‘Noble Earth:’ a movie set in Florence criticizing Florentine high society

‘Noble Earth:’ a movie set in Florence criticizing Florentine high society

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Emma meets Tancredi in Florence, embarking on a love affair with the intoxicating cosmos he represents: endless days in the gauzy Florentine hills or the sun-blanched beaches in Maremma. They become engaged. Soon, however, Emma becomes caught in family politics, learning what is expected of a woman in Florentine high society. The same beauty that overwhelmed Emma reveals itself as superficial and suffocates her. Noble Earth is a study of ennui and female repression within a world rarely seen onscreen — Italy’s hermetic nobility. On the occasion of the screening of Noble Earth at the Berlin Visionär Film Festival 2018 past spring, I had the opportunity to briefly interview Ursula Grisham, director of the film, which was shot mostly in Florence.

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Palazzo Borghese, ‘maximalist’ events in Florence

Palazzo Borghese, ‘maximalist’ events in Florence

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Do you wish to get married with style in Florence? The Palazzo Borghese will make your dreams come true. “More is more” is a dictum for this over elaborated palace with abundant ornamental details. Palazzo Borghese Aldobrandini history begins in the mid-15th century when the Salviati brothers decided to combine various buildings into a single one. But the mansion reached its peak of splendour at the end of the 16th century, when it was restored for the last time.

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Firenze Winter Park, ice-skating in Florence

Firenze Winter Park, ice-skating in Florence

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One of the experiences indisputably linked to Christmas is ice-skating. The Firenze Winter Park is not the New York Rockefeller Center, but it has its charm. I have never skated over ice, and I do not think I am going to do it on this occasion, but I love to go there and observe the eager faces of people, filled with curiosity and happiness. I love to guess who are the scared ones, the clumsy ones, the agile ones, the vanity ones, and even those who show their expertise — they take it as seriously as if they were in a world championship. All in all, this mixture is just great.…

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Firenze Jazz Festival 2019: where Florence’s streets become a jazz club

Firenze Jazz Festival 2019: where Florence’s streets become a jazz club

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Jazz bassist Furio Di Castri founded the Firenze Jazz Fringe Festival (FJFF) intending to bring jazz to the general public. It converts churches, squares, and other Oltrarno premises into the stage for the concerts. Past editions already counted around 40,000 participants. During five days, from September 11 to 15, the festival, now renamed as Firenze Jazz Festival, returns to Florence offering 40 live acts in different locations. The program stands out for the coexistence of new productions and renown international artists concerts. Firenze Jazz Festival is an innovative and sustainable show pursuing a cultural alternative in which the participation of the public is crucial. It is, above all, an event by and for the people, which is involved in the street performances, concerts, improvisation and DJ sessions. …

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Russian Orthodox Church of Florence celebrates Orthodox Easter tonight

Russian Orthodox Church of Florence celebrates Orthodox Easter tonight

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Modern buildings stand out in Florence more than anywhere else, since most of the historic centre buildings come from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Built in Russian art nouveau style between 1899 and 1903 and declared Historical Monument, the Russian Orthodox Church was recently restored. Its unusual facade is characterized by its onion domes. This temple is the first Russian religious building erected in the Italian territory, thanks to the efforts of the parish priest Vladimir Levickij, to the donations of Demidoff family, some parishioners, and nothing more and nothing less Emperor Nicholas II.

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Italy on April 25 celebrates the Liberation Day

Italy on April 25 celebrates the Liberation Day

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Liberation Day is a national holiday in Italy that is annually celebrated on April 25. It marks the fall of Mussolini’s Italian Social Republic, the end of the Nazi occupation in Italy in 1945, and the victory of the Resistance towards the end of the World War II. Italy’s Liberation Day (Festa della liberazione) is also known as the Anniversary of the Liberation (Anniversario della liberazione d’Italia) or Anniversary of the Resistance (anniversario della Resistenza).

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The Porta Romana State Art School celebrates its 150th anniversary

The Porta Romana State Art School celebrates its 150th anniversary

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The former State Art Institute of Florence, today the State Art School of Porta Romana (Liceo Artistico Statale di Porta Romana), celebrates in April 2019 a century and a half years since its inception. From 9 to 13 April, Porta Romana Art School students and teachers have prepared a series of events consisting of exhibitions, installations, performances, and documentaries to celebrate its 150th anniversary. The school was, and still is, an important reference for the artistic education in Florence specifically and countrywide in general.

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Lyric Dance Company presents «PIAF. Hymne à l’Amour» at the Puccini Theater in Florence

Lyric Dance Company presents «PIAF. Hymne à l’Amour» at the Puccini Theater in Florence

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«PIAF. Hymne à l’Amour,» the new choreography by Alberto Canestro performed on stage by the Lyric Dance Company, premiered on April 4 at the Teatro Puccini in Florence. After having explored great female figures, such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Khalo, Tamara de Lempicka and Maria Callas, Alberto Canestro dedicates his latest work to Edith Piaf, the celebrated French singer. «The voice of Edith Piaf has always hurt my heart»— says the choreographer — «as well as her biography, which fluctuates between the numerous difficulties in her private life and the triumphs in the artistic sphere.» Through dance, the Lyric Dance Company creates an intense portrait not only of Piaf as a woman, but also as a unique and exceptional artist, who was always able to provoke emotions with her music.

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Lyric Dance Company presents the new version of «Caravaggio. Amor Vincit Omnia» at Teatro Puccini

Lyric Dance Company presents the new version of «Caravaggio. Amor Vincit Omnia» at Teatro Puccini

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Following in the footsteps of Callas success, Lyric Dance Company presents a renewed version of Caravaggio. Amor Vincit Omnia by choreographer and artistic director Alberto Canestro on January 25 at Puccini Theatre. Canestro has created an immersive experience connecting the audience with the dancers in a single space. The dancers will be surrounded by Caravaggio paintings, the 17th century master of chiaroscuro. Thus, the most representative works of the painter will be projected on the premises of Teatro Puccini. The choreographer has codified through dance the paintings’ emotional power and strength, bringing three-dimensionality to the pictorial compositions. The music has been composed by Enrico Fabio Cortese, whose style combines symphonic scores with electronic beats.
Caravaggio. Amor Vincit Omnia (Lyric Dance Company) – January 25, 2019, 9p.m. – Teatro Puccini – Via delle Cascine 41 – 50144 Florence

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F-light, Florence Festival of Lights 2018

F-light, Florence Festival of Lights 2018

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Florence has a special ability to surprise. Until January 6, 2019, the capital of Tuscany hosts the F-light, the yearly festival of lights that animates the Florentine Christmas illuminating more than fifteen monuments and places across the city through light projections, video mapping, artistic installations or complex colorful light games. “F-light your mind” is the motto of the festival and this year pays homage to Leonardo Da Vinci advanced thinking in the 500 anniversary of his dead. Here the light is a metaphor for the triad intelligence-culture-enlightenment of which Leonardo was standard bearer as an artist and a man of science. Ponte Vecchio, which works as a central axis of the festival, Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Basilica di San Lorenzo, Novecento Museum, Piazza Santo Spirito, gates and towers of the city are the scenarios of this event that also includes cultural and educative encounters.

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