Tag: florence

Live Music in Florence

Photo by the author

By Shelby Olson

Visiting local music venues throughout Florence is a great way to experience a new form of art as well as the city nightlife. I had the chance to check out three venues in Florence that accommodate to many different styles.  

If you are looking to experience a different form of art in the city, Florence has many live music venues that can accommodate to your style whether that be upbeat, laid back, or a classic feel. I took a look at a few different live music venues throughout the city and had the chance to experience a different side of the nightlife in Florence.

Jazz Club is a great place if you are looking for an upbeat bar full of live music and dancing. They are open late and offer a food menu along with a large selection of drinks. Jazz Club hosts Italian artists and occasionally international artists, and concerts don’t start until later in the evening. The music genre is typically jazz but depends on the band playing and the shows have a very intimate feel. To get into the club, you can purchase a member card at the door for 6 euros (includes a beverage), and you’ll use the card for subsequent visits.

Libreria La Cité is a small cafe and library that hosts live music at night and they occasionally have events on various nights of the week. This is a neat place to check out if you are looking for a relaxing night filled with drinks, books, and music. I had the chance to visit La Cité during the evening and came across a lot of people sitting down with a book and coffee before the music started. The building is not too big but it is packed with bookshelves and even has an upstairs area with comfortable seating. I would definitely go back to this place whether it be for a coffee and book or to listen to music.

The Virgin Rock Pub is well-known for friendly service, rock music, and a great selection of food and drinks. It hosts events on the weekends with live music and aperitivo. The Virgin Rock Pub also has outdoor seating if you want to enjoy the music while still experiencing Florence’s beautiful weather during the summer. I had the opportunity to attend the Virgin Rock Pub during one of their events and it was a neat experience. The space is small but is decorated with old rock memorabilia, drum symbols turned into lights, posters, and paintings. After 10 o’clock, a band played classic rock music while everyone crowded in to listen.

There are many wonderful places in the city that can accommodate to your style. I recommend visiting these music venues during your time in Florence because it gives you a different taste of Florence at night. Try starting out with these spots and definitely venture out to explore the many music venues to check out while living in Florence.

How to Visit:

Jazz Club: Via Nuova de’ Caccini, 3, 50100 Firenze
Closed Monday, Friday-Saturday 11PM-4AM, other days 11PM-3AM

Libreria La Cite: Borgo S. Frediano, 20/r, 50124 Firenze

Virgin Rock Pub: Via dell’Agnolo, 76, 50122 Firenze
Open everyday 3PM-3AM

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The History of Via Sant’Egidio

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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 16th, 17th, and 18th 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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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

Boboli Garden View

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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Marketing Class Visits Florentine Perfume Company

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By Amanda Guido

FUA’s Marketing Mix class visited with a local perfume-maker to discover the marketing practices of a niche industry.

You can smell the rose-scented air even before reaching the street where AquaFlor is located. As you turn onto Borgo Santa Croce, the inviting smell only gets stronger until you find yourself in front of the 15th century Renaissance Palazzo where AquaFlor is located. In case you could not already tell from the image above, this is no ordinary perfume store. AquaFlor is a perfume showroom and laboratory outfitted with olfactory specialists. This is not just a store where you can purchase high quality perfumes, but an experience where you are educated on scents so that you can find the right one for you. Open seven days a week, AquaFlor is truly a hidden gem in the city center of Florence.

During my experience in this magical place, I was given a tour of the grounds from their communications strategies specialist. He explained to us that the perfume industry is growing rapidly, increasing 15% from 2014 to become a 39.2 billion dollar industry. He is taking advantage of this by making AquaFlor different from any other perfumery to create brand recognition and word of mouth advertising.

Clients can spend hours just browsing different scents with the help of experienced olfactory specialists, and create their own scent to take home.

The perfume showroom itself had such a unique aesthetic: classy, put together, and vintage. The first room has diffusers, used to give rooms in the home a pleasant scent. Next, our guide then took us to a room filled with pastel-colored soaps. These are very affordable and would make a great gift for loved ones back home. The third and final room on this floor was where the perfumes are kept. The price point for the perfumes is 140€, but this is a steal considering the quality of the product. Most other perfumes have a high concentration of alcohol and water whereas these have a significantly higher concentration of the actual scent for a longer lasting experience. Even testing the perfume is unique at AquaFlor. The pure scent is concentrated in beakers and a test tube is placed upside down in this scent. You simply smell the inside of the test tube which is meant to give a more accurate feel for what the perfume will smell like when it is worn. Most other retailers spray the perfume on a piece of paper, which is not effective for getting an accurate smell. I personally enjoyed how the rooms were split up by product. From a consumer perspective, this made it easier to shop.

Lastly, we visited the lower level lab. Our guide explained the scientific and chemical aspects of the production process and showed us how the perfumes were made. We also explored scent categories, and the experiential aspect of the visit is a great marketing tool. The Instagram account of AquaFlor is beautifully curated too. You can visit AquaFlor in Borgo Santa Croce 6 in Florence, as well as check out the company’s website.

 Did you know that an FUA alum is a part of the AquaFlor team? Watch this alumni video interview.

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Il Doppio Bacio

By Christina Trupia 

It is Italian tradition for family and friends to kiss each other on each cheek as a greeting when saying hello or goodbye. If you look around the streets of Florence, you will see this salutation everywhere. Have you adopted this Italian custom or any others yet?

It is the simple gestures that hold a plethora of meanings between those who share them. You can see it between friends passing each other on the street while taking an afternoon stroll, in a restaurant amongst two friends meeting for a meal, or even those departing after a day spent with someone who was once a stranger.  Un doppio bacio, or a double kiss, customarily on the cheek, is a common gesture between those local to the region of the world that I now call home.

Mostly used among those who know each other such as family or close friends, I view this effortless, social gesture as a beautiful and welcoming practice. It is a sign of love and caring for those who have had an impact on your life at some point in time.

Imagine friends from university coming together after years of living distant lives, greeting each other with a double kiss on each cheek as a sign of the relationship they once shared. Perhaps you may see it shared within a family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews meeting for a celebration of a new life born into the family. It may even serve as a farewell gesture between a classroom of a small group of students after the completion of a course, or a guide ending their journey with the travelers they have come to know after a full day of touring and adventure in a new place.

It is an engaging tradition that means so much more than a simple handshake or an exchange of words. A small gesture with a heartfelt meaning, the double kiss symbolizes the genuine respect and sentiment we all have for one another.

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International Women’s Day, Every Day

Detail from Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi

By Madison Landau

In today’s society, there seems to be a holiday to celebrate just about anything. There’s a national holiday for Nutella, siblings, and even for French bulldogs.

Here in Italy we recently celebrated on March 8th an important holiday that won’t just be swept under the rug like the others; International Women’s Day was celebrated proudly by allowing free admission to state and municipal museums for women.

Even though Women’s Day is just once a year, you can make exploring female themes in the local culture a regular part of your daily routine. If you like exhibitions, for example, try to find special shows in your area that may focus on female artists or artists who focus on female sources of inspiration.

In Florence, the famed Uffizi Gallery Museum houses historic artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi, who is considered to be one of the most successful painters after the Caravaggio era. It’s important to not just see her artwork, but to know all that went behind it. Being an artist wasn’t easy back in the male-dominated Renaissance era, and being a female artist made recognition much more difficult.

Artemisia overcame such obstacles within her lifetime to achieve the fame she enjoys today, and for women across Italy to have the opportunity to see her artwork firsthand can prove to be a real inspiration for all. At the FUA campus, the Artemisia Room is dedicated to this important artist, and often hosts experiential learning students who collaborate on special projects related to videomaking, visual communication, and journalism.

To commemorate International Women’s Day as more than a “hallmark holiday” shows a great deal of respect to the women of not just Italy but internationally. During your studies and your daily life in Florence, seek to uncover the great as well as lesser-known women who have contributed to the artistic and civic culture of Florence and Tuscany.

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Talking Stones of Florence

Photos by the author

By Aaron Klevan

What do Florence’s “talking stones” have to do with modern-day journalism and civic awareness? FUA’s Writing for Digital Media students recently explored connected readings of the city’s political and cultural history through its talking stones. Next time you take a walk around the city center make sure to look up and see if you can spot some.

Florence is a city with a rich history that dates back centuries. One of the unique ways that the city actively communicates its vibrant past is through “talking stones.” These stones, containing inscriptions of both writing and art, are adorned on walls throughout the city and tell Florence’s most fascinating tales. The stones also portray the art of journalism in its truest form, exhibiting many principles still applied today in an authentic breath.

  • The idea of social awareness can be seen in the way the stones project the stories of Florence.
  • The principle of connected reading is presented by the way the stones link current Florentines and visitors to the city’s political past.
  • The stones also share visual information with supplementary images and drawings in addition to pure text.
  • Finally, at the time they were created, the stones were a form of enhanced technology requiring specialized knowledge and methods for chiseling messages into stone.

The first talking stone shown on the left of the photo is one of the first known forms of graffiti, located near the main entrance to Palazzo Vecchio. As the legend goes, it was a self-portrait of Michelangelo. It is a fascinating way to look at the technology artists used at the time, and also offers a glimpse into the booming art community during the Renaissance, connecting people today to those who walked Florence’s streets and drew on its walls in the past.

The second stone is perched atop a bustling intersection near the city center in Via delle Oche. It textually denotes that the building on which it is placed was once home to the prestigious Adimari family, of which Alemanno Adimari was a member. He was a famous Italian Catholic cardinal and archbishop. This stone serves the purpose of displaying the famous residents that played a fundamental role in shaping the city.

The final stone is a beautiful bust and description of Saint Antoninus in Via dello Studio. He was an Italian Dominican friar who ruled as an Archbishop of Florence. This talking stone is found on the exterior façade of the Pierozzi family home. It is a perfect example of combining visual information with written texts, much like an article, that allows viewers to see the subject and read about it.

The city continually talks to us every day through its surfaces, signs, and symbols. What unexpected discoveries have you made through Florence’s talking stones?

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