Last Thursday we got our Carte D'Itdentita here in Florence. Until now we've used our Certificato di Residenza as proof that we live here - and it's worked fine for most purposes. But we just bought a car from a friend, and were unable to make the transaction with only the Certificate of Residency - we needed the Carta d'Identita.
UPI is reporting a story they picked up from ANSA:
A new show in Florence, Italy, is set to offer a glimpse into the "poetic" architecture that Michelangelo created during his famed career.
The show is scheduled to open Dec. 16 at Florence's Casa Buonarroti, featuring original architectural sketches from the Italian Renaissance artist that represent Michelangelo's "poetic" style, said the news agency ANSA.
"Michelangelo writes poetry in his architecture," said the show's curator, Howard Burns. "One often comes across verses by the master right next to the architectural drawings, expressing the emotion he felt after inventing such harmonious forms."
There is a much more detailed article from the International Herald Tribune here. The Casa Buonarroti is one of the few museums I have yet to visit and this exhibit sounds like a great reason to go.
AGI is reporting:
ISTAT: ITALIANS LIVE LONGER, LONGEST IN FLORENCE (AGI) - Rome, Oct 24 - Italians live longer, people in Florence are the one reaching the highest average age. Italy takes the second place in the classification of longevity after Switzerland, even if the cold winter and hot summer of 2003 caused more people to die.
This is great news obviously - Italians in general seem to have a tremendous longevity. I can't understand though how the pervasive use of tobacco in this country hasn't worked against these statistics. Another article from the study notes that men in Florence have the longest average life span - 78.8 years.
From the Times Online:
More here.A painting kept in a church attic and thought to be a copy of a masterpiece by Caravaggio is an unfinished work by the artist, according to Italian experts. The Crowning with Thorns, now on display at the church of San Bartolomeo della Certosa in Genoa, has been restored by art experts who say they detect Caravaggio's "unmistakable style" in the figure of Christ.
Updated on October 20th: The word is filtering out about Solociccio Solo Ciccia, and while we still have our own review to write of a great lunch there, I wanted to note a couple of things quickly:
Conde Nast has announced the "Results of the 19th Annual Readers' Choice Awards". Guess what was the top European city?
Top Cities - Europe:
- Florence, Italy
- Rome, Italy
- Venice, Italy
Italy makes a clean sweep - pretty amazing. Follow the link for the whole story.
So, we have all heard the stories about how awful Telecom Italia can be (all of us who have ever decided to live in Italy that is). The behemoth of bureaucracy in Rome, the black hole of customer service. I think a lot of it is cliche - I have had terrible phone/Internet service in Hoboken, NJ (no dial tone every time it rained), Philadelphia, PA (no dial tone at all for 2 days - after I had DSL "installed"), St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (I won't go into that one...) - and now - Florence, Italy, so it can happen anywhere.
Summer is over and I've put away most of my sandals. So yesterday I pulled out some shoes I bought last Spring, and I'm realizing how much I really like them. I bought them at a little shop on Via Nazionale called "Mondo Albion", where a quirky guy makes shoes. The store is half workshop and half display. Most of the displays are what I would consider more "costume" shoes than wearable shoes - lots of platform boots painted in bright colors with hand-written text (see photo). But if you walk to the back, there are a few shelves full of leather flats, loafers and pumps - all with an interesting flare, but not at all crazy. They're not cheap (starting at about 100 euros for a basic pair of black flats), but they're holding up well and seem to be offered in every size imaginable. I think the shop's worth a browse, if just to take a look at the fun stuff.
Check out their website. The site's dedicated mostly to Mondo Albion's one-off items, really art pieces, not shoes - but it's an interesting read, and there is a good map of their location too.
Ellen
Fine wine auction in Florence on October 19th, from WineNews.it:
There will be, for example, the three lots that will be put up for charity by the Marchesi Antinori, who have created a case in larch wood with six bottles of multi-prized Solaia 1990, 1994, and 1999, created exclusively for this auction; another larch case containing twelve bottles of Tignanello 1990-93-94-97-99 and 2001; as well as a lot made up of four Magnums of 1997 Solaia, Tignanello, Brunello di Montalcino Pian delle Vigne Guado al Tasso.
Vinitaly date is set, March 29th to April 2, 2007, in Verona again. I missed this in 2006 - definitely planning to attend this time around.
This weekend is the "Piante e Fiori" show at the agricultural garden (the Giardino dell'Orticultura - site is in Italian only). There will be around 35 exhibitors, and we expect to see some of our friends from the Thursday flower market.
October 7-8, 2006. From 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM - entrance is free. Giardino dell'Orticultura Via Vittorio Emanuele II 4, Villa Bolognese, 17 Firenze. Map
The 40th anniversary of the great flood of 1966 is about a month away. We put up a new site (it is under construction - still needs tweaking) that will have annotated links, news, photos and more about the flood. Check it out - Florence Flood
This is not a done deal yet - but it seems likely:
Italian towns will be allowed to tax tourists up to five euros ($6.30; £3.40) per day in the 2007 budget put forward by Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Income from the accommodation tax, which would be payable by Italian tourists too, would have to be spent on tourism structures and services.
I think it is an interesting and perhaps necessary step. There is some evidence of tourism being flat year over year in Italy, but overall, from what we see with our own eyes and hear from Italians and the news here, a lot of the most visited cities and monuments throughout Italy are crumbling. Tourism and tourists (including Italian tourists) are overwhelming many of these spots. If the money raised from this tax went directly into preserving the treasures of Italy, it would be a good thing.
We learned late in the game that Esselunga grocery store has online shopping with direct delivery to your house. We spent our first year in Florence dragging a shopping bag on wheels across the cobblestone streets of the city - not an easy task. I'm glad those days are over.
