Melinda Gallo

Melinda Gallo is a writer who has been living in Florence since 2004. In her blog, Living in Florence (www.melindagallo.com/blog), she recounts her life in a city that she loves and appreciates more every day.

Articles by the author

Lifestyle

The Arno: a year in photos

Melinda Gallo captures the Arno River all year round: from crisp January to deep-heat August to the sparkling lights of December.

Lifestyle

Forza Viola!

Part of living abroad for an extended period is getting to know the local sports teams, and Florence has many to follow, from water polo and rugby to, of course, soccer. Browse back issues of TF for other students' experiences, whether discovering Florence's museum of soccer (TF 114) or

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Viola Corner

Season ends in a draw For the last game of the season, the Fiorentina played against Brescia, though neither team had anything to fight for: Fiorentina could not reach the European qualifications and Brescia was headed for the Serie B. After only two minutes, left-winger Juan Manual Vargas scored

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Viola Corner

  Gilardino scores, but Fiorentina loses   The day before the Fiorentina met second-rank Inter at the San Siro satdium in Milan on May 8, head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said ...

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FIORENTINA FUN FACTS

The Fiorentina was founded by Marquis Luigi Ridolfi in 1926 by uniting two different soccer teams: PGF Libertas Firenze and Club Sportivo Firenze.   Even though the Fiorentina was not established until 1926, soccer was introduced to Florence in 1898. The city's first team had an English name, the '

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Viola Corner

  Cerci scores a double for the Fiorentina The Fiorentina flew to Sardinia to play against eighth-ranked Cagliari for the 34th match of the season on April 23. Historically, the ...

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Viola Corner

Fiorentina suffers a loss at Franchi On April 10, the current top-ranking team, Milan, came to Franchi Stadium to play against the Fiorentina. After only eight minutes of play, Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf scored a goal for Milan. The Fiorentina tried to even the score, to no avail, and

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Viola Corner

Primavera wins Coppa Italia Primavera 2010-2011 After their March 16 draw in Florence, the Fiorentina and Roma met again on March 30 for the finals of the Coppa Italia Primavera. Swiss striker Haris Seferovic scored the first goal after 27 minutes of play, putting the Fiorentina in the lead.

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30th match of the season ends in a draw

The Fiorentina hoped to do better against Roma on March 20th than the Primavera did on Wednesday. In the 21st minute of the first half, Adrian Mutu kicked the ball between Roma goalkeeper Doni's legs to score a goal. Only six minutes later, Roma was awarded a penalty kick

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Fiorentina up to eighth place

The Fiorentina went to Verona on March 13 to win an important match against Chievo. Head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said in a press conference the day before the match, ‘I have faith in my players.' After many missed opportunities to score a goal in the first half, Juan Manuel

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Happy Birthday to Pasqual, Babacar and Frey

Fiorentina defender Manuel Pasqual celebrated his 29th birthday on March 13. Originally from a town outside of Venice, Pasqual arrived in Florence six years ago. Since he has been with the team, he has appeared in over 138 matches. Viola striker Babacar celebrated his 18th birthday on March 16. French

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A draw for the first Coppa Italia Primavera finals

The Primavera team made it to the finals of the Coppa Italia Primavera 2010-2011. The first of two matches was played at Franchi Stadium against Roma on March 16 in front of over 11,000 fans. Not until the second half did Federico Carraro score the goal that put

Lifestyle

Elaine Ruffolo

When Elaine Ruffolo was an undergraduate studying baroque art in Rome for two weeks, she took a train to Florence for a visit. She had such a strong sense of belonging in Florence that she considered not returning to Wisconsin to complete her studies. It took Elaine a few years,

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VIOLA Corner

  Fiorentina suffers a draw in Bari The day before the February 27 match against Bari, head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said that the players had the ‘right attitude’ for the ...

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VIOLA Corner

  Bolatti back to Brazil On February 6, ACF Fiorentina announced that the club sold Argentinian Mario Ariel Bolatti to Sport Club Internacional in Porto Alegre, Brazil.   An important ...

Lifestyle

Petra Casini

Petra Casini had always dreamed of making her own path in life, one that would not involve her family business of stone cutting. She spent her entire life surrounded by stones: she was born and raised in Idar-Oberstein, the capital of Germany's gemstone industry, and comes from a

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VIOLA Corner

New winger Valon Behrami is a new Viola winger, purchased from West Ham United FC in England. Born in Yugoslavia to Albanian parents, he grew up in Stabio, a village in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Since 2005, Behrami has been a part of the Swiss national team. On

Lifestyle

Rieko Hayashi

Rieko Hayashi had always dreamed of living abroad, which is why she studied English and European culture at university. While most of her classmates traveled the world before starting their careers, Rieko went straight to work. During her vacations, she traveled to more than 20 countries, and was eventually inspired

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VIOLA corner

Mutu off the market for now Fiorentina co-owner Andrea Della Valle announced that Romanian striker Adrian Mutu is off the market and off the squad, which means that he will not be participating in any of Fiorentina's matches until a final decision about his role on the team

Lifestyle

Daniel Graves

Daniel Graves had the makings of an artist since the age of three, when he began drawing. But it wasn't until he was 15 and saw Rembrandt's self-portrait at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, that he decided to become a realist painter. He was

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VIOLA Corner

Fiorentina suffers a loss in Udine With rumors of an impending strike, the Fiorentina was unsure of playing in Udine on December 11. However, the Fiorentina went onto the pitch ...

Lifestyle

Mother Mary Taylor

Mother Mary Taylor had always been attracted to religious life, but didn’t make the decision to become a nun until she came to Florence.   Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Mary ...

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VIOLA Corner

  One goal too many at San Siro The November 20 game against Milan ended 1-0, another loss for the Fiorentina. Although they kept Milan at bay during the first ...

Lifestyle

Nicky Swallow

  A musician at heart becomes a travel writer    A few years after Nicky Swallow was born in London, her family moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland. She grew up there, ...

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