istitutodeglinnocenti.it 

Trotting race 

February 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21 Ippodromo 

Le Mulina - info 0554226076 - www.ippocity.com 

Trotting race 

February 2, 4, 7 Ippodromo Le Mulina - info 

0554226076 - www.ippocity.com 


La macellara 

Feb 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 21.00, Sun 

16.30, € 6/8, Teatro Il Palco, Piazza Elia 

dalla Costa 26, tel. 055.6810496, www. 

teatroilpalco.com 

I barroccini di via dell’Ariento 

Feb 10-11, 17-18, 21.15, Sun 16.15, 

€11, Teatro Nuovo, via Fanfani 16, tel. 

055.413067 

I’ fi gliolo di prete 

in vernacular 

Feb 10-11, 17-18, 21.00, Sun 16.30, Teatro 

di Cestello, Piazza del Cestello, 4, tel. 

055.294609, www.teatrodicestello.tbo.it 

Lina Sastri in “Corpo Celeste” 

Feb 13-18, 20.45, Sun 15.45, Teatro 

della Pergola, via della Pergola, 18, tel. 

055.22641, www.pergola.fi renze.it 

Il Vangelo secondo Gesù Cristo

12 




Feb 13-18, 21.00, Sun 16.45, Teatro Puccini, 

via delle Cascine 41, tel. 055.362067, 

www.teatropuccini.it 

Quella del piano di sopra 

Feb 15-18, 20.45, Sun 16.45, Teatro Verdi, 

via Ghibellina 99, tel. 055.212320, www. 

teatroverdifi renze.it 

Quix. Un Don Quixote contemporaneo 

Feb 15-19, Feb 25-26, 21.00, Teatro Puccini, 

via delle Cascine 41, tel. 055.362067, 

www.teatropuccini.it 

Giorgio Albertazzi in “Memorie di 

Adriano” 

Feb 20-25, 20.45, Sun 15.45, Teatro 

della Pergola, via della Pergola, 18, tel. 

055.22641, www.pergola.fi renze.it 

Gioie. Frammenti di vita di Anna Maria 

Luisa de’ Medici, Elettrice Palatina 

Feb 20-25, 21.15, Sun 17.00, Salone Donatello, 

sotterranei di San Lorenzo, info 

055-6120205, €12 

Alessandro Preziosi in “Datemi tre caravelle!” 

Feb 22-25, 20.45, Sun 16.45, Teatro Verdi, 

via Ghibellina 99, tel. 055.212320, www. 

teatroverdifi renze.it 

UP COMING 

n EXHIBITS 

Cezanne and Impressionism in Florence 

From March 2 to July 29, Palazzo Strozzi, 

info 055 2776461 www.cezannefi renze.it 


Sting in concert 

Feb 22, Auditorium Parco della Musica in 

Rome; Feb 23, Teatro degli Arcimboldi in 

Milan, info & booking www.boxol.it 

CHILDREN 

n CINEMA 

Cinema Kids 

every Sunday at 17.00 

Istituto Stensen, v.le don Minzoni 25/c, tel. 

055.576551, www.stensen.org 


Il Giardino di Archimede, Mathematics’ 

Sundays 

Guided visits and surprise events at the 

Museum 

All year, Il Giardino di Archimede, Museo 

per la Matematica, via S. Bartolo a Cintoia 

19, info 055.7879594, www.archimede.ms, 

on the fi rst Sunday of every month 


The amazing circus of Merlin the Wizard 

Workshop to create circus equipment. For 

children ages 4 to 11 

Il Cappello di Merlino, via Mazzetta 14r, info 

055.264471, every Thur, 17.00 

The little joiner’s shop 

Workshop to create wooden games. Develops 

creativity and dexterity. For children 

ages 4 to 10 


055.264471, every Wed, 17.00 

The world through the senses 

Experimenting with the senses (taste, sight, 

hearing, touch, smell) through games and 

book-readings. For children ages 2 to 5 


055.264471, every Fri, 17.00 

Carnevalino dei ragazzi 

piazza Vittoria, Vicchio, 14.30-18.30 

Il Carnevale di Paperino 

Feb 18, 20, Circolo Arci Paperino, Paperino 

, Prato, info 0574.540192 

Il carnevale dei bambini 

Musica, balli e clownerie 

Auditorium Gianni Rodari, Campi Bisenzio, 

16.00 


Saburan 

puppet show 

Every Sat at 17.00, Teatro del Crc Antella, 

Via Pulicciano 53, Antella 

Puppet show 


055.264471, every Sat, 17.00 

Festa di Carnevale 

Masks and performances 

Feb 17, 17.00, Teatro del Crc Antella, Via 

Pulicciano 53, Antella 

Le avventure di fagiolino 

Feb 10, 17.00, Auditorium Gianni Rodari, 

Via G. Lorca 1, La Villa, Campi Bisenzio 

I musicanti di Brema 

Feb 10, 16.00, Castello, via R. Giuliani 374, 

Rifredi 

Notizie dal matrimonio di Cenerentola 

Feb 10, 16.30, Teatro Cantiere Florida, via 

Pisana 111r, tel. 055.573857, www.elsinor. 

it, €5/7 

Il gatto mammone 

Feb 11, 17.00, Teatro Moderno ARCI, Via 

Gramsci 5, Tavarnuzze 

Cappuccetto Rosso 

Feb 11, 16.30, Teatro Cantiere Florida, via 

Pisana 111r, tel. 055.573857, www.elsinor. 

it, €5/7 

Baracche e burattini 

10th Annual Children’s Theatre Festival 

Feb. 10,17, 16.00, € 4,00, Castello, via R. 

Giuliani 374, info 055.2767045 

Pinocchio 

puppets show 

Feb 17, 16.30, €4, Castello, via R. Giuliani 

374, Rifredi 

Il gatto con gli stivali 

Feb 18, 17.00, Teatro Regina Margherita, 

via A. Mori 20 , Loc. Marcialla, Barberino 

Val d’Elsa 

L’orco con le penne 

Feb 18, 17.00, Limonaia Villa Montalvo, via 

di Limite, Campi Bisenzio 

Buon compleanno papà 

Feb 18, 17.30, Teatro del Popolo di Castelnuovo 

d’Elsa 

Festa di Carnevale 

Grand Performance: Stenterello 

Feb 18, 17.00, Teatro Le Laudi, via L. da 

Vinci 2r, tel. 055.572831, www.caspi.it/teatri/defaultLaudi.htm 

Quante storie!! Theatre for children 

Feb 22, 17.30, €4, Cinema Accademia, 

via Montanelli 33, Pontassieve, tel. 

0558316437 - www.comune.pontassieve. 

fi .it 

Pollicino e altre storie 

Feb 22, 17.30, Accademia Cinema, Via 

Montanelli 33 , Pontassieve 

OUT OF TOWN 

n COMPETITION 

Fare e disfare è tutto un lavorare 

concorso fotografi co, premi in danaro 

Until Feb 15, Camera di Commercio di Prato 

info: www.po.camcom.it 

Italia Wave 

Regional selections participating in the 

Arezzo Wave 2007 

Feb 16, 21.30, Offi cina Giovani, piazza dei 

Macelli, Prato, info 05741836753 

n EXHIBITS 

Corrispondenze - Works from the collection 

of Centro Pecci and Civic Museum 

of Prato 

Until April 7, 10-14, 15-19, Centro per l’Arte 

Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, v.le della Repubblica 

277, Prato, tel. 0574.5317, www. 

centropecci.it 

Opere pittoriche di Franco Ferraro 

Until April 27, closed Sat and Sun, free, 

Confartigianato Sede di Maliseti, via Saccenti 

19/21, Prato 

Carlo Ginori’s album. Documents and 

pathways of an illuminated man. Exhibition 

and guided visits 

Until April 30, Museo Richard Ginori Sesto 

Fiorentino, tel. 055.4207767 

Kids Riot - Botto e Bruno 

Until May 20, 9-19, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea 

Luigi Pecci, v.le della Repubblica 

277, Prato, tel. 0574.5317, www.centropecci.it 

Chi guarda chi? 

Portraits by Leo Cardini 

Until Feb 28, Overspace, via Inghirami 19, 

Prato, info 0574.595645, www.overarredodesign.it 

Aldo Lurci paintings 

Until March 14, Confartigianato di Prato, via 

Montegrappa 138, Prato 

Artisti Amici dei Musei 

Until Feb 28, 10-13, 15-18, Tues closed, 

Cassero Medievale, viale Piave, Prato 

Kashmir: The 5 senses 

Until March 5, €6, closed on Tues, Museo 

del Tessuo, via Santa Chiara 24, Prato, 

0574 611503, www.museodetessuto.it 

Scatti violenti 

Photografi c exhibition about violence through 

the movies from Pasolini to Tarantino. 

Until May 13, Foyer del teatro della Limonaia, 

via Gramsci 426, Sesto Fiorentino, tel. 

055.440852 - www.teatrodellalimonaia.it 

Non per caso by Daniel Spoerri 

Until April 29, 10-19, Tues closed, Centro 

per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, v.le 

della Repubblica 277, Prato, tel. 0574.5317, 

www.centropecci.it 

Tribute to Boccaccio. Painting exhibition 

from February 18 to March 31, Certaldo (Firenze) 

Palazzo Pretorio tel. 0571661219 

- www.comune.certaldo.fi .it 


Visita dell’Abbazia 

Every Wed and Friday 10-12, Sun 15.30- 

18.00, Abbazia San Salvatore e San Lorenzo 

a Settimo, Scandicci, www.badiadisettimo.it, 

info 055-7310537 

La foresta dell’Acquerino 

trekking 

Feb 11, 7.45, starting point Bar Moncelli, 

loc. Santa Lucia, Prato, info 368-3873099 

A ‘Nature’ Itinerary in the hills of Calvana 

Feb 13, 21.00, info 0574-22004, www.caiprato.it 

La valle del Rio Buti 

trekking 

Feb 18, info 368-3873099, www.polisportivaaurora.it 

On the Scaffolding with Filippo Lippi 

Visits to the restoration of Filippo Lippi’s 

fresco (max 12 persons) 

Cattedrale di Santo Stefano, piazza del 

Duomo, Prato, info 0574.24112, www.restaurofi 

lippolippi.it, by reservation only, every 

Sat at 10, 11, 16, 17, Sun at 10, 11, €8 

Abbey of San Salvatore and San Lorenzo 

a Settimo 

Every Wed, Fri 10-12, Sun 15.30-18, closed 

July and Aug, Badia a Settimo, Scandicci, 

info 055.7310537, www.badiadisettimo.it 

The Ceramics of Montelupo 

Free guided visits of Archaeology and 

Ceramics Museum and participation in 

workshops 

Every Thur from 10.00 to 14.00, Museo Archeologico 

e della Ceramica, Moninfoupo 

Fiorentino, info 0571.518993 

Wine and Fashion in the Florentine 

Mountains. Itineraries with guided visits, 

shopping 

Tours to discover the beauty of the Florentine 

Mountains. Visits to artisan workshops 

and local shopping centres 

All year Mon and Sat, Resco Travel, info 

055.868009 


Festa de l’Unità Invernale 

Feb 13-18, Montespertoli city center, evening 

(Sat, Sun all day) 

Atmosphere and mystery, a night of 

Carnevale 

Feb 15, Borgo san Lorenzo historical center, 

21.00 

Polentata delle ceneri 

Feb 21, Borgo San Lorenzo city center, 

from 8 to 13 

Week-end of February 10-11 

Antique fair at Villa Corsini 

Feb 9, 10, 11, Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte, 

Impruneta (Firenze), www.mediag.it, from 

10 to 20, 7€ 

Mostra Mercato di Antiquariato “Villa 

Corsini” 

Feb 9 to 11, Villa Corsini, San Casciano, 

info www.mediag.it, 10-20, 7€ 

Antique market 

Feb 10, Incisa Valdarno, tel. 055.8333450, 

all day 

Carnival parade 


Feb 11, 18, 20, Rufi na, tel. 055.8399014, 

all day 

Carnevale mugellano 

Feb 11, 18, 20, Borgo San Lorenzo, historical 

center, from 15.00 

Carnevale nella Firenze dei Medici e 

dei Lorena 

Light shows and dancing 

Feb 11, Antico Spedale del Bigallo, Via 

Bigallo e Apparita 14, Bagno a Ripoli, info 

334-2007438, www.bigallo.it, from 20.00, 

prenotazione obbligatoria 

Fierucola delle bigonge 

Feb 11, Piazza del Comune e Piazza Buonamici, 

Prato, 9-19 

Fiera di Carnevale 

Feb 11, 18, San Mauro a Signa city center, 

all day 

Week-end of February 17-18 

Carnival festival 

Feb 10, 17, 20, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Sesto 

Fiorentino, tel. 055.4496357, all day 

Carnival parade 

Feb 11, 18, 20, Rufi na, tel. 055.8399014, 

all day 

Carnevale mugellano 

Feb 11, 18, 20, Borgo San Lorenzo, historical 

center, from 15.00 

Fiera di Carnevale 

Feb 11, 18, San Mauro a Signa city center, 

all day 

Little Carnival parade 

Feb 17, Piazza della Vittoria Vicchio, tel. 

055.844003, all day 

Fair of crafts, antiques and secondhand 

goods 

Feb 18, Dicomano, tel. 055.838541, all 

day 

Carnevale Dicomanese 

Feb 18, 20, Dicomano city center, all day 

Sagra of sweets and chestnuts 

Feb 18, Loc. Migliana, Cantagallo (Prato), 

all day 

Mercatino di artigianato e antiquariato 

Feb 18, Certaldo, 9-20 


La notte caraibica 

free caribean dance lessons 

Feb 12, 14, 19, 21, only on Mon and Wed 

22.15, Omi Music Club, via Tevere 100, 

Osmannoro 

Live music 

Feb 9, 16, 22.00, Fattoria del Bassetto, 

Certaldo 

European Saxofhone Quartet 

Feb 9, 21.00, Conservatorio di San Niccolò, 

p.za Cardinal S. Niccolò 6 , Prato 

Almasfera 



Maratona Beethoven 

isonatas for violin and piano 

Feb 10, 21.00, Teatro Shalom, via Busoni, 

24 , Empoli, info 0571.711122 

Godamn Superstar 

Marilyn Manson tribute 

Feb 10, 22.30, Siddharta, via Trav. Pistoiese 

83, San Paolo, Prato 

Concerti-aperitivo 

Feb 11, 18, 10.00, Teatro Metastasio, via 

Cairoli 59, Prato, tel. 0574.6084, www.metastasio.it 

Partiture 

Original concert by 4 young composers 

Feb 11, 17.00, Teatro Magnolfi , via Gobetti 

74, Prato 

L’Elisir d’Amore di Donizetti 

Feb 11, 15.00, Teatro Dante, piazza Dante 

53, Campi Bisenzio 

Gaudeamus Omnes 

Dancing and singing of Carnasciale Rinascimentale 

Feb 11, 16.30, Auditorium La Tinaia di Parco 

Corsini, Fucecchio 

Di 10 in 10 

Dedicated to the 80’s 



Diana Torto-John Taylor Duo 

Feb 12, 21.15, Teatro Metastasio, via Cairoli 

59, Prato, tel. 0574.6084, www.metastasio.it



Paolo Fresu & Uri Caine 

classic music revisited 

Feb 16, 21.15, Teatro Aurora, via S. Bartolo 

in Tuto 1, Scandicci 

Carnival Concert 

Offenbach, Strauss father and son, Lanner, 

Lehár, Fucik music, Peter Guth director 

Feb 17, 21.00, Teatro Comunale Garibaldi, 

piazza Serristori, Figline Valdarno 

Festa di Carnevale con I Cavalieri del 

Re 

dark and metal music 

Feb 17, 21.30, Siddharta, via Trav. Pistoiese 

83, San Paolo, Prato 

Lanzoni, Tavolazzi, Paoli Trio 

classical music 

Feb 17, 21.15, Teatro Regina Margherita via 

A. Mori, 20 , Loc. Marcialla , Barberino Val 

d’Elsa 

Anthony Braxton Sextet 

Feb 19, 21.00, Teatro Metastasio, via Cairoli 

59, Prato, tel. 0574.6084, www.metastasio.it 

Carnival Concert 

Offenbach, Strauss father and son, Lanner, 

Lehár, Fucik music, Peter Guth director 

Feb 22, 21.00, Teatro Excelsior, via Ridolfi 

75, Empoli 

Camerata Strumentale “Città di Prato” 

Feb 22, 21.00, Teatro Politeama Pratese, via 

Garibaldi 33-35, Prato, tel. 0574.455210, 

www.politeamapratese.com 

Concerto-recital Rosa Balistreri 

Feb 17, 21.15, Teatro Manzoni di Calenzano 

Via Mascagni 18, Calenzano 

n PARKS 

Sculptures in a woodland 

In an untouched wood of ilex and oak trees 

in the heart of Sienese Chianti, many internationally 

renowned artists from fi ve continents 

have created imposing contemporary 

sculptures 

Parco sculture del Chianti, La Fornace 

48/49, Pievasciata, Siena, info 

0577.357151, www.chiantisculpturepark.it, 

open all year 


Il Triocco. Handicraft and collectors’ 

market 

Figline Valdarno, info 055.951569, all day 

Empoli vs Palermo 


Stadio Castellani, V.le delle Olimpiadi , Empoli, 

18.00 

Empoli vs Roma 


Stadio Castellani, V.le delle Olimpiadi , Empoli, 

18.00 

Scandicci corre 

half Marathon 

info 055.7591273, www.podisticailponte.it 


Macbeth 

Feb 7-11, 21.00, Sun 16.00, Teatro Metastasio, 

via Cairoli 59, Prato, tel. 0574.6084, 

www.metastasio.it 

Il medico dei pazzi 

Feb 9-11, 21.00, Sun 16.00, Teatro Excelsior, 

via Ridolfi 75, Empoli, tel. 0571.72023 

Alessandro Benvenuti in “Addio Gori” 

Feb 13, 21.00, Teatro Niccolini di San Casciano 

IN TUSCANY 

n EXHIBITS 

La passione e l’arte 

Bransi and Magnani collections 

Dec 8 to March 11, Santa Maria della Scala 

Palazzo Squarcialupi, Siena, info www.verniceprogetti.it 

Joel Peter Witkin 

American artists’ exhibition 

Jan 20 to April 8, Seravezza, Palazzo Mediceo, 

info 392.9586574, 15- 20 closed on 

Mon, € 5 


Carnevale di Santa Croce 2007 

Carnival Parade 

Feb 11and 18, Santa Croce sull’Arno (Pisa), 

info 0571.34473, 16.30 

Carnevale di Foiano della Chiana 2007 


Feb 11 and 18, Foiano della Chiana (Arezzo), 

info 0575.642100, wwww.carnevaledifoiano.it, 

from 14 to 19 

Carnevale di Foiano di Viareggio 


Feb 11, 18, 20, Viareggio (Lucca), info 

0584.795520, wwww.carnevaledifoiano.it, 

from 14 to 19 

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13 

Thursday 8 February 2007

14 


UP CLOSE & PERSONAL 

An Interview with 

Antonina Bargellini 

by Elia Celestina Della Chiesa 

‘How fortunate indeed is your Firenze, to have as Mayor a man 

like you, so sensitive to her beauty.’ 

Jacqueline Kennedy 

Mayor Piero Bargellini with daughter Antonina, 1966 

Assessor of Education, Culture and the Environment under Giorgio La Pira in 

the 1950s, Piero Bargellini became mayor of Florence in 1966. Fondly 

remembered by Florentines as the ‘Flood Mayor’, Mr Bargellini distinguished 

himself for his dedication to Florence and his noteworthy organizational abilities. 

Bargellini used his home as the operation headquarters where politicians and 

writers such as Aldo Moro, Ted Kennedy, Saragat and Montanelli were received 

during the days following the Arno tragedy. Elected senator in 1968 and later 

appointed judge, he was a prolifi c writer throughout his entire life, authoring no 

less than 120 books. He was also founding editor of Il Frontespizio, an important 

cultural magazine which gathered together noteworthy Italian writers like Carlo 

Bo, Mario Luzi and don Giuseppe De Sica. The sixth daughter of Piero Bargellini, 

Antonina ‘grew up’ in Palazzo Vecchio. She accompanied her father on 

many offi cial visits including the Mayor’s 1966 trip to the United States to raise 

funds for victims of the fl ood. Antonina has always shared her father’s vocation 

for protecting and improving Florence. She has dedicated her life to volunteer 

work in hopes of bettering her city on both the human and artistic level. 

The Florentine: Tell us about your father as ‘Flood Mayor’. 


Antonina Bargellini: When my father become mayor he said, ‘I’ve made so 

many love declarations to Florence that in the end I had to marry her. I believe 

in life-long marriage so I will always be married to this city. In the same way that 

I’ve only had one wife throughout my life, I will only have one city’. And when the 

fl ood came, we really got to witness how strong that marriage actually was. 

My father’s biggest worry after the fl ood was that Florence would be considered 

a dead city. He made huge, immediate efforts to help the city get back 

on its feet by giving public money to the people who needed it. ‘This money is 

burning in my hands’ he would say and then give it away without waiting for 

bureaucratic approval. The city sued him several times for that. He used to tell 

us, ‘The fl ood left me with bronchitis and a whole lot of time in court’. 

In the days after the fl ood, people took to sending him money personally to 

distribute as he saw fi t. Clothes, too. There was a Swiss baron who sent us a 

frightening amount of clothes—mostly tuxedos and evening gowns! And my 

mother would wring her hands and say ‘How can I give these to people? They 

will throw them back at me’. Santa Croce was a poor neighbourhood. These 

people were fi ghting to survive. You couldn’t give them fancy suits at times like 

those! I remember my brother helping himself to some dinner jackets and I took 

a camel-hair coat. My father was very severe, ‘If you take one thing, you have to 

give back two of your own’. 

We transformed our basement into a huge centre for the needy, and the door 

was always open. I mean, half of it had been washed away by the fl ood, but the 

other half was always open. We couldn’t give food, though. We had no gas to 

cook with. But people would bring us food and we’d host whoever came for a 

meal. People would come here, eat, talk, cry and then get back to work again. 

TF: What do you most remember about the fl ood? 

AB: Well, this house was fl ooded under 6 meters of water and we lived on the 

top fl oors. All the neighbours came to stay with us, because they felt safer here. 

They talked that fi rst night saying ‘Well, at least we live on the mayor’s street; 

surely it will be the fi rst one he’ll restore’. How wrong they were! My father 

never would have fi xed up his own street fi rst! He had a very different plan for 

our house. He made it into the symbol of fl ooded Florence. He’d take powerful 

people on tours through the house to make them aware of how hard the city 

had been hit by the tragedy. Santa Croce was one of the neighbourhoods that 

suffered the most. The only time we saw him in the days of the fl ood was when 

he came to tour people through. He had so many people to take care of. We 

weren’t his only family. The whole of Florence was his family. 

The nights of the fl ood, citizens would spread news through open windows 

and from rooftops. ‘We have a sick woman here; send news of her to Palazzo 

Vecchio’. Messages would travel from rooftop to rooftop in the dark. People 

wanted the voices needed to reach City Hall because Bargellini was there. My 

father was struck by the faith people had in Palazzo Vecchio. 

TF: How has this experience changed your life? 

AB: Well, I do want to clarify one thing. I only want to talk about the fl ood if my 

stories can somehow have meaning in today’s world. To me, Florence is currently 

going through very hard times. Today’s tragedy is different from the one 

caused by the fl ood, and in a way, it’s almost worse. The degradation of the city 

and the indifference of its citizens pain me so much.


We must take the time to re-read the fl ood and see why Florence sprang 

from her ruins even more beautiful than before. In 1966, we all worked together, 

united by a real love for this city. People were desperate, but we all worked 

side-by-side without political or social barriers. All of those young people came 

from all over the world to help. My father worried about their arrival, ‘My God, 

he said, ‘where in the world am I going to put them all? What am I going to feed 

them’? They were children in his eyes—many hadn’t turned 18 yet. There were 

hundreds and they had nowhere to sleep. But they came with a certain spirit 

and with an inner strength.A true sense of solidarity. We need to re-introduce 

that feeling to this city. There are so many problems today. We have to fi nd a 

way to recreate that welcoming, altruistic spirit. 

This city has always demonstrated openness towards young people, and 

that’s why so many came to help when she was in trouble. Venice also fl ooded 

but didn’t receive the same response. Florence has always given a strong message 

to young people—of hope and Humanism. After all, Humanism was born 

here. This is a special city. 

TF: What problems do you feel are most prevalent in Florence today? 

AB: My father considered Florence a beautiful woman who needs to be cared 

about deeply and in even the smallest of ways. Otherwise, she’ll get worn down, 

lose her charm and become vulgar. He passed that view onto me. He felt it really 

important to protect her beauty, maintain her smaller alleys, city-wide lighting and 

her forgotten gardens—he truly wanted Florence to be ‘the city of fl owers’. My 

God, if he could see Florence now! His goal as a writer was to inspire love for 

this city. It was the gift he wanted to give people, and it is a sentiment we are 

really lacking. 

I mean, if you look at history you can see that there has been a true change 

in attitude. We’ve gone from being merchants to being mere shopkeepers. The 

Florentines have always been merchants, in the highest sense of the word. The 

Medici, the Strozzi knew how to get wealthy, but as they did, they made efforts 

to make the city more beautiful. Their perspective was simple: the more beautiful 

the city, the more wealth it will generate. People will come to it, and the more 

relationships we form with visitors, the better off the city will be. The merchants 

earned a lot, but they also built, restored and protected a lot. Our mentality today 

is drastically different. We are out to take advantage of the city, not to enhance it. 

In our search for economic profi t, we render it poorer than before. 

No one can spare a moment of kindness for a tourist, for example. Sometimes I 

Cesare Moncelli 

Via S. Maria 16 r 

50125 Firenze 

www.segnidiseta.it 

studio@segnidiseta.it 

FIRENZEITALY 

15 


UP CLOSE & PERSONAL 

see tourists admiring this house and I go downstairs and ask them if they’d like to 

see the inside of a real Tuscan palazzo. Most look at me like I’m crazy, but some 

accept and leave my home immensely grateful. It takes so little to make a guest 

feel welcome. Tell them a bit of history or give a smile. Florence has become a 

vulgar city. We need to stop that and develop and protect our relationships with 

foreigners. People now come to Florence for three minutes, wait in frighteningly 

long lines and can’t wait to leave again. My utopia would be to make Florence in 

2007 a welcoming city on various levels. 

TF: How can Florence become a ‘welcoming’ city? 

AB: There’s a lot of immigration today, we can’t negate that, and it’s right that 

things should be this way. The city hosts people from all over the world, and 

Florence needs to learn to welcome them. I am working to bring together a 

group of Florentines and foreigners—people from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, 

Algeria and other places around the world. There are many immigrants who 

have an incredibly high cultural level and they live as outcasts. Our group’s 

objective is to work together against the degradation of Florence. The city’s 

physical degradation comes from not having an authentic relationship with the 

city. It springs from feeling like you don’t belong to it. If people feel no spiritual 

attachment to the place they’re living, then they automatically lack respect for 

it. I don’t accuse foreigners: I think the Florentines are the fi rst to show disrespect 

for their city. But with this international group, we are trying to educate 

ourselves about our rights and duties so that we can stop acting like subjects 

and start acting like true citizens. A Senegalese writer said, ‘We want to stop 

demanding things for our community. We want to start giving back to Florence. 

Ultimately, we want to give our love’. It’s about offering concrete love—through 

various forms of social activism. I’m not talking about forming an association. 

We are moving to become part of the solidarity networks that already exist in 

the Florentine neighbourhood councils. It’s about recognizing and responding 

to the needs of the people who live in our neighbourhoods. And it’s a movement 

where Florentines and foreigners work together. If you work together, 

side by side, you become friends, and forging friendship is the fi rst step in 

changing society.

16 


MOSAICS BY 

JANE’S GEMS 

In the October 19, 2006 issue, I 

wrote an article about Suor Plautilla 

Nelli, the fi rst known woman 

painter of Florence and about the 

restoration of her painting Lamentation 

with Saints, which was unveiled 

last October and can be seen in the 

large refectory at the Museo di San 

Marco. The Florence Committee of 

the National Museum of Women in 

the Arts restored the painting and 

produced a DVD on the project. I 

asked the renowned restorer, Rossella 

Lari, to express how she felt as 

she was restoring the painting, which 

is included as part of the DVD. I was 

very moved by what she said and 

would like to share it with our readers. 

As Jonathan Nelson (a Syracuse 

University/ Florence professor and 

editor of the book Suor Plautilla Nelli, 

The First Woman Painter of Florence) 

expressed to me, ‘often a restorer 

works with a sense of detachment, 

in order to be fair and accurate, but 

after work, feels the emotion of his 

or her work’. We, who were deeply 

connected to this restoration project, 

have become very emotionally tied to 

Suor Plautilla Nelli and for me, she will 

forever be part of my soul. 

In the words of restorer 

Rossella Lari: 

Life in Italy 

Look to Jane Fortune’s column for news and views on Florence’s best cultural events, from art and music to 

dance and theatre. Discover must-dine family restaurants and many of the area’s unsung treasures. Spotlight on 

women artists, outstanding artisans and unsung heroes of Florentine tradition. Don’t miss Jane’s Gems, places to 

go and people to know—for the veteran city-dweller and the newly arrived. 

The past in wax at ‘La Specola’ 

Section of the Natural History Museum of the University of Florence 

by Dottoressa Marta Poggesi, Direttrice 

In 1771, the Wax Model Workshop 

was established in Florence by 

Abbot Felice Fontana, who became 

the museum’s fi rst director. For more 

than a century, this workshop produced 

anatomical wax models which 

today constitute one of the most 

prestigious collections of its kind in 

the world. Supported by Grand Duke 

Peter Leopold of Lorraine, the workshop 

occupied the ground fl oor of 

Palazzo Torrigiani (adjacent to Palazzo 

Pitti). In 1775, the Palazzo was 

offi cially inaugurated and opened to 

the public as the Royal and Imperial 

Museum of Physics and Natural History 

(the current ‘La Specola’ Zoology 

Museum). 

Thus, the workshop began production 

even before the museum was 

established, and its products are still 

admired for their accuracy, originality 

and artistry. They were created 

for educational purposes, to teach 

anatomy through directly observing 

a cadaver. In fact, the collection was 

conceived as a three-dimensional 

treatise, in that it not only consisted 

of wax models but also included of 

Via Romana 17 

Entrance fee: 4 euro adults, 

2 euro for children ages 6–16, 

Children under 6 enter free. 

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 

Sunday 9-1; Saturdays 9-5; closed 

Wednesdays. 

Tel: 055-228-8251 

a series of illustrations and related 

explanatory sheets. The preparation 

method began with dissection of 

the cadaver. The resulting anatomical 

pieces were used to create clay 

models. The plaster moulds obtained 

from the clay models were then fi lled 

with wax. 

In almost a century of work, an 

enormous number of models were 

produced, mostly depicting human 

anatomy but also illustrating comparative 

anatomy and botany. Many 

of these models were commissioned 

by buyers both in Italy and abroad. 

More than 1,400 pieces are currently 

exhibited in the La Specola 

Museum, featured in 581 showcases 

located in 10 rooms. 

Jane’s comments: ‘Specola’ means 

‘observatory’. This collection is 

famous throughout the world for its 

incredible accuracy and the realism 

its details. Florence has a long tradition 

of artistic wax modeling, introduced 

by Ludovico Cigoli (1559– 

1613). It was not until the second 

half of the 18th century, however, 

that experts opened a school of ceroplastics 

(the art of modelling anatomical 

specimens in wax). Clemente 

Susini, for example, crafted models 

for medical students between 1775 

and 1814 and remained active until 

1893. The museum’s most important 

pieces are a group of waxes by 

Gaetano Zumbo (1656–1701) that 

have extraordinary artistic value. 

They carry both philosophical and 

religious meaning, besides being 

excellent anatomical models. These 

life-size pieces, which reproduce all 

the details of the human body, are 

sometimes very hard to look at, but 

always fascinating. 

I’d like to express my deepest gratitude 

to the Florence Committee of the National 

Museum of Women in the Arts, and in particular 

to Jane Fortune and Magnolia Scudieri, 

for giving me the opportunity to restore 

Plautilla Nelli’s Lamentation. Often people 

have asked me what I felt as I carried out 

this project, and only now, at the end, can 

I express the different sensations that it 

inspired in me. Let me begin, however, by 

saying that in every project, a conservator 

must have two different approaches to the 

work in question. First, you need to look at 

it as a whole, exchanging impressions and 

evaluations with the art historian who follows 

the project. Later, when you enter into 

the operative stage, with brushes and scalpels 

in hand, you can consider only the physical reality of the work, without 

allowing yourself any emotions about the image itself. You need this distance 

in order to save the smallest paint fl ake, independent of the value of the painting 

or how much you like it. 

At the end of the day, however, I often let myself be moved by the timid 

compassion that emanates from the faces of the crying women. As a woman, 

I let myself be carried back in time, to imagine the life of Sister Plautilla and 

her companions within the confi nes of the convent. At this point, as I rock 

myself in this dreamy spirit, the emotions arrive: with pleasure and a touch 

of pain I try to identify with Plautilla’s emotions. From this restoration I have 

come away enriched as a restorer, and as a person. Thanks to all of you. 

Thank you, Plautilla. 

FAMILY 

RESTAURANT 


In this section, expect suggestions 

regarding restaurants Bob and I particularly 

love—for their good food, and 

especially the friendship and kindness 

each has extended to us over the 15 

years we have been coming to Florence. 

Several restaurants will be wellknown, 

others may not be, but each 

has one thing in common—they have 

shared their lives with us and that is a 

gift we most treasure. 

To paraphrase, the cuisine of Florence 

is like ‘Brunelleschi’s architectural lines, 

which need nothing added, and nothing 

subtracted.’ 

RESTAURANT: I’ che’ c’e c’e 

Via Magalotti 11/r 

(A side street off Borgo dei Greci 

between Piazza Santa Croce and 

Piazza della Signoria) 

Closed: Mondays /Tel: 055-216589 

ocated in the oldest section of Flor- 

Lence, this is another wonderful family 

restaurant. Friendly, casual, it has 

individual tables as well as communal 

seating at long wooden tables and 

benches in the center of the room. Gino 

Noci, owner and chef, serves traditional 

Tuscan food with a French fl air. Gino 

trained with Giorgio Pinchiorri at Buca 

Lapi before opening his own restaurant, 

I’che’c’è c’è, which he runs together 

with his lovely wife, Mara. He also gives 

cooking classes in Fabbrica, a hamlet 

outside of Florence. He also annually 

holds classes in Tuscan cooking at a 

private club in Atlanta, Georgia. A complimentary 

glass of prosecco and coccoli 

(salty, fried bread dough balls) are 

offered after you’re seated. Many years 

ago, at our fi rst meal here, Gino personally 

introduced us to the sweet, ice-cold, 

after-dinner lemon liqueur, limoncello! 

Menu suggestions: Grilled sal mon 

(salmone), which is ‘melt in your mouth 

delicious’ with or without a rich mushroom 

sauce, and carciofi alla Romana 

(these artichokes are better then the 

ones you can get in Rome!)—all musts. 

I’ che’c’e c’e has great desserts, but 

if you crave ice-cream (gelato), Vivoli (via 

isola della Stinche7/r; closed Mondays) 

is nearby. This well-known, family-owned 

gelateria has been open since 1930. 

Gelato ingredients are milk, eggs, sugar 

and natural fl avors—and until you tasted 

chocolate (cioccolato), you’ve never 

tasted anything so delicious! Some think 

Bernardo Buontalenti (the Italian Mannerist 

who created the famous grotto in 

the Boboli Gardens) created gelato for 

Francesco de’ Medici in 1565. 

Jane Fortune fell in love with Florence 

when she spent her junior year abroad 

here ‘molti anni fa’. Returning again and 

again over the years with her life partner, 

Bob Hesse, they now live here part time. 

Jane, whose passion is art, serves as a 

trustee on several boards of museums in 

the United States. In Florence, she is the 

chairman and founder of the Florence 

Committee of the National Museum of 

Women in the Arts (NMWA), a member 

of American International League (AIL), 

chairman of the board of trustees of Studio 

Art Centers International (SACI) and is 

currently writing a guide to the works by 

women artists in the Florence museums. 

Contact: 

j.fortune@thefl orentine.net


Life in Italy 

ITALIAN VOICES: A WINDOW ON LANGUAGE AND CUSTOMS IN ITALY 

‘Mah...’ 

by Linda Falcone 

I 

have never been on a speeddate 

in my life, and I’m hoping 

to be able to say that until 

the day I die. Repeated introductions, 

timers and frantic checklists 

make me nervous. I’m just not good 

at having to be interesting at high 

speeds. Besides, when you live in a 

country where getting sized up is the 

order of the day, there’s no need to 

torture oneself voluntarily—at least 

in public. 

I much prefer to have my ‘speeddate’ 

sessions in private—and most 

of these are purely language related. 

Finding a nice free phrase to spend 

quality time with is quite a feat, 

especially if you’re prone to weeding 

words out of your mind with 

the zeal of a gardener gone manic. 

This week, for instance, I’ve had 

several impressive close encounters 

with numerous Italian expressions. 

Alas, none of them made it past our 

seven-minute round of ‘getting to 

know you’. 

Admittedly, I am picky. A single 

writer seeking depth cannot just 

go falling in love with every wordsuitor 

who offers her a plate at the 

picnic. For me, language is a love 

relationship, and if my heart isn’t in 

it or I can’t get my head around it, 

then there’s just no sense leading a 

poor word on. Aloneness is better 

than bad company, and survival can 

sometimes depend on a very good 

goodbye. 

When I am truly lonely for a 

good word to write about, I call my 

mother. If you want to fi nd some 

truth, you’ve got to go to someone 

you can’t lie to. Plus, she is a writer 

too, who knows better than to provide 

me with mere vocabulary. 

‘Okay’, she told me over the phone 

last night, ‘Tell me what you’ve 

learned this week’. 

‘Mah, non ho imparato niente, I 

haven’t learned anything’. 

‘So, write about not learning anything’. 

I refused the idea at fi rst, of 

course. Partly because I couldn’t 

see the fun of it, and mostly because 

that’s what you do when you’re on 

an all-encompassing refusal rampage. 

But then it hit me—the word 

for that strange sense of inconformity 

I’d been carrying around with 

me for days. It’s what Italians say, 

when they can’t think of anything to 

say. It’s mah. 

Often heard and frequently 

misunderstood, mah is a complex 

exclamation with a myriad of meanings. 

Useful in times of unveiled 

mystery, mah is also known to English-speakers 

as ‘who knows’ or ‘I 

haven’t got a clue’. It’s quite a bit 

stronger than boh, the other syllable 

Italians use to admit ignorance. 

Both words show that you have no 

idea what the fi nal verdict will be, 

but mah, carries more skepticism. 

‘Mah! That case will need a decade 

just to knock down the courtroom 

door. And once it’s in, there’s no 

telling what the judge’s gavel is 

going to hit’. 

Sometimes used to introduce 

discussion or resume debate, mah 

can also be a net that captures stray 

thoughts. It’s the time you take 

before you jump and your chance to 

consider how cold the water is. Like 

the English word ‘well’, it gives you 

a chance to round up your run-wild 

ideas. Mah, however, holds none of 

well’s between-the-lines optimism. 

Think of it as a disclaimer disguised 

as an extra breath. As the prelude 

to a thought you’ve never before 

formulated, mah is a buffer against 

false hopes. It serves to warn the 

world that your speedy new theory 

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17 


‘Sometimes used to introduce discussion or resume debate, mah is the 

net that captures stray thoughts. It’s the time you take before you jump 

and your chance to consider how cold the water is.’ 

might not make it through the test 

drive. ‘Mah! I don’t know if this 

will work, but I’m willing to give it 

a shot’. 

A breath-based extension of ma, 

the Italian word for ‘but’, mah carries 

many of the same undertones. To 

the English speaker ‘but’ can be one 

scary bugger. With a tip of its hat, it 

topples the tower you carefully built 

in the fi rst clause. ‘I appreciate your 

efforts, but the answer is no.’ Mah 

is ‘but’ without the padding, and it 

can stand alone if accompanied by 

an exclamation point. The seed of 

doubt and the champion of inconformity, 

mah means ‘I disagree’. The 

reasons why are considered obvious 

and often left unexplained. 

With mah, looters like uncertainty, 

skepticism, ignorance and 

doubt become the crowded inmates 

of a cell that’s only three letters 

wide. In this sense, you’ve got to 

hand it to Italians. They have a 

knack for creating words with 

ant-like strength that can carry 10 

times their body weight. Constantly 

pressed for space, Italians have 

learned how to pack a whole lot of 

meaning into a single unassuming 

syllable. So, while mah may not be 

a word for the highly dignifi ed, it is 

both a crutch and a walking stick 

that can certainly prove useful for 

the likes of you and me. 

One day, perhaps, we shall be 

wiser. In the meantime, it can’t hurt 

to have a word for all the things 

that are hard to get your heart in 

or your head around. Carry mah 

with you at all times. We can never 

know when the hemming, hawing, 

stalling side of ourselves will turn 

up and demand dinner. We’ll never 

know when our wild inner child 

will want to break out and make 

non-conformist angels in the snow. 

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18 


Culture & CUSTOMS 

To whom we owe it all 

The legacy of Lady de’ Medici 

Carla Bardi (Ed.) 

The Little Big Cook Book 

by Mary Ann Pinto 

Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici 

(1667–1743) ought to be one 

of the most famous and popular 

Florentines of all times, for it 

was she who turned Florence into 

a cultural mecca. With a stroke of 

her pen, she bequeathed the Medici’s 

jewels, pictures, sculptures, 

manuscripts and buildings to the 

city of Florence. Yet she has been 

overlooked and neglected for more 

than three centuries. 

Anna Maria’s father, Grand 

Duke Cosimo III, was a weak 

and indolent ruler. Educated by a 

fanatic theologian, Cosimo became 

a gloomy, religious fanatic. He 

married the frivolous Margherita 

Luisa d’Orleans, who hated both 

her husband and Tuscany. From 

this unhappy union, three children 

were born: Ferdinando in 1663, 

Anna Maria Luisa in 1667 and 

Giangastone in 1671. Margherita 

The English Bookstore in Florence 

pp. 976, €15 €12 

10% off 

with this 

coupon* 

ANIMALS 

The Little Big Book of 

Various Authors 

The Little Big Book of Animals 

Mon thru Sun: 9am–7.30pm 

via de’ Neri, 32 r - Florence 

(near the Uffizi Gallery) 

tel. +39 055 238 24 56 

pp. 976, €15 €12 

*DISCOUNT APPLIES TO ABOVE TITLES ONLY 

had tried to induce a miscarriage 

when pregnant with Anna Maria, 

by riding horseback at breakneck 

speed. She returned to France in 

1675. 

As a child, Anna Maria spent 

much time with her uncle, Cardinal 

Leopold de’ Medici, who taught 

her to love literature, art and music. 

By the age of 16 she had developed 

into a witty, attractive girl who 

drew and painted, loved music and 

had mastered Latin and most of 

the modern European languages. 

She was her father’s favorite child, 

and he wanted to arrange a great 

marriage for her. But her parents’ 

reputations had spread through the 

courts of Europe, and because of 

this she was refused by the princes 

of Spain and Portugal, and by Louis 

XIV for the Dauphin of France. On 

June 5, 1691 she married the widower 

Johann Wilhelm II, Elector 

Palatine, and went to live in Duesseldorf. 

Anna Maria was a devoted 

wife and mourned her husband 

when he died in 1716. A year later, 

she returned to Florence, bringing 

back many paintings that she had 

acquired in Germany. She was welcomed 

joyously by Cosimo, who 

had not seen her for 27 years. 

Since none of his children had 

produced an heir, Cosimo tried to 

resolve the problem of succession 

to the Tuscan domain before his 

death in 1723, but without success. 

In 1731, the matter seemed to be settled 

to the satisfaction of the major 

powers of Europe. Even Giangastone 

was pleased with the choice of 

Don Carlos, the second son of Elizabeth 

Farnese and King Phillip V of 

Spain. The situation then changed, 

and Don Carlos received the kingdom 

of Naples and Two Sicilies to 

rule instead. The state of Lorraine 

went to France, and the Duke of 

Lorraine, to compensate him for 

his loss, was given Tuscany. 

Giangastone’s conduct, which 

had always been deplorable, continued 

to degenerate rapidly. He 

Life in Italy 

Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici 

reinforced himself for his rare public 

appearances by drinking heavily 

and then often behaved in a 

slovenly manner. Anna Maria persuaded 

him to repent shortly before 

he died in July 1737. He confessed, 

was given communion and granted 

absolution by the pope. 

Three months later, Anna Maria 

and the Duke of Lorraine signed a 

pact by which the paintings, sculptures, 

manuscripts, jewels and 

all other precious possessions of 

the Medici were to be conserved 

as possessions of the State, never 

to be taken from Tuscany. They 

were to be used for public enjoyment 

and to attract foreigner visitors. 

Most of the works of art in 

the Uffi zi, almost everything in the 

Pitti Palace, much of what is in the 

Bargello, the Laurentian Library 

and the Medici Chapels in the 

church of San Lorenzo (including 

Michelangelo’s statues) are only 

part of Anna Maria’s legacy. 

For centuries most Florentines, 

historians and tourists have overlooked 

the lady who is responsible 

for this city’s incredible artistic 

patrimony. The only reminders of 

her existence were a few meters of 

street leading to the Uffi zi along 

the Arno and a portrait on the 

ground fl oor of the Uffi zi. Then, 

in 1945, the then mayor of Florence 

Gaetano Pieraccini, a great 

admirer of Anna Maria, launched 

a contest for a statue of her. Raffaello 

Salimbeni won, but he did not 

complete the statue until 1971. It 

was temporarily placed at the foot 

of a back staircase in the Pitti Palace, 

awaiting a decision about its 

permanent location. Finally the 

statue was placed at the base of the 

campanile of San Lorenzo (which 

Anna Maria had commissioned) 

and unveiled on February 18, 1995, 

the 252nd anniversary of her death. 

While this sounds like a suitable 

position, the truth of the matter is 

that the market stalls in the street 

literally hide the statue. Nor do the 


bicycles chained to the fence surrounding 

it or the trash-bags littering 

the ground add to the attraction 

of the site. Despite protests from 

the sculptor’s widow and a petition 

of 1,000 signatures gathered by the 

Association of Tourist Guides, the 

statue has not been moved. 

An exhibition dedicated to Anna 

Maria runs from until April 15, 

2007 in the Palatine Gallery of the 

Pitti Palace, where she lived, and in 

the Villa Quiete, where she stayed 

during the hottest months of summer. 

Hopefully, after this exhibition 

Anna Maria will have won the recognition 

she deserves. 

After spending fi ve vacations as a 

guest at the Pensione Pitti Palace, 

Mary Ann Pinto moved to Florence 

in l971 and married the manager. 

She helped him run the hotel until 

they retired in October 1991. 

Her recollections of those years is 

recorded in Diary of an Italian Innkeeper’s 

Wife, which she is preparing 

for publication. 

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Life in Italy 

The night the bridges came falling down 

When World War II ravaged Florence 

by Deirdre Pirro 

Rumours were rife all over the 

city. Many said the Anglo- 

American troops had already 

reached the outskirts of the city. 

However, one thing was certain. On 

the afternoon of August 3, 1944, the 

German High Command in Florence 

had the following ordinance 

displayed on the street corners: 

Beginning from this moment, it is 

prohibited for anyone to leave their 

homes and walk in the streets or 

piazzas of the City of Florence. All 

the windows, even those in cellars, 

together with the entrance and hallways 

of houses, shall remain closed 

day and night. The population is 

advised to stay in their cellars, and 

where they do not have one, to go to 

a church or other big building. The 

patrols of the German armed forces 

have been ordered to shoot at anyone 

who is found on the street or 

who appears at the windows. 

By dusk, the city was completely 

deserted. That night fi ve of 

the then six bridges crossing the 

Arno—Ponte Santa Trinità, Ponte 

delle Grazie, Ponte della Vittoria, 

Ponte della Carraia and the Ponte 

di Ferro—were all blown up, effectively 

cutting the city in two. 

Only Ponte Vecchio was spared. 

Some say it was considered too 

fragile to support the weight of 

Allied tanks; others believed it was 

because Adolf Hitler had admired 

it so much on his visit to Florence 

in 1938. Nonetheless, to block the 

passage giving access to and from 

Ponte Vecchio, the two neighbourhoods 

leading up to it, on both sides 

of the river, including Por Santa 

Maria, via dei Bardi, Borgo San 

Jacopo, and via Guicciardini were 

also mined and blown up. 

An old friend of mine, Pietro B. 

vividly remembers his mother telling 

him that the Germans had given 

residents in these areas four hours 

to leave their homes. At the time, 

his family lived in an apartment in 

one of the famous antique towers 

in Borgo San Jacopo. Believing this 

measure to be merely a temporary 

one, his father created a makeshift 

safe which he cemented into 

the wall to hide what was left of 

the family jewels until they could 

return. Little did they know that 

all that would be left the following 

morning was rubble. 

In fact, the explosion of the mines 

began at eight o’clock at night on 

August 3 and lasted right through 

the night, the worst blast being 

heard at four in the morning. The 

next day, the Allied troops reached 

Porta Romana, and the battle to 

liberate Florence began and lasted 

until the end of the month when the 

city was fi nally freed. 

In his book and photographic 

record entitled 50 War-Damaged 

Monuments of Italy (published in 

1946), Emilio Lavagnini looks at 

these events that ravaged Italy’s 

artistic heritage. He maintains that 

Ponte Santa Trinità was probably 

‘the most important piece of architecture, 

from the point of view of 

art, that was destroyed by the war 

in Italy’. 

The fi rst Ponte Santa Trinità had 

been constructed in 1252. The original 

structure was replaced between 

1566 and 1569 by the bridge built 

by Bartolomeo Ammanati, based 

on a design by Michaelangelo, and 

adorned, at its two ends, by marble 

statues representing the four seasons. 

After the war, it was rebuilt, 

according to Lavagnini, by using 

every element of the original bridge 

that could be ‘fi shed out of the Arno’. 

This was done by damming the river. 

Several pieces were immediately 

recuperated while others remained 

in the river’s depths for years. The 

statue of the Primavera for example, 

remained headless until 1961, when 

the head was fi nally found and 

restored to its rightful owner. 

The reconstruction project was 

entrusted to fl amboyant architect 

Riccardo Gizdulich. He researched 

photographs and the original drawings 

left by Ammannati. Studying 

the fragments dragged up from the 

bottom of the river, Gizdulich concluded 

that the original masons 

must have used special chiselling 

and cutting implements when building 

the bridge. He designed similar 

tools and had them made. A group 

of artisans then painstakingly fi tted 

together the old pieces of the bridge 

with new stone taken from the same 

19 


Culture & CUSTOMS 

quarry in the Boboli Gardens that 

Ammannati had used. The new 

bridge took three years to complete 

and was inaugurated in 1958. 

The work was paid for by a citizens’ 

committee headed by the art 

historian Bernard Berenson, which 

raised $100,000 abroad, by the Florentines 

who contributed $30,000 

and by the Italian government, 

which added a fi nal $350,000. 

So the next time you cross Ponte 

Santa Trinità or wander along Por 

Santa Maria, via dei Bardi, Borgo 

San Jacopo, or via Guicciardini, 

look up at the mishmash of architectural 

styles in the buildings there 

and spare a thought for the night 

they blew up the bridges. 

Deirdre Pirro is an international 

lawyer who lives and works in 

Florence. Apart from the law, her 

interests include modern Italian 

history and the history of gastronomy. 

She can be contacted at: 

ddpirro@gmail.com

20 


Travel & LEISURE 

Life in Italy 

Seeing in the rain 

Bagni di Lucca and Barga played ‘Misty for Me’ 

by Samuel Jay Keyser 

The best thing about Bagni di Lucca, northeast 

of Lucca, is not what it is but what it 

recalls. Stare into the vapors rising from 

the 120-degree hot springs and you’ll see images 

of another epoch: Byron and Shelley taking the 

waters and writing home to urge Tennyson to do 

likewise, German poet Heinrich Heine and Irish 

novelist Charles Lever feeding their muses and 

perhaps their metabolisms. This spa town above 

the rushing river Serchio is worth a walk around. 

Once you cross its Ponte a Serraglio, you’ll be on 

the road up to another, slower, mistier, mossier 

world of sulfur fumes and sleepy hollows. It was 

November when my friends and I were there. 

One of the springs was closed for the season. 

Hardly anyone was around. We had the road to 

Bagni Caldi and the adjacent Stabilimento Jean 

Varraud all to ourselves—ourselves and a black 

cat that stalked us long enough to be bored by 

our company and seek excitement elsewhere in 

a bit of string. 

Near the top of the hill is the early-20th-century 

Stabilimento Jean Varraud, a labyrinth of 

steam baths, massage rooms, exfoliation chambers 

and swimming pools. We crept in fully 

clothed and unannounced and somehow managed 

to explore the establishment thoroughly, 

ignored by chunky men in terrycloth robes and 

fl ip-fl ops who passed by like wraiths before they 

disappeared behind unmarked doors, leaving in 

their wake a puff of sulfur. We felt like Dante 

exploring Purgatory. 

More evocative even than the Stabilimento’s 

springs or its long history of ‘taking the waters’ 

is its casino, now a preserved room fi lled with 

gaming tables, where clients came to relieve the 

tedium of sitting in the grotta a vapore and afterwards 

lying face-down in a white sheet and an 

uncomfortable blanket, breathing in. One table, 

covered with images of cards, is monogrammed 

with the name Caribbean Spud—which sounds 

more like a potato than a card game. The walls 

of the casino have been scraped to reveal layers 

of yesterdays. It is a ghostly room, well suited to 

the bath-robed spirits that fl it from bath to bed 

without so much as a buongiorno. 

EXHIBIT 

Vincenzo Marino 

January 1 st - February 28 th 2007 

restaurant - pizzeria 

CONTE UGOLINO 

via senese, 17 d-e-f 

Firenze ph. 055 22 21 27 

Barga Cathedral from afar 

Fifteen kilometers away is the town the 

guidebooks say is the prettiest in the Garfagnana. 

They’ll get no argument from me. Barga 

is a movie set of steep, dark streets lined with 

houses whose earth-colored walls, in quiet 

pinks, gentle browns and compliant grays, suggest 

they haven’t been constructed so much as 

grown from the hillside. I say all this having 

seen Barga in a pouring rain. 

If ever a town had its head in the clouds, it’s 

Barga. The day was gray when we arrived, grayer 

when we stopped for lunch in a fi ne little restaurant 

just inside the city walls and, after linguine 

al tartufo and a defensible local wine, pouring 

with rain. The 12th-century Duomo, perched at 

the very top of the town, is the jewel in Barga’s 

crown. We marched Duomo-ward, never minding 

that the rain came harder with each step, 

and wave after wave of water washed down the 

tilted streets under our feet. The piazza in front 

of the Duomo could have afforded a stunning 

view of the Garfagnana landscape. But as we 

looked into a gray mist in tutti direzione, it was 

as if the Duomo were fl oating in a cloudy sea. 

‘Barga is a movie set of steep, 

dark streets lined with houses 

whose earth-colored walls, 

in quiet pinks, gentle browns 

and compliant grays, suggest 

they haven’t been constructed 

so much as grown 

from the hillside.’ 


Inside, a few euro in a coin box illuminated 

a 15-foot-high marble pulpit sitting on columns 

supported by a pair of patient lions. Above 

the altar was an imposing 12th-century, multicolored 

wood carving of St. Christopher, with 

the Christ child portrayed as a miniature king, 

crown and all, sitting up properly on his shoulder. 

In the chapel to the right is a pair of Della 

Robbias worth the walk in the rain. In the chapel 

to the left are two ordinary paintings, one to 

the Glory of the Madonna by the school of Simone 

Pignoni and one a grisly beheading scene 

of St. John the Baptist by Baccio Ciarpi—and 

the walk-away best in show, a crucifi xion by an 

unknown maestro of Barga hung inconspicuously 

on the chapel wall. (But then I’ve always 

been a pushover for unknown masters.) 

The walk back down the paved hillside was 

slick. We stepped carefully to avoid losing our 

footing. Every now and then we would stop and 

stare upward at a corner of the town where the 

roofs cut into the sky to make a collage of tile 

and gutter spouts. When a town begins to paint 

its own pictures, you know you’re in a special 

place. See Barga whatever the weather, but 

make a special effort to see it in the rain. 

Bagni di Lucca


Life in Italy 

Making connections through theater 

Day of memory takes center stage at FITC event 

by P.M. Louis 

is a powerful and 

unique art form because 

‘Theatre 

its essential nature is based 

on gathering people together to tell 

stories, hear them, see them and 

feel them. The stories we feel most 

deeply are the ones that explore our 

collective history. They question 

and expose the human condition 

and often celebrate the connecting 

points between us’, says the Florence 

International Theatre Company’s 

co-artistic director Bari Hochwald, 

in reference to FITC’s newest 

project. A unique mix of drama 

and history, the project foresees 

an annual program that recognizes 

theatre as a vital way to keep the 

conversation of Holocaust events 

alive for all members of the community 

and spark their participation in 

Il Giorno della Memoria. 

FITC begins this journey in association 

with the Jewish community 

of Florence and will be creating an 

entire afternoon dedicated to creativity, 

education and community 

on February 11th. ‘We cannot forget 

the Holocaust because it was both 

beyond imagination and within 

the depth of human capacity’, says 

Hochwald. ‘That is why my coartistic 

director, Aaron Craig, and I 

are committed to fi nding a way to 

develop this project. We are looking 

forward to Dominique Cieri’s assistance 

in creating the event in the 

most comprehensive way possible’. 

Dominique Cieri, New Jersey 

Playwright Fellow and educational 

consultant for FITC, has been a key 

player in making the company’s 

goals a reality. Co-author of the 

book From the Attic, to the Classroom 

to the Stage—The Holocaust, 

Cieri has spent the last 10 years 

using her love of theatre and her 

passion for telling deep human 

Synagogue of Florence 

truths to enhance the program of 

Holocaust Studies at Yavneh Academy 

in New Jersey. Each year she 

works with 13-year-old students 

to adapt a non-fi ction work into 

drama and present the play to the 

community. And each year, Cieri 

begins the journey of reacquainting 

herself with the horrors of 

the Shoah, the power of faith and 

human beings’ capacity to become 

villains, survivors or heroes in the 

face of unimaginable odds. 

‘There are many ways to learn’, 

Cieri says. ‘I believe that Yavneh’s 

Holocaust Studies program is one 

of the best available because it goes 

beyond academia, enhancing learning 

through the arts. The Holocaust 

play is a vital aspect of the synthesis 

of knowledge and a kinetic 

experience which translates into a 

performance by very real people. 

Each year, my eighth grade class 

steps into the shoes of men and 

women like Krystyna Chiger, who 

as a child went into the sewers of 

L’vov with her family, where they 

sought refuge for 14 months. This is 

the unique and meaningful process 

of history coming to life through 

drama’. 

At 3pm on February 11, audiences 

can witness the experience 

of Krystyna Chiger in Sewers of 

L’vov. The play was written by the 

students at Yavneh, under the guidance 

of Cieri and will be performed 

by community members and FITC 

artists here in Florence. Involving 

over 40 people, 10–70 years of 

age, expatriate and Italian, as well 

as international students, the play 

will be performed in both English 

and Italian. The drama with be followed 

by a reception, and the event 

will conclude with a panel of leading 

educators discussing the impor- 

tance of studying the Holocaust 

today. In this way, the artistic directors 

of FITC hope that this event 

will be a launching pad for creating 

original plays throughout the years, 

utilizing Cieri’s model, with the 

children of Florence in order to tell 

the stories that unfolded in Tuscany 

during that historical period. 

‘This use of theatre as a tool for 

education helps it become a shared 

community event which examines 

the very human intricacies of choice 

and action that occurred during 

the Holocaust. It is an opportunity 

for everyone—performers and 

audience members alike—to confront 

their own feelings, opinions 

and beliefs about this particular 

human tragedy not only as a history 

but also as a continual cycle 

that occurs and reoccurs each day 

on this planet’. 

21 


The ARTS 

Sala Sadun, 

Synagogue of Florence 

via L.C. Farini, 4 

3pm – staged reading; 

5pm – reception; 

5:30pm – panel discussion 

Entry is free, but seating is ex - 

tremely limited and reservations 

are strongly recommended. For 

reservations and further information: 

info@fl orencetheatre.com or 

055 239 9949.

22 


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News & Views 

Stark contrasts 

Photo exhibit captures trials of Great Depression 

by Richard Keenan 

The current exhibit of the photographs by Walker Evans at the Museo 

Nazionale Alinari della Fotografi a offers a view of cultural history 

largely forgotten by the current generation, for whom the United 

States has always been a formidable world power. The Great Depression 

of the 1930s, which lasted the better part of a decade and ended only with 

America’s entry into World War II, saw much of America’s rural population 

struggling to subsist without adequate food, housing or jobs. These 

photographs fi rst came to public attention in Let Us Now Praise Famous 

Men, the book Evans created thanks to a collaborative effort with James 

Agee. Agee’s text juxtaposed with Evan’s stark, black and white photographs 

offers eloquent testimony to those troubled times. 

Most of the photographs in the current exhibit were taken between 

1935 and 1937, when Evans and Agee were traveling through the southern 

United States, subsidized by the Farm Security Administration, one of 

the many government agencies created by President Franklin Roosevelt to 

address the problems facing the American economy. One noteworthy work 

is Penny Picture Display (1936), a collage of photographs taken by the 

machines commonly found at carnivals and amusement arcades. There are 

some fi fty photographs in the collage of men, women and children. Well-fed, 

Florence’s BUSINESS CARDS 

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painting lessons 

by Cathy Gale 

338.1499 392 

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viale Gramsci 12 FLORENCE 

055 241208 - 2480082 

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colours of tuscany 

LEASE or BUY your 

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Judieanne Colusso 

Email: coloursoftuscany@bigpond.com 

Cell: 39-335-839-0712 

www.coloursoftuscany.com 


The ARTS 

smiling, unafraid of 

the future, these 

happy faces are in 

stark contrast with 

the faces of tenant 

farmers and 

sharecroppers, who are clearly malnourished, poorly clothed and certainly 

unsmiling. Sharecropper Family (1936), taken in Hale Country, Alabama, 

depicts a family of four—a man, two women and a child. Clearly worn down 

by the circumstances of barely subsistent living, they remain stoic and resolute 

nonetheless. 

Perhaps the most poignant photograph in the exhibit is Child’s Grave 

(1936), depicting a simple mound of sandy soil with a set of construction 

stones at either end and a small dinner plate placed in the center. This 

nameless child, otherwise forgotten by history, is effectively captured by 

Evan’s photographic sensitivity and perception. The exhibit, rounded out by 

various scenes from other parts of Depression-era America, includes several 

noteworthy photographs of the Brooklyn Bridge published in 1994.


Housing For Sale 

Immobili vendita 

Special apartment with roof terrace. 

Overlooking the Arno and in 

prestige location of Florence. 62sqm 

plus terrace, mezzanine with double 

bed and skylight, One full bedroom 

with large wardrobe and bathroom, 

lounge, kitchen and library. Rare 

opportunity. Ref: Palestro. Call Judieanne 

Colusso 335.839.0712 - 

info@coloursoftuscany.com 

Loft For Sale in Prato. 2 lofts near 

historic centre, each 137 sqm, ideal 

for home offi ce. We can show layout 

and location. For information, e-mail 

marco@agilelogica.it 

House Hunting 

cerco casa 

American professor and family is 

seeking a 2 or 3 bedroom furnished 

apartment in the Oltranrno from April 

1 through mid-June. Must have ADSL 

internet. Call Ken at 055/282176 or 

email newfi eld@hawaii.rr.com 

Housing for Rent 

Immobili in affi tto 

Room for rent in city centre. Sharing 

with male. Apartment with terrace. 

450 euro per month. Available mid 

February. 3403710786 

Charming one bedroom apartment. 

Modern kitchen, bathroom and 

small balcony. Recently renovated 

and fully furnished including washing 

machine. Close to park and piazza 

in tranquil area. Internet connection 

available. Euro 650 pm. Ref: Claudia. 

Call Judieanne 335.839.0712 - 


Quality one bedroom apartment 

with terrace. Lounge kitchen and 

dining, plus one bathroom, bedroom 

and cantina. Walk out and see the 

Duomo. Internet connection available. 

Euro 1200 pm. Possible for 

long or short term. Ref: Alessandro. 

Call Judieanne 335.839.0712 - 


A large room with private bathroom 

with use of kitchen & sitting room in a 

large & bright fl at equipped with every 

comfort (also for very short period, 

close to piazza Gavinana), write to elia. 

dellachiesa@dada.it 

Costa San Giorgio Apartments 

offers for rent 8 quality apartments 

in Florence, in front of Ponte Vecchio, 

renovated and furnished with 

style. Small and large apartments are 

equipped with all comforts. Short or 

long term, minimum for 3 days. Call 

055.2344293 or 334.3744268 (sig. 

ra Maria) - costasangiorgiofl orence 

@costasangiorgio.it -www.costasangiorgio.it 

Business for Sale 

Attività commerciali 

Total Liquidation Sale! We sold 

the Dress Shop! 50%-70% off fi nest 

French and Italian collections, all 

seasons. Sola Moda 51/r Via dei Neri, 

Centro Florence. January 29-March 

31. Present this ad, subtract 5%, one 

to a customer. 

Children’s clothing manufacturer 

looking to sell business. Thirty-yearold 

establishment produces clothing 

for children from ages 1 to 12 and is 

equipped with the necessary equipment 

for production. The company has 

a large client portfolio with buyers in 

Italy and abroad. For more information 

send an email to gio.giu@gmail.com 

Jobs Wanted 

Cerco lavoro 

I am looking for a home-based 

or internet job, or part time employment 

in Florence. I am Spanish, and I 

am English speaking and have good 

knowledge of Italian. Please contact: 

maria_fernandezp@hotmail.com or 

number : 3207262753. 

Young Canadian female (24) seeks 

employments. Fluent in Polish and 

English language, studying Italian. 

EU passport, degree in Business and 

Marketing. Strong organization skills, 

experience in offi ce work, teaching, 

PR. cell 334-105-2907. 

British mother-tongue, CTEFL certifi 

ed, with 8 yrs experience in teaching, 

seeks employment from mid-February. 

Please contact Victoria 333.3673970 

victoriainfantino@yahoo.it 

A woman for all seasons. Receptionist, 

secretary, group chaperon, 

English teacher, English to Italian 

translator. Excellent knowledge of various 

PC programs. Seeking employment 

also part time. Pls call Ernestina 

Giusti: phone 055-222020 or email 

ernestinagiusti@yahoo.it. 

Part-qualifi ed accountant, seeks 

employment, with experience both 

in practice and in private business. 

Native English speaker. Please contact 

vanessacmurphy@hotmail.com. 

Young woman (32), German native 

speaker, excellent English and Italian, 

degree in English literature and art history, 

Italian permit of stay, seeks parttime 

or full-time position, strong organizational 

skills, experience in offi ce 

work and work with foreign students, 

cell: 3888496977 

I am looking for a home-based and/ 

or internet job. Am English speaking 

and have good knowledge of Italian. 

Please contact paula_genn@yahoo. 

com 

English-speaking female, having 

good knowledge of Italian, looking for 

part-time employment in administration. 

Kindly contact 340.1447898 

Classifi ed Ads 

Help Wanted 

Offerte di lavoro 

Concierge needed for high-end travellers 

to central and northern Tuscany. 

Looking for mature, highly motivated, 

professional person to be part of international 

team. Must be fl uent in English 

and Italian, have fl exible schedule and 

excellent interpersonal skills. Familiarity 

with region essential - travel required. 

Please send letter of interest and 

resume to ItalyConcierge@hotmail. 

com. 

American University in Florence 

Italy, is currently accepting applications 

for Italian language, studio art 

and fashion design instructors. CVs 

should be submitted by email to 

rolsen@santareparata.org 

Private Lessons 

Lezioni private 

Italian individual lessons in Florence. 

Sharpen your grammar to 

enjoy conversation. Fluent English, 

Japanese, French spoken. Call Alberto 

and his Japanese wife Fumiko, tel. 

055-475152, www.azlanguage.it - 

info@azlanguage.it 

Ceramic classes. Paint your own renaissance’s 

style pottery - Short and 

long-term courses for beginners and 

advanced. Call Enzo +39 339 131 

2990. www.fl orenceartstudio.it 

Body Language Pilates/Yoga 

Studio 30+ level-specifi c Pilates 

groups/privates weekly: D.Clark 

335.790.4029. YOGA Thu, Fri, Sun: 

Lisa, 392.803.4271. American instructors, 

near Centro. 

Private oil painting lessons in English 

near Teatro Goldoni. Still life 

subject, canvas, paints and easel supplied. 

All levels welcome. For more 

information please contact Cathy at 

055.2207171 / 338.1499392 

New Year’s Resolution #2: Continue 

Exercise Program! Yoga provides fi tness 

benefi ts. Feeling stressed? Featuring 

also “Offi ce Yoga”. Body Language. 

392.803.4271 

Expert craftsman offers individual 

or group classes in English or Italian. 

Introduction to chiselling and 

embossing-theory and practice. 

Introduction to technical design. 

Call Fabrizio 338.5060720 or write 

acquafresca69@hotmail.com 

Leather Crafting Classes. Scuola del 

Cuoio offers short-term (3 hours/1- 

2 days) & long-term (1 wk to 10 

mths) individual courses and classes 

under a Master Leather Craftsman 

inside the Monastery of Santa Croce, 

via San Giuseppe 5 (thru the garden). 

Enquiries: tel. 055.244.533 or 

info@leatherschool.com. For more 

info. visit www.leatherschool.com 

Would you like to learn how to write 

short stories and novels? Experienced 

creative writing professor offers inspirational 

private lessons. 329.2945876 

23 


Classifi ed ADS 

Leisure & Vacation 

Tempo libero e vacanze 

Il Salotto di Firenze B&B located in 

splendid Via Roma at the corner with 

the magnifi cent Piazza Duomo, includes 

4 bedrooms and 2 welcoming single 

rooms. Private, intimate and reserved 

in a completely refurnished artistic 

building in the heart of Florence. For 

information and reservations call: +39 

055.218347 or +39 348.1590197. 

info@ilsalottodifi renze.it 

Panoramic colonial house in the hills 

of Chianti, only 15 km from Florence. 

Surrounded by a large park and olive 

grove, swimming pool. 4-6 person fl ats 

for rent for brief periods, completely 

furnished. Quiet, family-style atmosphere. 

Landlords available on site for 

any needs. Tel. 333.2203265, e-mail 

femanesc@tin.it 

Services 

Servizi 

Professional Computer Consultant 

can fi x any PC related problems. Can 

work anywhere in Tuscany and Umbria. 

English and Italian. Call TuscanyPc- 

Clinic +39.334.1085438. 

Computer SOS will solve all computer/Internet 

related problems, including 

ADSL. Will come to your home. 

Speaks and reads English fl uently. 

Corrado 320.0932811 

Personals 

Personali 

34-y-o Italian male is looking for a 

single room in apartment with nonsmoking 

English speaker(-s) to start 

February 1. Max euro 350/month. 

Please call after 6 p.m. 339.131.0695, 

Walter. 

I’m Italian and want to improve 

my English I am looking for an English 

mother tongue for conversation 

exchange. Call Pietro 3476485534 or 

write piero_gatto@iol.it 

I’m Italian and want to improve 

my English I am looking for an English/American 

mother tongue for 

conversation exchange. Call Cristina 

333.3891682 

Household items for sale 

Vendita oggetti personali 

A selection of good books in English 

- paperbacks and hard covers 

-contemporaries, classics, and children’s--great 

book club selections-- 

1 to 3 Euros each. Contact joseph. 

michael@alice.it or 338/6792271. 

Bargain sales: Sangiorgio dishwasher 

almost unused (guarantee till 2010), 

colonial style wicker sofa perfect conditions, 

Samsung DVD reader, iron. 

Contact: vstove@yahoo.it 

Bianchi women’s touring bicycle 

(Spillo k 20), 7005 aluminium frame, 3 

for 7 Shimano gears, with tachometer, 

helmet, tools, many extras. Euro 200. 

Brian Marble: 333.3738322

Without the Arno, Florence would be like Romolo - The Florentine

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