DIY/Be Creative!October 29–November 1Fortezza da Basso, viale Filippo Strozzi 1, Florence
Time to use your imagination! Get your creative juices flowing at the Fortezza (just in time for Halloween crafting, too.) Whether you’re an experienced artisan or are still mastering the fine art of finger painting, head to Florence Creativity for four days of DIY fun. Stock up on a smorgasbord of art materials from the exhibitor booths: fabrics and textiles, paints, brushes, buttons and a slew of other supplies will be for sale. Throughout the festival and marketplace, courses and workshops will be offered, teaching new techniques and offering artistic inspiration for the months ahead (several Christmas-related crafting sessions will take place). View program details here.
DUOMO/Opera del Duomo Museum ReopensOctober 29, 3–6pmMuseo dell’Opera del Duomo, piazza del Duomo, Florence
Florence’s final countdown has begun: just in time for Pope Francis’s November visit, the scaffolding has come down at the Baptistery, and the new Opera del Duomo Museum will finally open to the public after extensive revamping and restoration of over 200 works. The museum has almost doubled in size, adding new exhibits like a reconstruction of piazza Duomo during Dante’s time, and modifying its display methods for masterpieces like Donatello’s Penitent Magdalene, Lorenzo Ghiberti’s North Door and Michelangelo’s Pietà. The museum will open its doors from 3–6pm on October 29, with free admission: don’t miss this historic occasion.
FRENCH/France OdeonOctober 29–November 1Odeon Cinehall, piazza Strozzi, Florence
Film buffs and Francophiles, take note! 50 Giorni di Cinema opens on October 29 with the 7th edition of France Odeon. All films will be shown with English subtitles (with the exception of Mon Roi on October 31). Director Michel Hazanavicius and actress Bérénice Bejo, the couple behind the Oscar winning film The Artist, will be in town for the opening. Bejo is this year’s recipient of the Premio l’Essenza del Talento, named the “actress who best represents the bridge between French and Italian cinema.” See the acclaimed films of father-and-son duo Philippe and Louis Garrel:the former’s most recent work, L’ombre des femmes, will show at 7.30pm on November 1, while the latter’s romantic comedy Les deux amis will be screened at 8pm on October 30. Beyond this year’s mix of blockbusters and indie films at the Odeon, the media center at the Institut Français will host a special exhibition, ‘Thirty Years of French Cinema in Florence,’ which will feature archival photographs, catalogs, signed letters, and old press clippings from past editions. See the festival’s website for the full program.
Kitchen pieces by Margherita Panerai
SHOP/Sunday Shopping November 1, 10am–8pmAndersen Cafe, Borgo Santa Croce 21r, Florence
To market, to market! This weekend the brand new Andersen Cafe in Borgo Santa Croce launches a new Sunday series for serious shoppers, the Andersen Market. Hunt down handmade home decor: a variety of local exhibitors will show off their wares, which range from picture frames, pillows and light fixtures to textiles and knick-knacks. Enjoy a DJ set from Gabriele Moresco and a ‘Brown Bag Brunch’ that’s designed to be savored as you shop. Each successive Sunday will have a different theme (look for a detailed preview in the next paper issue of The Florentine, out on November 5). 
From the Archivio Fondazione Michelucci
TRAIN/Train Tribute!
Ongoing from October 30Santa Maria Novella station, Palazzina Reale and various venues, FlorenceSanta Maria Novella station turns 80 this Friday! Celebrations will take place to highlight the station’s social, cultural and economic roles as the “gateway to the city” over the past eight decades. Passengers around the station between 4 and 6pm on Friday will catch an interactive, non-verbal, gestural performance by the artistic collective Kinkaleri: “Talk to You | All!” This itinerant show is sure to break up the monotony of your average commuter’s afternoon. At 6.30pm, head over to the ticketing room for the inauguration of a new permanent exhibition, ‘Santa Maria Novella Station: 80 Years as the Gateway to the City.’ Downstairs in the station’s updated shopping area, a selection of historic photographs will be on display. Stop by the Biblioteca Nazionale, which was inaugurated on the same day as SMN, to see a collection of documents and photographs dating from that dual opening in October 1935. View the full program of SMN initiatives here.
Illustration by Leo Cardini
On the hunt for Halloween activities? See our roundup of Saturday’s spookiest events!
