MARKET/ VinoKilo
Until March 28
Dive into a vintage treasure trove
Sustainability is a keyword in fashion. With the new season approaching, it’s time for a wardrobe clear-out and freshen up, while keeping things environmentally friendly. The vintage market by weight, Vinokilo, returns to Florence with a temporary shop in place of its usual events. Until March 28, you can buy quality accessories and clothes from all eras. Costing from 30 euro per kilo for heavier garments to 70 euro for lighter ones, you can even take back unwanted items clogging up your wardrobe and use them for a discount on new purchases. The market is expected to take place even in orange zone conditions. All details can be found on Facebook: @vinokiloo.
via del Romito 53, Florence
BITES/ Frittelle in San Donato in Collina
Until March 28
Sugary goodness
The sweet treat of the season, frittelle, usually get their own dedicated annual festival. This year, however, the fried rice balls are celebrated in all their sugary goodness until March 28 as the hilltop town fills with the scent of the fried rice puddings that are typically consumed for Festa del Papà, or Festa del Babbo, as they say here in Tuscany, on March 19. You don’t have to head that far though to indulge your sweet tooth. Plenty pasticcerie all over Florence have options available.
Rignano sull’Arno
READ/ Florentine municipal libraries dedicated to women
Female focused literary line-up
To mark the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, the municipal libraries of Florence are devoting a female focus to readings, book presentations and online meetings in an initiative called “Si scrive marzo, si legge donna”. March will see events such as ‘Psychosomatic Medicine Days’ at 10:30am on March 13, looking at group experiences with women, adolescents and therapists in psycho-oncology (in Italian). Check out what’s happening at your local library.
CONCERT/ Alexander Lonquich and ORT
9pm, March 4
Alexander Lonquich
Ahead of the hoped-for reopening of cinemas, museums and theatres on March 27 (dependent on yellow-zone status), Florence’s cultural institutions continue to bring top-quality performances to our homes. The exquisite music of Beethoven and Mozart will be performed by the Orchestra della Toscana with Alexander Lonquich taking on the dual roles of conductor and pianist. The streamed performance will be viewable on the ORT YouTube channel and Facebook page at 9pm on March 4, with the concert pre-recorded at the historic Teatro Verdi. The musicians will perform Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 for Piano and Orchestra, Op.58, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 K.551 “Jupiter”. Find out more at www.orchestradellatoscana.it.
TALK/ Hershey Felder speaks with Women’s International Network of Florence
7.30pm, March 10
Talk by musician and performer, Hershey Felder
A familiar name from The Florentine’s pages, Hershey Felder has played over 6,000 performances of his self-created solo productions at some of the world’s most prestigious theatres, consistently breaking box office records. Moving to Florence in 2017 with his wife Kim Campbell, former Canadian prime minister, in 2020, he created a new brand, Live From Florence, which operates a theatre at-home broadcast company. Proceeds from his events benefit the local economy as well as artists, theatres and arts organizations all over the world (including The Florentine). Hershey will talk about his music and more at 7:30 on March 10 via Zoom. The price for non-members of the Women’s International Network is 10 euro. Register here.
PERFORMANCE/ Puccini-Live from Florence
March 14
Explore more about the maestro Puccini
Make sure to catch Hershey Felder’s next live performance, Puccini, a world premiere about the Lucca-born composer from March 14 with on-demand streaming through March 21. Tickets cost 45 euro per household and are purchasable at http://theflr.net/puccini-tickets.
ONLINE/ Community events
Advancing Women Artists will host The Artemisia Connection, in collaboration with the Casa Buonarroti Museum at 6.30pm on March 8. Best-known for hosting Michelangelo’s earliest sculptural works, the museum is a Renaissance dwelling decorated with baroque flair. See inside with this online live talk looking at when Michelangelo the Younger commissioned Artemisia Gentileschi, then five months pregnant, to paint the Allegory of Inclination on Casa Buonarroti’s ceiling. Her fee was three times that of her male counterparts. On-site, conservator Elizabeth Wicks will interview author Linda Falcone, director of Advancing Women Artists, on the occasion of Women’s Day, also reflecting on AWA’s 15 years in Florence, closing their doors this June after having restored 70 artworks by women, spanning five centuries. The talk will be introduced by Emanuele Amendola, director of Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Italian Embassy Washington, DC, and Cristina Acidini, president of Casa Buonarroti. Find out more here.
TF Together – The Florentine’s online events series viewable on our YouTube channel (don’t forget to subscribe!) continues on March 25, the day dedicated to the Supreme Poet, Dante Alighieri, with Professor Joseph Luzzi who will look at how Divine Comedy has carried into our lives, seven centuries after it was written. The full line-up is available here.
The British Institute of Florence’s ongoing Wednesday Lecture series sees Lisa Kaborycha discuss Power and Sexuality in Renaissance Art on March 10, while Debra Cheverino will explore The Birth of Opera in Renaissance Italy on March 17. Jeremy Boudreau reveals The Tower that Giotto never built on March 24 and, finally, Alan Pascuzzi delivers Bronze Casting in the Renaissance on March 31. All lectures take place at 6pm. Courses currently include the History of Art Online programmes from March 8 to April 2, looking at Modern Florence and what happened in the city following the Renaissance. A complementary course looks at Modern Italy, examining major artistic figures of northern, central and southern Italy, while a six-week Divine Dante guided-reading course led by Alexandra Lawrence takes off from March 9. The sessions are held on Zoom and a donation is requested to participate in the sessions. For more information see www.britishinstitute.it or email director@britishinstitute.it.
St Mark’s English Church – The Florence Writers group resume their cultural endeavours with a poetry and prose evening at 8pm on March 16 and a creative writing evening at 8pm on March 23. Discuss all things theatrical with the Armchair Drama Club at 8pm on March 9 or tune in for something more literary with the Book Club at 8pm on March 25. Spring recitals bring musical joy at 6pm on March 4 and 18, while Yoga with Kamin Mohammadi continues at 5pm on March 5, 12, 19 and 26. An informal chat with the new locum chaplain of St Mark’s, Nick Fisher, will be held at 8pm on March 17. At 7pm on March 31, the Beginners Italian course caters to all those looking to delve into the language. Held on Zoom, events are free on a donation basis to raise funds for St Mark’s. Email events@stmarksitaly.com or see here for the full events line-up as well as details about religious ceremonies.
Stanford in Florence – CEO and co-founder of social app Nextdoor, online talk Silicon Valley and Renaissance Florence with Nirav Tolia will be based on the entrepreneur’s Stanford in Florence Program The Modern Day Rebirth of Renaissance Florence. Nirav will discuss the crucial intersections between technology, entrepreneurship and humanism, which enable two relatively small valleys to rise up and change the world. Held at 6pm on March 8, register for the event here or email stanfordinflorence@stanford.edu for more info.
