Site Admin – Finding Florence

Animalia Fashion

By Reese Bentzinger
Photo by author

In one of the first rooms of Palazzo Pitti’s temporary Animalia Fashion exhibit, there’s a small sign stating that none of the clothes on display involved harming animals. However, the sign adds, the issue is still important to consider.

The exhibit, which showcases nature’s influence on haute couture, begins in a long hallway of narrow rooms. The couture pieces were blocked from admiring viewers by velvet rope and a raised platform, transporting the viewer to the runway stages that they made their debut on.

Each room is backdropped by a cloth sketch displaying the animals that the nearby pieces were based on. With some of the pieces the influence was obvious. For example a golden snake, placed on the back of a navy gown, is clearly inspired by the animal kingdom. Othertimes it takes a little looking to realize how the piece reflects nature. This is the case with another snake inspired piece, a vest with twisting tubes that reflects the animal’s movements rather than have direct snake imagery.

The clothes are a reflection on how nature both fascinates and terrifies us, with many sources for inspiration. A bridal-style white gown has graceful curves that would perfectly reflect the moonlight that inspired it. The prickily nature of the pufferfish is seen in boldly spiked jacket. No matter which direction the inspiration came from, it’s clear that nature has an impression on fashion.

This impact is felt both ways, but it doesn’t always result in something to be admired. Many of the rooms also display stuffed birds and insects in glass, reminding viewers of how fashion can cruelly collide with the natural world. From hunting animals for prized fur to environmentally harmful factories, nature and fashion can be a dangerous combination.

The exhibit showcases hypocrisy in the fashion industry. They take influence from the beauty of nature, yet play an active part in its destruction. The message of the gallery is the same one as the sign in the front of it: it’s important to reflect on how fashion can impact nature.

Animalia Fashion will be at Palazzo Pitti until May 5, 2019.

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Artistic Metal Keys: The Truth Behind Every Locked Door in Florence

By Alexa Stiles
Photo by author

Finding the balance between appreciating detailed Italian pieces of metal and fighting the urge to throw away the key.

Upon my arrival in Florence, I was instructed to check in at the table my program set up in the airport in order to receive the keys to my apartment. Although the many hours of packing before leaving the United States combined with jetlag left me little time to ponder over being responsible for my own set of keys, it did not take long for me to realize that these little pieces of metal were what distinguished me as being a resident of Florence for the next couple of months.

Fast- forward to a couple of days later when I discovered that old, intricate metal keys were the only way to navigate through my apartment. Not only did I have two keys, which I used to fumble my way into my apartment everyday for the first month, I had a key to access the wardrobe in the living room as well as two other keys that allowed my roommates and I to enter the outdoor patio that is conveniently attached to our apartment. Those keys tended to be temperamental, so I had to choose which one I would use to fight with while going to war with the lock and door. In fact, all of them were a bit temperamental. Or maybe it was because they were placed in the hands of someone who has been swiping their ID into dorms and classrooms for the past three years. Either way, these old style keys are difficult to use on outdated pieces of furniture, so what was once thought of as unique additions to the apartment are now objects of frustration and annoyance.

Metal is largely part of the artwork here in Florence as it is seen welded into sculptures, onto the doors of apartments, or as rustic objects in older apartments, including the keys. I either find myself trying to embrace the old Florentine lifestyle with old keepsakes because these objects are actually beautiful pieces of history, or find myself on the verge of throwing down the keys that will keep me locked out of my apartment until used correctly.

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Getting Lost in Florence

By Reese Bentzinger
Photo by the author

A tourist (or perhaps just me), will find it very easy to get lost in Florence.

The curved roads here are different from those back home. It’s hard to tell when the brick-lined street you’re walking on will spill into a piazza or turn into a narrow alleyway.

This isn’t something to raise alarm, it’s part of the city’s charm. After all, when you get lost you never know where you’ll find yourself.

I’ve discovered some amazing places whenever I’ve gotten lost in the city. Just this morning I stumbled into a hole in the wall with a coffee vending machine. I got myself a shot of espresso for 30 cents that was surprisingly good considering the fact that it didn’t come from a barista’s hands.

Not that you should rely on random vending machines for food or drink. If you ever get lost in Florence, try to make your way to somewhere that offers food. I usually find myself at a coffee bar, enjoying a shot of espresso and observing the city around me.

There’s a lot of activity in the streets of Florence. You’ll find cart vendors selling anything from antique books to leather goods. The many piazzas around town offer excellent places to sit and relax with your friends. To top it all off, you’re guaranteed to be surrounded by some gorgeous old-world architecture.

Of course you don’t want to get too lost. Make sure you have a cell phone with data that will help you find your way back to where you’re staying. But if you’re on your way to the Duomo and make a wrong turn, use it as an opportunity to explore somewhere new.

It might be tempting to stay in the touristy areas of Florence, but this offers only a glimpse of the city. In order to see it’s true nature without having to wait in line, walk around the city and step inside a shop that you didn’t make plans for.

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Green Spaces around Florence

By Katie Weiler
Photo by author

It’s nice to get out of the city air every once in a while to recharge on a nice day. Luckily, I had just that in mind when I found out about the Giardino dell’Orticoltura, or the Horticulture Garden of Florence. This garden is outside of the city center and has an air of mystery surrounding it.

The greenhouse in this garden was built as the result of a movement for more green space in the city, and for all the nineteenth-century splendor it was built in, did not have all of the crowds I was used to in Florence. I was anxious to see what I might find and if it would even be open.

As soon as I crossed the street, I was met with the open doors of the park. It was a lot bigger than in the pictures online. After walking a lap around the garden, I sat on a bench and tried to be as quiet as I could be. I found myself listening to the birds and writing in my journal. I could hear the people reading a few benches over turn the pages to their book every now and then. Others had parked their strollers next to the benches while the children slept. Some were taking a smoke break or reading the newspaper. There were many pathways lined with small pebbles, so that when people walked by even a few meters away you could hear their feet crunching the ground beneath them. I watched the people walk past with their friends and their dogs. I saw people sit down on the grass right next to the smaller flowers, the first of the little weeds that were starting to pop up in mid-february.

The greenhouse was a sight to see. It sparkled the sun off of its clear windows which stood out against the white structure inside. It was completely empty inside, but there will be flower exhibits in late April that I’m told will fill the building with color. The tropical trees around the greenhouse make it very picturesque. Even on a colder day, the trees lend a feeling that the warmer weather will soon be here. The park itself seems out of a magazine, scattered statues of dogs are all around the place. What stands out to me is the decorated taxi that is in the grass on a raised bed. The taxi is covered in fun childish paintings and drawings of cartoons. After translating the message in the window, I learn it is the Milan 25 car, which was a taxi driven to cheer up children in hospitals. The taxi was decommissioned and replaced, so the old one is in the park for everyone to see and visit.

Although I wanted to stay in the quiet park all day, I decided to start making my way back to the city center. The streets were nearly empty on this side of Florence, and I noticed there was a lot more car traffic than I was used to in the historical district. I had to wander down the street to find a crosswalk, and when I did I found another small outdoor area. My directions were telling me I should cut through a park, but once I saw it I told myself I needed to make a detour. As soon as I saw the amazing Fontana Della Fortezza da Basso, a fountain with benches and sidewalks that was conveniently placed next to the base, I knew I had to come back here many more times in my days in Florence. I encountered many more Florentine sights on my way back, but none stuck to mind quite like the outdoor spaces did. I had never seen this side of Florence before and it seemed everywhere I turned, I had a new memory of this fantastic sun-filled day.

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The Power of Disconnecting

By Murphy Thompson
Photo by Qin Quan Lin

As my plane landed in Florence, I immediately reached for my phone to switch it off airplane mode. To my initial horror, it read “No Service”. A wave of panic rushed over me as I attempted to calculate the texts I would need to send and the posts I would need to like. As I sat in the cab to my new apartment with an unusable phone, I began to truly see and appreciate Florence.

The prioritization of social media drastically takes away from living in the moment. Frequently, I catch myself scrolling through my phone rather than being present. Checking Instagram appears to be therapeutic: you check it when you’re happy, sad, and anything in between. It is harder to concentrate on one task with the temptation of social media within grasp. I am not blind to the fact that this social mutation is detrimental. The misconception is that individuals think they cannot live without connection to social media. The lack of mindfulness is where people go astray; however, the moment at the Florence airport was a wake up call.

Since arriving in Florence, I have noticed that I am checking my phone less. Maybe it’s due to the lack of service, but my mind seems lighter and less worried about what others are doing or posting. In hindsight, social media created an anxiety and fear of missing out. For me, once the step had been taken to disconnect from the virtual world, it was much easier to appreciate what was in front of me.

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Cosmic Travel: Through the Macro Sphere

By Donald Blair
Photos by author

SPEL Photography student Donald Blair shares his beautiful textures created through macrophotography.

I decided to explore the textures of the world through macrophotography; often combining composited, and augmented graphic elements. I opted to take this approach to convey the way I see the world through my unique perspective. I often get lost in the tiny minute details of sight, sounds, and textures that most people never notice. Although I could not find away to express sound through this particular part of the creative process, I was able to show the visual textures that I often get lost in. This is a body of work I plan to continue for a long time to come. I find it is a unique way to explore my surrounding world as I travel through life. I am able to capture the actual textures of my journeys across this awesome planet, in a way traditional travel photography often neglects.

I expanded upon the scope of this project by incorporating my playful and imaginative side by making these images represent a visual story of inter-dimensional space exploration. This work pulls from my previous works where I try to convey a somewhat psychotropic/cosmic travel experience. This collection of photographs take the observer through three separate stages of a transient voyage. The first series of images focuses on Dimensional Travel through light to reach a new universe. Part of this series titled “Warp Drive” is also currently on exhibition at FUA’s DIVA campus. My Dimensional Travel series begins with images that are shot straight and less processed. Then it gradually approaches an increasingly augmented perspective. The Dimensional Travel series then morphs into my other two series. The second series of images explore the planetary cosmos of this new universe. And, the last series of images pull the observer down to the new planetary landscapes that exist in this new exciting realm. Although each section of these three series are different, they culminate into a single cohesive body of work that I call Cosmic Travel.

The Dimensional Travel series starts by exploring a macro photographic study of bent light. By focussing in on the textures of a fresnel type prismatic light refractor, differing liquids, and transparent/translucent objects; I was able to observe the world in a way that recalls the moments of my life since childhood when I would get lost in wonder as I would gaze through objects that would bend and manipulate light. Things such as looking through the side of a glass top table would present a new universe to me. I was able to see beyond my present reality as the glass would warp and bend the light as it passed through. It also is symbolic of the way sci-fi movies and television represent cosmic travel by the warping and bending of light. For example: when Star Trek would engage warp speed, or teleportation; or, when Dr. Who would travel in his Tardis. This also alludes to my own cosmic experiences that lifted the veil of reality, by presenting a new way of looking at the world in which I exist.

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A Home Away from Home

By Barbara Carranza
Photo by author

I knew when I applied to the Special Project Experiential Learning (SPEL) Journalism course that Florence was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I thought it would be the perfect spot for me: a relaxed, artistic, history-filled setting that would appeal to my old and free-spirited soul. It turns out I was right on the money (and so much more). As I’m getting ready to head back to Charlotte, my heart grows heavy. Although I have only spent two months in Florence, it’s evident to me that I have found a home away from home.

The thought first crossed my mind just a few days after my arrival. I assumed assimilating to a whole new country, language, and culture would naturally take time, but surprisingly, a sense of ease settled in me very quickly. Since I have always been curious about everything, I wondered: is it because Florence is the total opposite of Charlotte, a metropolitan city nearing 1 million inhabitants; or that everything is within walking distance, or maybe it’s the “homey” vibe that Florence just gives off that makes me feel so comfortable here? Whatever the case, it didn’t take long for me to tell my parents and friends that I wanted to move here. It was a big revelation for me because after all of the trips I’ve taken in my life, the closest that I ever came to thinking, “Yeah, I can see myself living here,” was Miami and Los Angeles. Not even Lima, Peru, my birthplace, and where almost all of my relatives live made the cut. Quite the opposite – I’ve repeatedly said that while I love visiting Lima, I could never live there. So when it dawned on me that I could actually picture myself living in Florence, I was shocked, but it was a good, welcoming realization.

Now that my time here is coming to a close, the reasons for my love of Florence have become clearer. I believe one of them is the persevered presence of its antiquity provides me an endless supply of imagination. As a writer, I read and write every day. Staying in Florence gave me a burst of creativity. I wrote articles for FUA during the day, and incessantly wrote my own stories at night. Whether it was in my apartment’s living room with the windows open or in a café down the street by the Duomo, the words poured out of me, and it was simply wonderful.

Another reason for wanting to stay would have to be the breathtaking beauty of the city. Raised in a place where skyscrapers dominate the skyline, Florence offered a nice change of scenery. Instead of having the Bank of America Corporate Center, Duke Energy Center, and Bank of America Stadium in the horizon, there was the Duomo’s terracotta-lined dome, Giotto’s bell tower, Palazzo Vecchio’s Torre di Arnolfo, and the surrounding hills of the valley that the city lies in. At times, it made me feel like I was living hundreds of years ago, when Florence reigned supreme during the Renaissance.

Though I’m happy to return to my family and friends, I’m also sad to leave Florence. I’ll always carry the memories with me. I don’t know when I’ll return, but what I do know is that one day I will.

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Making Risotto

By Teddy Duffy
Photo by author

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself extremely hungry in my Introduction to Italian Food Traditions class. Luckily, I found out we were making risotto that day. Having never tried it besides my mother’s, I was excited. I enjoyed the risotto so much that I decided to make it myself.

My first step was to turn on some Andrea Bocelli because he has the voice of an angel and he is one of the few artists I know from Italy. Once the music was on, I began. Instead of following the dish we had made in class, I decided to put my own spin on it. I added in sausage instead of mushrooms and decided to double the recipe to feed the guests I had over. I don’t recommend cooking a dish on your own for the first time with guests over because it adds a lot of pressure to the process. Thankfully, I loved it and delved into cooking. Keeping my eye on three different pans at once was difficult, so much so that I grabbed a small dish towel to use as a sweat towel. I had sausage with shallots, garlic, olive oil, and wine sauteeing in one pan with rice in another, and the broth in a large pot. While all of the ingredients were cooking, I was shredding some parmigiano reggiano and cutting up parsley. Apparently, I was pouring so much sweat and shaking the pans so hard to mix them that one of my guests asked if I was okay, to which I replied, “I’m in Florence, how can I not be okay?”. The loud opera music just intensified the scene. Finally, as everything came together, I began to combine the ingredients. I threw the sausage into the risotto and poured the bowl of parmesan in as well. Based off of my guests reviews and my own taste buds, it was a success. Everyone loved it so much that my guests offered to pay for all the ingredients this week if I cooked it for them again.

All in all, it was lots of fun to learn about a traditional dish while still putting my own spin on it. I guess I have no on else to thank but Andrea Bocelli!

Teddy’s Risotto
Ingredients:

360 gr ( 12 oz ) ( 2 cups ) Arborio rice
3-6 Italian sausages (based on # of people)
4 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
60 gr ( 2 oz ) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
120 ml ( ½ cup ) dry white wine
1 + ½ liter water for the vegetable broth
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 celery and 1 zucchina for the vegetable broth
15 gr ( ½ oz ) parsley, finely chopped
60 gr ( 2 oz ) extra virgin olive oil salt to taste

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Bookshops in Florence

By Lillian George

FUA student Lillian George tells us everything we need to know about bookshops in Florence.

Florence is filled with several historical landmarks, and many people travel from all over the world just to see them. Shopping is also a must whilst you are visiting Europe, but what about books? Sure, go ahead and order your book on Amazon, or your kindle, but are you getting the real experience? Having items shipped to you whilst you are in another country can be expensive, and it can take a few weeks. Going into a bookstore is an experience in itself, and it can really take you into a whole new world.

Just the other day I was walking down the crowded streets of Florence, and I stumbled upon an old bookstore, BM Bookshop. It had a very retro feel to it, just by looking at display in the window. I wanted to walk in, but it seems that the store had been permanently closed. I could tell right away that this bookshop had been around for quite some time. The person working next door could tell I was a student, and she greeted me immediately. I walked over to the friendly woman and introduced myself. I decided to try to talk to her directly about the store, although my Italian is not very good. Luckily, she spoke some English and I was able to learn more about the remarkable BM Bookshop. Talking to someone about this shop and learning as much as I did was a great experience, even if I did manage to go inside the store itself.

BM Bookshop was possibly the oldest English language bookshop in Florence, Italy. It was first introduced about fifty years ago by Libby, an American, and her husband Francesco, an Italian from Florence. The focal point of this store was the huge selection of Italian cookery books, tourist guides and books on art, architecture, design and fashion in English. However, recently (before they shut down) they added French, German and Spanish language sections. BM Bookstore was a sincere and welcoming location for English-speaking people. This bookstore was located in central Florence, and even if you cannot go into the store anymore, I recommend taking the walk over there just to see the history of it all.

The woman I talked to, who preferred to remain anonymous, peaked my interest about this store. Later that day, I went home to do some research. The most recent owner of the shop was John Werich, a young Swedish man who has lived in Florence since 2006. He bought the store because he was looking for a way to put down roots in the city. This store made him feel at home, but it’s sad that the bookshop did not last very long while it was in his possession. He and his family are art lovers, so when he bought this historical place he decided to bring some art into the store. Another interesting fact is that the store was not always called “BM Bookshop”, he renamed it to be “B&M Books and Fine Art”. He decided to rename the shop when he bought it to honor his family’s love for art.

Walking around Florence each day is getting better and better for me. I’m able to navigate the city without GPS now, and it really is becoming home. Finding stores like BM Bookshop is what this city is all about. Just because a place is shut down forever, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn about it. I am grateful to have met the woman who taught me so much about this little old bookshop with a history behind it.

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Permesso di Soggiorno (Permit to Stay)

SPEL Photography student Donald Blair shares his experience at the Questura in a photo story.

All photos by Donald Blair

Getting your permesso di soggiorno in Italy means waking up early!

Don’t forget your passport.

Have a seat, bring a good book, and don’t forget snacks!

Wait your turn, and be kind.

Once your fingerprints have been taken, you’re all set.

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