ISSUE No. 125
ISSUE / No. 125
June 17, 2010
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News - Florence
Summer in the streets
Scores of events mark the start of the bella stagione
Though the summer season officially begins on June 21, over the last
weeks the city of Florence has been feeling the heat. What better way to cool
off in the evenings than by having dinner al fresco, attending a concert or
watching a live …
News - Florence
Angels of beauty
Florence to clean up public spaces
Even the smallest act can help rid the city of urban blight. Officials
at Palazzo Vecchio recently presented a new project to clean the city-and keep
it clean-through local volunteerism and hefty fines. A group of volunteers,
young, old and in between, will be …
News - Florence
Shutdown
City orders closureof ethnic market
In the early morning hours on June 5, local police arrived at Lungarno
Pecori Giraldi to enforce a municipal order to close the ethnic market and
confiscate the merchants' goods. The closure marked the end of an long-term
attempt to encourage multi-ethnic and multicultural …
News - Florence
Pitti Uomo 78
Fashion buyers return to the city
With the arrival
of more than 30,000 people from the fashion industry, Florence once again
became the world's fashion capital during Pitti Uomo. From June 15 to 18,
approximately 970 brands, 33 percent of which were from abroad, showcased their
2011 spring-summer collections in over …
News - Florence
Corruption case transferred
Supreme court moves trial to Rome
During an
investigation into alleged favouritism in the development plans for the
Castello area in Florence, local police found evidence of alleged corruption in
public works across the nation, including contracts for the G8 and ‘new towns'
in the earthquake-hit city of L'Aquila. As the …
News - Florence
Stripped of its status
Pisa's Leaning Tower no longer most inclined'
A recently built
tower in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been certified by Guinness World
Records as the ‘World's Furthest Leaning Man-made Tower,' usurping Pisa of the
status it has enjoyed for over five centuries. With an 18-degree slope, the
160-metre, 35-storey Capital Gate …
News - Florence
Farm-to-Consumer
Guide to buying local foodstuffs
One way to strengthen local food systems and economies is to increase
opportunities for farm-direct sales. The province of Florence recently
published a guide to …
News - Florence
The barbaric invasions'
Locals can report the region's most unsightly buildings
Residents across
Tuscany are banding together to address urban blight as well as buildings that
ruin the region's natural and historic landscape. The Nuovo Paesaggio Italiano
initiative was launched by cultural association La Sterpaia, run by famed
photographer Oliviero Toscani and Salvatore Settis, head of …
News - Florence
Galileo goes hi-tech
Museum dedicated to famed astronomer reopens
After two long years of restoration, Florence's institute and museum of
the history of science, renamed the Galileo Museum, has reopened to the public.
The …
News - Florence
Set to music
Characters of the Divine Comedy come alive
Dante in
Concert is a musical work
conceived as an interior journey through the characters of the Comedy,
chosen as the representatives of humanity and history, and thus fixed into the
collective consciousness of all,' reads the album jacket.
These words were written by former prime …
News - Florence
Under the river
Passage beneath the Arno may be reopened
While many do not
know it, there is an underground passageway beneath the Arno at the height of
the San Niccolò bridge.
When Mayor Matteo
Renzi recently went below ground to survey this ‘secret' part of the city, he
remarked that the passageway could be reopened …
News - Florence
Earliest Etruscan home found
Vetulonia, in the province of Groseto, now boasts Italy's oldest and most beautifully preserved luxury home, which dates back to the third through first centuries …News - Florence
Ztl notturna returns
Despite protest from the city's bar and restaurant owners, the local administration recently decided to re-enact the controversial nighttime limited traffic zones (Ztl notturna) in …News - Florence
New movie mag
The Tuscan and Italian movie industry now has a bilingual magazine, published by the Odeon Cinema in Florence. Called Odeon Casa del Cinema, the magazine …News - Florence
News in six languages
Tuscany's latest television news program speaks six languages, with subtitles in Italian. Called TSD Week World, the program is broadcast every Saturday at 8:30pm (with repeats …News - Florence
More Macchiaioli
The art of Giovanni Fattori and other famed Macchiaioli will be on display in the hamlet of Castagno d'Andrea, part of San Godenzo (FI), …News - Florence
A magnificent find
A group of Roman-era statues that once belonged to Lorenzo il Magnifico (1449-1492) was recently rediscovered in Austria. The marble statues, collectively known as the …News - Community
If it weren't for Florence...
by Devin Tooma
Stanford University marks 50 years in the city
Many people know that the Leland Stanford Jr. University in California
has a study abroad program in Florence. What many do not know, however, is that
the university's ties to the city reach back into the late nineteenth century,
and that the university itself …
News - Community
Easier voting
New U.S. law for Americans abroad
In November 2010, U.S. voters will elect 39 U.S. Senators and the entire
House of Representatives. For overseas voters, the absentee voting process will
now be much easier, thanks in large part to a new law, the Military and
Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act …
News - National
What is Lunezia?
Old plan to create region has new supporters
The idea of creating a region that would incorporate areas of Liguria,
Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy was first discussed in the 1800s by the
founding fathers of the Italian Republic. To be called Lunezia, a name coined
in 1989 by magistrate Alberto Grassi and …
News - National
Buy local
More Italians shop at zero-kilometres'
In an effort to save money while supporting the local economy, more
Italians are buying fruit and vegetables from local growers and using special
machines that provide products like milk and cheese in bulk directly from local
producers.
According to a joint
report by the national …
News - National
Era of austerity
Italy joins eurozone drive to cut debt
In late May, following other European Union (EU) nations seeking to cut
deficits and avoid a Greek-style debt crisis, the Italian government approved a
package of austerity measures worth 24 billion euros for 2011 and 2012.
Equalling circa 1.6 percent of Italy's gross domestic …
News - National
New Naples
Local entrepreneurs invest in the city
Although Naples is the home of one of Italy's most powerful crime syndicates, a
group of local entrepreneurs has decided to invest in an important urban
renewal plan for the eastern part of the city. The idea, which came from local
business people and …
News - National
Cork oaks on the edge
Campaign launched to save important forests
One of the most
important wildlife areas in the Mediterranean region in terms of sustainability
and environmental biodiversity, cork oak forests are increasingly at risk …
News - National
Carabinieri celebrate
Italy's paramilitary Carabinieri police force recently celebrated its 195th anniversary, marking the occasion with the release of data on the success of its operations over …News - National
Internet and faith
Approximately 94 percent of Roman Catholic priests say they use Internet every day, according to a study by the University of Lugano, Switzerland, and the …News - National
Tourist slapped with fine
A 65-year-old Austrian woman was fined 1,000 euro for purchasing a 7-euro counterfeit Louis Vuitton purse from an illegal beach vendor in the coastal area …News - National
Italian press protests
On June 10, a controversial bill limiting the use of wiretaps was passed in the Italian Senate, amid fierce objection from opposition parties, who …News - National
Eco-crimes on the rise
According to a recent report by the Italy's Legambiente environmental association, the Italian mafia makes some 20 billion euro a year in illegal waste disposal …
News - Sport & Leisure
Viola corner
by Melinda Gallo
Mihajlovic
is here to win
In his June 3
press conference, Fiorentina's new head coach, Sinisa Mihajlovic, expressed his
desire to get the team back into the Champions League: ‘For me it's an honor to
coach the Fiorentina. I know that the Tuscans are tough; so …
News - Sport & Leisure
Calcio Storico cancelled!
Other sports events replace traditional tourney
Because
two of the four teams that usually compete in the Calcio Storico forfeited their
places in the traditional showdown this year, local officials decided …
News - Sport & Leisure
A champion returns
Pistorius back in Grosseto
Oscar Pistorius
has returned to the Tuscan Maremma for the 100th Italian track and field
championship, running from June 30 to July 1. After coming out of a solid
winter season, the South African paralympic champion is training in Maremma
with one desire: to be …
Movie Reviews
SEX AND THE CITY 2
by James Douglas
Thursday, June 17 - 6:45 - 9:30pm *with Italian Subtitles
‘What
happens after you say "I do?"‘ You don't take a winning formula from a hit TV
show that caught the mood of the 1990s …
Movie Reviews
MANOLETE
by James Douglas
Monday, June 21 6:30 - 8:40 - 10:30 pm
Somewhat late in
arriving, Spanish director Menno Meyjes' 2007 movie Manolete is a
glamorous and gory tale of love and bullfighting. Adrien Brody is Manolete,
Spanish …
Movie Reviews
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS* + INGLORIOUS BASTARDS**
by James Douglas
Tuesday, June 22
*5:00pm,
English with Italian subtitles
**9:00pm, Dubbed Italian version with English subtitles
A smart double bill: a unique opportunity to see Quentin Tarantino's
2009 Inglourious Basterds, back-to-back …
Movie Reviews
THE LAST STATION
by James Douglas
Thursday, June 24 - 6:00 - 8:15 - 10:30pm
Set in
the last years of the life of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, this account of the
problems caused by Tolstoy's ‘conversion' to a meditative life of pacifism and
celibacy is an historical romance and drama. The drama is the Countess
Tolstoy's attempt to obtain …
Movie Reviews
THE ROAD
by James Douglas
Monday, June 28 - 6:00 - 8:15 - 10:30pm
Tuesday, June 29 - 6:00pm *with Italian subtitles
A father and son must survive by all means possible on the road in
post-Apocalypse America. John Hillcoat's palette in The Road is
unrelentingly stygian for this dark, grim and uplifting adaptation of Cormac
McCarthy's novel. 'One of the most chillingly effective visions of …
Movie Reviews
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE
by James Douglas
Wednesday, June 30 - 4.20 - 6.40 - 9.00 pm
Thursday, July 1 *with Italian subtitles
As the news breaks
that the forthcoming fourth episode will become two movies, the third episode
in the saga The Eclipse sees Bella, with her graduation approaching,
having to choose between the two men in her life, Edward the vampire and Jacob
the werewolf, while …
Movie Reviews
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
by James Douglas
Wednesday, June 23 8.30 p.m.
Once in 50
years suspense like this! Billy
Wilder's 1957 adaptation of an Agatha Christie story turns on a series
of surprises, the most dramatic being …
Movie Reviews
SOME LIKE IT HOT
by James Douglas
Wednesday, June 30 8.30 p.m.
The movie
too HOT for words! [W]ith
transvestitism, impotence, role confusion, and borderline inversion-and all
hilariously innocent, though always on the brink of really disastrous
double-entendre . …
Top Picks
Observation of the Passage of the Sun on the Meridian Line
June 21 Piazza Santa Maria Novella
Lovers of science
and astrology, architecture and art-or any and all of these things will not
want to miss this! On June 21, take advantage of a private tour to see the
meridian line positioned on the floor of Santa Maria Novella cathedral, which
will …
Top Picks
St. John Fireworks Display and Palio di San Giovanni Rowing Regata
June 24
Florence lights up every June 24 in honour of San
Giovanni, the city's patron saint. Pick a suitable vantage point and enjoy the
spectacular fireworks …
Top Picks
Toscanalab: Internet Better Life Conference
June 28 and 29, Gipsoteca dell'Istituto d'Arte di Porta Romana
This two-day
conference addresses the life-transforming potential of the web and social
networking mechanisms in every sector and how it can change the consciousness,
awareness, interpersonal …
Top Picks
The Screen of the Arts 2010: Midsummer Nights
From June 29 to July 9 Biblioteca delle Oblate
A unique programme
of films dedicated to contemporary art and its protagonists. The festival, curated
by Leonardo Bigazzi, will spotlight the talent of modern directors …
Top Picks
Notturna di San Giovanni walking race
June 19 Piazza Duomo
This historic 10K
walking race, now in its 71st year, sends competitors through Florence's
narrowest streets and past its historic landmarks, starting in piazza del …
Top Picks
Dracula at the Bargello
June 26 to July 9 (except Mondays) Bargello
Florence's
Bargello will be the scene for action, spine-chilling music and a final battle
between good and evil with one of history's most maleficent characters, …
Top Picks
Marea Festival
June 23 to July 4 Buca del Palio Fucecchio
This youth-injected, indie and grassroots culture festival of concerts,
theatre, cinema, exhibitions, discussions and sport is an uncontested star of
the Tuscan summer event scene! …
Top Picks
On the Road Festival 2010
July 1 to 4 Pelago Historic Centre
For four days, Pelago's historical centre will bustle with art
competitions and street galleries, live concerts, face-to-face meetings with
artists and authors and much more …
Top Picks
Isabella de' Medici Cup: Tuscan Flag waving competition
June 20 Cerreto Guidi Historic Centre
What was once a
way to warn comrades of approaching enemies has become an astounding-to-watch
feat of high-flying competition in Caracosta. Dueling teams in historic …
Top Picks
Frank Lloyd Wright
The much-awaited exhibit examining the influence that architect Frank Lloyd Wright's sojourn in Fiesole had on his work features a wide variety of drawings, documents …Life
Unexpected fans
by Deirdre Pirro
The day extraterrestrials attended a Viola game
October 27, 1954 was a perfectly normal autumn day in Florence-until
about 2.20 in the afternoon, that is. Looking skywards in the area around …
Expats in Florence
Rea Stavropoulos
by Melinda Gallo
A British artist exploring and expressing herself
Florence is
home to many expats: those who have longed to live here, those who have found
love and moved here, and those who have come to Florence and felt immediately
at home here. Many people arrive here at a point in their lives …
Book Reviews
Amid the horror, a man is born
by Kolina Cicero
The final chapter in a Tuscan trilogy
A dynamic conclusion to Paul Salsini's Tuscan trilogy of historical
fiction, Dino's Story: A Novel of 1960s Tuscany is a tale of the young
boy, Dino Sporenza, who we watch grow up throughout the series. The trilogy
opens during World War II with The …
News - Current Issues
Getting a handle on graffiti
by Robert Nordvall
OP-ED Editorials & Opinions
We introduce this space as a
forum in which TF readers can voice and exchange their opinions, concerns and
kudos about life in Florence and …
In Other Words
Microclimate
by Linda Falcone
Those who have
lived a significant portion of their lives abroad will admit it: most opinions
are not personal-they are national. In Italy, they hold these truths to be
self-evident: Sardinia should be seen in May and September. Pane con la
mortadella is a snack …
Florentinisms
Abbollore, Bada-quello, bada-lui, Zaine, Ciacciare
by Alexandra Lawrence, Francesco Stefanelli
Your in-progress dictionary of the florentine dialect
Abbollore: Extremely hot. Can be used in relation to food,
weather and even to express excitement. estremamente caldo. Also bollore.
Example: ‘L'è abbollore, un la posso mangiare!' (‘It's burning up; I can't even
eat it!')
‘Mamma mia che bollore oggi, si more!' (‘Mamma mia, it's …
News - Community
Where evil stalks
by Sam Lawley
Dracula comes to the Bargello
As the sun lingers on the horizon during the long evenings of early
summer, and the bats fly overhead, the courtyard of the Bargello museum, once
Florence's seat of government and then prison, will be the setting for William
McNulty's stage adaptation of Bram …
News - Community
A tradition crosses the ocean
by Amanda Adams
Celebrate the Fourth of July in Florence
For those in the
United States, the Fourth of July is a time when family, friends and entire
communities celebrate the independence of their nation. On Independence Day, a
holiday about pride and patriotism, after the local parade but before the
municipal fireworks, intoxicating smells …
Interviews
An interview with Monsignor Timothy Verdon
by Devin Tooma
Born in the
United States, Monsignor Timothy Verdon has no single job description. He is an
art historian with a Ph.D. from Yale University, a priest in Florence, director
of the Diocesan Office for Catechesis Through Art, the author of books and
articles on sacred …
News - Sport & Leisure
Take it to the mat
by Neda Motamedi-Shad
A selection of yoga studios in Florence
As much as you
love the Italian way of life, every now and then you might find yourself
craving the alluring aroma of a Thai curry and the lifestyle of a bigger, more
cosmopolitan town than Florence can possibly offer. But when it comes …
Food & Wine
Tuscany meets Maine
by Marcella Ansaldo
Summer's star on two continents
This will be my fourth summer in Maine. When I first set foot in Maine,
two friends of mine, Berno and Laura Hamilton, welcomed me into their home, a
cottage behind a row of pine trees off the Sommes Sound. Berno drove me …
Life
Instant English
by Suzi Jenkins
Just 500 words to keep your business afloat
When, in the mid 1980s, I applied to university to read business studies,
I was persuaded by the literature at the time that the English language was
dead, about to be replaced by German, Spanish or French. If I was not fluent in
at …
Features
Articles
Special Issues
Friday, September 10, 2010