May 2017 – Finding Florence

The Best Places to Draw in Florence

By Jessica Rowe

We all know that Florence is a beautiful city filled with incredible sites. If you’re an artist, you might feel at a loss for where to begin drawing the scenery – fear not, we’re here to help!

Florence’s beauty deserves to be captured in art by hands of all levels, from the very professional to hobbyists. However, in a city so full of phenomenal views, it might be hard to know where to start sketching. Here is a short list of some of the best places in the city to settle down and break out your sketchbook:

Piazza Massimo D’Azeglio – This piazza is a beautiful park full of leafy green trees, stone paths, benches, and a playground. There are plenty of places to sit down and relax. The environment is perfect for doing some drawings and you’ll have plenty of subjects to choose from – the greenery, the park itself, or even the surrounding buildings which have intricate stonework on their exteriors.
Piazza Santa Croce – The Basilica of Santa Croce is the perfect subject for your sketchbook. Besides being breath-taking, the details on its exterior will give you plenty of practice at fine-tuning your drawing skills. There aren’t many places to sit around the building – it may be easier to find a place to sit in one of the surrounding restaurants – but the view is worth it.
Lungarno delle Grazie/Ponte alle Grazie – The Lungarno della Grazie runs along the river Arno, giving you a beautiful view of the other half of the city. There are cafes here that you can sit at and look out the windows while you draw. If you go out on the Ponte alla Grazie, you’ll have an amazing view of the Ponte Vecchio. There is nowhere to sit but if you’re careful, you can lean against the railing while sketching.
Piazza della Repubblica – At night, this piazza is the most beautiful place to be. In the center sits a carousel ringed with lights and street performers dance and sing nearby. Around the piazza there are nice restaurants and at its back is the wall marking the center of the city. It’s always buzzing with people and movement. There are plenty of places to sit and sketch this beautiful scene.

There are, of course, many additional beautiful places to sketch in Florence, but this list is meant to give you a place to start. Find more incredible views on your own and fill your sketchbook with the sights of Florence.

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The History of Via Sant’Egidio

By Jessica Rowe

Via Sant’Egidio is a small street in Florence with a long history. On this street, you’ll find the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova and, inside, the church that gave the street its name.

Via Sant’Egidio is a small, quaint street nestled between Via Bufalini and Piazza Gaetano Salvemini. Along this street you will find a mixture of shops and apartment buildings, often with bars on the windows or green shutters.

What you might not know when walking down this street is that it’s named after the Sant’Egidio church which currently resides inside the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. The church was rebuilt from its ancient foundation and consecrated by Pope Martin V in 1419. During the 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th centuries, the church was restored and changes were made to it.

Sant’Egidio is the Italian name for St. Giles, a Christian saint and the patron saint of many things, including beggars, epilepsy, forests, and fertility.

This street is almost perfectly centered in the nexus of FUA’s buildings. You may even walk down it without realizing it as you go from Ganzo to Squola. But even if you miss most of the street, you cannot miss the hospital. The building takes up much of the street and the exterior is laced with beautiful details. There is a plaque by one of the doors that tells you about the church and its history.

You can visit the church for free from 8-12 a.m. or from 4-6 p.m. While the original art from the church has been lost, the art currently inside is well worth a look.

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June Events in Florence

As temperatures start to heat up and Italians head toward the beaches, the month of June proves to be busy in and around Florence. From music festivals to historical soccer matches and medieval dinners, tourists and Florentines alike are sure not to get bored with these upcoming events. Here are some suggestions that FUA students put together.

Il Mercatale

By Jessica Kruebbe

Piazza della Repubblica will host another one of its Mercatale events for the public. The market is normally held the first weekend of each month welcoming residents and tourists alike. The next market will be held on June 3rd and 4th from 8:30 to 19:30. There will be 84 producers at the event, 46 of which are from the province of Florence. Others are from the surrounding provinces such as Prato, Siena, and Arezzo. Visitors can browse long booths full of wine, oil, vegetables, fruit, truffles, and other freshly grown produce. In addition, there will be some typical products from the area including salami, cheese, and honey. The variety of vendors allows passersby to try many authentic foods such as “necci” biscuits of the Tuscan Appennino. For the rest of the spring and summer seasons, the market will rotate between Piazza Repubblica, Piazza del Carmine, and Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

A Cena da Messer Giovanni

By Whitney Byrd

Hear ye, hear ye!
Come experience a night in Medieval times sponsored by the Municipality of Certaldo on June 10th and June 17th. Join us in the beautiful castle in Certaldo Alto, the small medieval town, for the 17th annual feast!
The night will consist of a typical dinner from Medieval times served with authentic wooden cutlery. The menu for both evenings will be the same, catered by Party Giò-Certaldo. The meal will be served by 80 boys and girls in medieval costumes.
No feast would be complete without entertainment! Between courses, don’t miss the sword duels, fire eaters, and a performance by Compagnia del Drago Nero. To celebrate the end of the evening, stick around for a magnificent fireworks display over Palazzo Petrorio!

“A Cena da Messer Giovanni” will begin at 20:00 and end at 23:00.
Don’t forget to book in advance! Cost is € 39 / person

For reservations:
Grazia Palmieri, Via 2 Giugno – Certaldo (FI)
Tel. 0571 663128 – Cell. 335 6988480
info@elitropia.org

Rock the House Down with Firenze Rocks Summer Festival!

By Paige Petronio

Florence Italy- From June 23rd until the 25th at the Visarno Arena big names like Aerosmith, The Cranberries, and Placebo will be sharing their talent to the people of Florence. They are expecting big crowds for this event and the Mayer of Florence has already stated that for those three days Florence is going to be the “capital of rock”.

This festival is bringing in talent from all over the world. This includes English chart topping bands making their first Italian Debut along with some lesser known acts including Prophets of Rage and Glen Hansard. Accompanying these amazing artists, will be a variety of food trucks and stands to cater to the concert goers cravings.

The festival has even created its own app available that you can download so that you can stay in touch with all of the exclusive content throughout the entire festival. This gives guests the ability to take pictures with exclusive filters. Most importantly it will have a lay out of each of the acts so you can be sure to not miss your favorite singers.

What: Firenze Rocks!
Who: Big names including Aerosmith, Eddie Vedder and System of a Down
Where: Visarno Arena
When: June 23, 24, 25, 2017
The summer Firenze Rocks tickets are on sale online: www.ticketone.it

La Festa di San Giovanni

By Lauren Fulton

The summer months of Florence showcase beautiful blue skies and sparkling water as the temperatures increase in the lovely summer months of Italy. June 24 brings lots of excitement and cheer to the city as Florence celebrates their patron saint, Saint John the Baptist. Throughout the day festivities can be discovered around the city. The main event of the day, is the final game of Calcio Storico, a soccer game mixed with some rugby and wrestling played in historic Renaissance attire, followed by fireworks at the end of the night. Calcio Storico includes four teams, representing the four historical neighborhoods of Firenze. The semifinals begin the weekend of June 11, times to be announced.

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Live Music Evenings in Florence

By Madison Starkey

Florence is home to a rich live music scene waiting to be discovered. Madison checked out NoF, a locals’ favorite in the artsy San Frediano neighborhood in the Oltrarno, where the vocals and beat made for an unforgettable experience to be remembered.

NoF is where good vibes are plenty and musicians from “all corners and crossroads of the globe” are hosted weekly. My friends and I have the good fortune of living just a block away from this cool and confident live jazz club in the Oltrarno neighborhood. We recently caught a performance that I know will be one of my favorite memories of Florence. A young woman with dark hair, black boots, and the strongest, most vibrant voice I’ve ever heard provided the vocals for this unforgettable evening. The night was unforgettable, due to her captivating talent and due to the fact that we stumbled across it by pure chance. We had originally intended to walk past NoF, but the voice of the singer, the rhythm the drummer was banging out, and the smooth, deep sounds emanating from the guitarist’s strings captured us before we could do so. Instead, we wandered, dreamlike, into NoF, and weaved our way through the small crowd to the front of the stage.

And that is where we stayed.

I so vividly remember that night, that music, and stealing glances at my friends faces and enjoying their facial expressions: they were as entranced as I was. The woman’s voice was deep, smooth, and seductive even with the most upbeat songs. The band played mostly jazz music and re-vamped versions of classic hits. I failed to find out what the artist or band’s name was, unfortunately, but I know I’ll be revisiting that night in years to come. In my reveries, one moment I’m taking notes at University, the next, I’m back in that dark wood-panelled room, unable to stop myself from swaying to my imagined, but once real music.

NoF
Borgo S. Frediano 17red

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Time to “Leaf” Home for Florentine Gardens

By Samara Rynecki

Get away from the touristy crowds in the museums and art galleries, and get lost in the green areas of Florence.

These quiet spots can have you feeling relaxed and stress free within minutes. These places are interesting to get lost in and easy to spend hours in. If you want a place where you can feel peaceful and connect with nature, away from the busy and chaotic streets during touristy seasons, then check out these sanctuaries.

There are many options in Florence where you can appreciate the greenery and landscape, They include the Orto Botanico also known as the “Giardino dei Semplici,” the well-known Boboli gardens, the Bardini garden, and Florence Tepidarium at the Giardino di Orticoltura.

Each of these individual gardens is unique in their own, and in Florence. The Orto Botanico is a botanical garden located in Via Micheli, 3. It was originally the Medici family’s medicine garden and one of the oldest in Europe. Today it is a part of the Science of Natural History complex managed by the Italian university in Florence. Boboli is Florence’s grandest palatial garden with an early baroque drama and amazing view of the city. Bardini is not well known despite being connected to Boboli, but its terraced landscape is making a comeback from its previous restoration. The Florence Tepidarium located at the Giardino di Oritcoltura and was the largest greenhouse in Italy when it was built in the late 1800s.

These charming spots for calm walks and cooling off in the heat are going to leave you wishing you were smelling the roses instead of standing in long lines for the major monuments of Florence.

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