Friday, 28 May 2010
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
The beautiful Parco delle Cascine Mercato, the bigger park of Florence.
Today I went to the Mercato delle Cascine and because it was a good relaxing experience, I want to share this with you.
[[posterous-content:pid___0]]The Augsburg-Lorena family that succeeded the Medici as rulers of Florence gifted Le Cascine to the State Department of Possessions and the park opened to the public.
Piazza S. Lorenzo, Via dell'Ariento. Closed on Sundays and Mondays. Open every first Sunday of the month.
Piazza dei Ciompi Open all day on the last Sunday of every month.
Piazza Ghiberti. Open weekday mornings only.
Piazza del Porcellino. Open from 8am to 7pm: closed on Sundays and Monday mornings.
Parco delle Cascine. Open only on Tuesday from 8 am to 2 pm
Monday, 24 May 2010
Opera Concert - Thursday 27 May 2010
This event was posted at the Italian school "Spirito Italiano" in Florence.
We also started to have Opera singing course and online Opera courses
.
Florence events - PREZIOSA an annual prestigeous exhibition dedicated to international Research Jewellery.
Preziosa 2010 DIALOGUES
 | The 2010’s edition of PREZIOSA features an open presentation that evolves and is organised at the level of dialogue. Three masters of research jewellery have been asked to select a younger artist to set up a dialogue with. In this way the curator takes the role of stimulator and mediator, seeking to weave a mesh of questions, answers, propositions, statements and mediations triggered by the meeting with the various artists, and finally charting a sort of log of the routes pursued. The exhibition is thus driven by a "spirit of dialogue". Not merely "talking with" but "thinking with", "being bound by thought": a dialogue based on the desire to understand and know the other, and to propose an approach to the reality of the research jewel through a spirit of discovery. For this reason the three chosen artists share the fact that they belong to the same generation, that they are established, recognised artists with a long experience as teachers behind them, while at the same time representing three different approaches to research in jewellery. Each of the three artists will offer a broad and inclusive presentation of his or her own work, and will also select a younger artist, so as to set up and develop dialogues between different generations, languages and contents. |
 | This relationship of dialogue will make it possible to develop broader reflections on the creative reality of the jewel, its history and its present. The public will be able to know the work of the six artists through the various phases of their work, listening to the conversations and reflections triggered by the encounters, and also by reading the "dialogue" in the works themselves. The idea behind the exhibition is to offer a view of jewellery research from within, to give space and voice to the protagonists, and through their cultural and personal filters get to know the work of the three younger artists, who have developed original research with a language that is already recognisable. Three artists, three different nationalities, a geographical line leading from North to South: Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy. Three artists who have been working for around forty years, pursuing paths that are totally different, each with a complex language, a personal and characteristic Kunstwollen, despite sharing a marked spirit of research and experimentation. Contemporary Jewellery PREZIOSA is a cultural project, an annual prestigeous exhibition dedicated to international Research Jewellery. The project began in 2005, and was conceived, organized and coordinated by “Le Arti Orafe”, since 1985 the school for Contemporary Jewellery Making and Jewellery Design in Italy. Every year the artistic approachto the complex subject of jewellery is explored through a specific concept, and with the selection of artists from all the world. Il progetto PREZIOSA è subito diventato uno dei più prestigiosi appuntamenti mondiali dedicati alla creazione orafa contemporanea, e la sola mostra d’arte contemporanea prodotta in Toscana ed esportata con grande successo all’estero: l’edizione 2007-2008 è stata ospitata a Barcellona e l’edizione 2009 a New Delhi, presso l’Ambasciata Italiana. L’edizione 2010 sarà presentata a Città del Messico nel mese di aprile. Dal 2007 un’anteprima della mostra viene organizzata in occasione della fiera internazionale Inhorgenta, che si tiene a Monaco di Baviera nel mese di Febbraio. Dal 2008 la mostra collaterale “PREZIOSA YOUNG” presenta una selezione di giovani artisti del gioiello, scelti da una giuria internazionale. Anche questa mostra-concorso è diventato un riferimento, con molte decine di partecipanti da ogni parte del mondo. Ogni anno la manifestazione prende il nome della città che lo ospita: per questo le prime 4 edizioni hanno preso il nome di “Lucca Preziosa”. |
Information received at the Italian lanuage school in Florence "Spirito Italiano" from:
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Today 23/05/2010 events
Florence’s historic residences will be open to the public
More than a hundred palaces were built in Florence in the course of the 15th century, and it is no surprise that the beauty and size of these private buildings were such that in the maps and views of the age, the large palaces of the big merchant families were granted equal importance to the most important public and religious edifices.
Colli Fiorentini
Fiesole
1)Villa Fontallerta, viale Righi 60, Firenze*
2)Castel di Poggio, via di Vincigliata 4, Fiesole
3)Villa di Maiano, via del Salviatino 1, Fiesole
4)Villa La Torraccia, via delle Fontanelle 24, S. Domenico di Fiesole*
5)Villa Nieuwenkamp, via Vecchia Fiesolana 62, S. Domenico di Fiesole
6)Villa il Rinuccino, via Ferrucci 43, Fiesole
7)Villa Schifanoia, via Boccaccio 121, S. Domenico di Fiesole
8)Villa Salviati, via Faentina 261, Firenze*
PLEASE NOTE! Villa Salviati will only be open from 10am to 1pm; visitors will be admitted in groups of 25 every 15 minutes. Some form of valid identification must be left at the entrance.
Historic City Centre of Florence
1)Giardino Malenchini, via de’ Benci 1
2)Palazzo Stiozzi Ridolfi, via San Niccolò 99*
3)Palazzo Guicciardini, via Guicciardini 15
4)Palazzo Bartolozzi, via Maggio 11*
5)Palazzo Ricasoli, via Maggio 7
6)Palazzo Frescobaldi, via Santo Spirito 13
7)Hanging garden of Palazzo Guicciardini, via Santo Spirito 14
8)Palazzo Antinori di Brindisi, via dei Serragli 9*
9)Giardino Torrigiani, via del Campuccio 53
10) Cloister of the former Convento del Carmine (hostel), via del Leone 35*
11)Palazzo Corsini, lungarno Corsini 10
12)Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, piazza Santa Trinita 1
13)Courtyard of Palazzo Rucellai, via della Vigna Nuova 18
14)Palazzo Antinori, piazza Antinori 3
15)Palazzo Barbolani di Montauto, via de’ Ginori 9
16)Palazzo Taddei, via de’ Ginori 15
17)Palazzo Tolomei Biffi, via de’ Ginori 19
18)Palazzo Pandolfini, via San Gallo 74
19)Palazzo Ximenes Panciatichi, borgo Pinti 68
20)Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai, piazza SS. Annunziata 1
21)Palazzo Niccolini, via dei Servi 15*
22)Palazzo Incontri, via de’ Pucci 1*
Commemoration of the death of Savonarola (23 May) – Piazza della Signoria
Every year, on the anniversary of that date, a Mass is celebrated in Palazzo Vecchio in his memory, and flowers – the Fiorita – are laid on the spot where he was burnt.
In Palazzo Vecchio, at 10 o’clock, there will be the commemoration of the death Savonarola. After the worship in the Cappella dei Priori, the Florentine civil, religious and administrative authorities go to the exact place where Fra’ Girolamo Savonarola was hanged and burnt, and, after the commemorative acts, rose petals and flowers are laid on the floor. The Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, prior of San Marco and a stern moralizer, was burnt at the stake in Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Studying Italian language and living in an apartment in Florence, Italy.
My name is Marcello Ciao and I direct the Italian language school in Florence "Spirito Italiano".
Teaching a language, and particularly teaching the Italian language, takes a lot of passion, patience, and respect for the students' culture and communication skills that have little to do with the Italian language itself.
Since it seems that I have many of these qualities, I have chosen to help those students who need personal attention during their Italian studies in Florence.
After having trained as an Italian language teacher in London, I have had many years of experiences as an Italian teacher in various Italian language institutes, universities, private schools like Berlitz, ECC, GEOS and international companies. I gradually developed a communicative teaching method that suits every student and allows them to learn Italian grammar in a more natural way. I always pay a lot of attention to students' progress and adjust their Italian course accordingly. Each Italian lesson is adapted to the desires and abilities of each student or group. Learning Italian is not easy, but it can be enjoyable, if it is learned with people who understand your difficulties, care about them and make studying the Italian language fun!
Together with the language and cultural courses It is essential to us that our students are provided with accommodation in Florence that meets their expectations and requirements.
We offer accommodation through the year in host families, shared student apartments.
We fully understand that a student's accommodation represents a 50% of the overall experience. If a student is not happy in their accommodation, they will not be able to study well and therefore their course will not be a success. Whatever the type of accommodation we ensure that the quality of that accommodation is just as high as the quality of the course.
It is essential to us that our students are provided with accommodation that meets their expectations and requirements.We have also many apartments for rent in Florence at our apartmets site: http://www.florenceapartmentitaly.com
In order to ensure that our students are comfortable in their accommodation, we not only require that our schools regularly visit and check every type of accommodation, but we also place students in accommodation in which previous students of ours have been happy.
We carefully advise students as regards the various accommodation options and always try to place students in accommodation, which perfectly suits their needs and wishes.
The school helps students to find the most appropriate lodging depending on their wishes and financial situation. However, to do this we ask students to send us the registration form compiled at least one month before the beginning of the course. The prices below are only indicative. It is possible to choose among the following possibilities.
(drinking fountain) or the corner decoration of a building.There are many things to do in Florence and nearby towns, and that is way I started to write my blog, to help anyone coming to Florence to find good tips, advice and to give my students and me a chance to write about our experiences and comments about living in Florence.
On my other blog you can also find some information about enjoying the beauty of Florence at zero cost.
Buona giornata!
Marcello Ciao