Certaldo city of art, where Boccaccio was born. Inhabited since the Etruscan times, the name Certaldo derives from the Latin phrase “cerrus altus” or from the Germanic, “cerrus aldo,” meaning ‘a rise covered in oaks. In 1164, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa conceded an area of ruins to the Alberti Counts in Prato, thus allowing them to take possession of the area where Palazzo Pretorio now stands.
Author: Jamie "Florence" Lorenzini
50 Days of International Cinema is back in Florence
The largest film festival in Italy? It’s the 50 Days of International Cinema in Florence, which will take place this year from October 25 to December 14 at the Odeon Cinema in Florence. The mega program is composed of nine international festivals which are based in Florence, as well as reviews, previews, events and meetings with authors.
Wassily Kandinsky and the other exhibits of the week
The following is a city-by-city guide to some of Italy’s art exhibitions of the week. Palazzo Blu in Pisa: Wassily Kandinsky, From Russia to Europe; until February 3; Lucca Center of Contemporary Art: David LaChapelle, 53 photos; until November 4. Galleria dell’Accademia (Florence): Art Returns Art; contemporary masters including Bacon, Klein, Burri, Kounellis, Picasso and Warhol; until November 4.
High pollution lurks in most Italian cities
Most Italian cities have higher levels of pollution than regulations permit, said an environmental report released Tuesday. Airborne pollution – made up of dust, smoke and hazardous substances in liquid form – exceeded legal limits in many cities, according to 2010 data collected by researchers. That included Florence, Prato, Rome, Milan, Pescara, Naples, Palermo and Siracusa.
Medicine: dead in Pisa endocrinologist Pinchera
Aldo Pinchera, internationally renowned endocrinologist, is died last night in his home in Pisa. He died for heart problems. Professor of Endocrinology and director of the first school of specialization in Endocrinology and parts of the University of Pisa was 78 years old.
Adoration of the Magi marred by debris
Restorers say they will need two years to undo botched efforts of the past on Leonardo da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. But when their work is finished, the painting will be luminous, they say. The first step for the restoration team from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure is to eliminate the debris left by numerous earlier attempts to restore the famous work.
FIAT CEO Marchionne apologizes to Florence
Speaking to students FIAT CEO and ACEA president, Sergio Marchionne said Matteo Renzi “is a poor copy of Obama, but he thinks he is Obama, the mayor of a little and poor city.” The classification of “little and poor” related to Florence has sparked anger in Florence. Political, trade associations and even churchmen criticized Marchionne.
Mywalit opens its flagship store in Florence
An explosion of color in the heart of Florence: opens today Mywalit, an Italian brand of Lucca, who was born to bring color, a wide spectrum of colors, “where there was no color”, making precious and original also smaller accessories: special details that differentiate wallets, key cases, credit card holder…
Italian police, opened the section of ANPS in NYC
It was opened yesterday in New York a new section of ANPS, the National Association of Italian State Police. It ‘s the first based in the United States and the third outside of Italy, after Toronto and Melbourne. The ceremony was held in the Palais des Nations, at the presence of the Consul General of Italy in New York, Natalia Quintavalle.
A statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi damaged
Today, at 8 am, a body monitoring (“Friends of the Earth”) in the Loggia dei Lanzi found the phalanx of a finger of the left hand of the sculpture by Pio Fedi depicting “The Rape of Polyxena” had been removed. All fingers of this hand are product additions made necessary by repeated acts of vandalism (the last in March 2009).