Write the Mayor
Dear Matteo Renzi,
Until recently (a couple of years ago) visiting choirs and orchestras were well publicised in The Florentine, on walls and the post office arcade well in advance of their occurrence.
Now it seems to be a total mystery. A notice is posted outside the venue at the last minute (usually after 4.30pm) for a performance starting at 5 or 7pm, and if you aren’t lucky enough to see it as you pass by, it is gone forever, just like the music. On three occasions in the last three weeks I have found superb concerts at Santa Maria dei Ricci, San Carlo and Orsanmichele, but only by happening upon them at the right time.
This deprives the visitors of a decent audience, deprives me of being able to make a plan and cannot possibly be what is intended: which seems to be to keep audiences away at all costs. These visiting musicians usually provide superb music—the American choir at Orsanmichele on Saturday 22 June being an excellent example—and plan their tours well in advance.
Florence is letting them down by failing to publicise these events. Let’s do a bit better and give visitors at least a day’s notice in conspicuous places of who is coming to do what. I stay in Florence every year for 3–4 months, so I have time to ferret around—most visitors don’t.
Dr. R W Sudweeks
Dear Dr. Sudweeks,
Every month the City of Florence publishes a calendar of events taking place in Florence. This calendar is posted on the notice boards located in the city centre and is available online on the city’s website. For the past few months, there has also been a special page on the city website dedicated entirely to Events http://eventi.comune.fi.it/, offering the possibility to search events by category. We have also launched an app called ‘FirenzeUp, which can be downloaded from the Apple Store and Google Play. You can find the relevant information here: http://app.comune.fi.it/app/a0006.html
I would like to thank you for your comment, as we are always trying to improve our communications.
Best, Matteo Renzi
Those interested in writing the mayor can send messages and comments via email to redazione@theflorentine.net, stating ‘Write the Mayor’ in the subject line of the email. Emails must clearly state the author’s first name, surname, city and country of birth, and the city and country of residence.
