What's on in Florence in May: FABBRICA EUROPA 2012

For 2012, the international Festival of contemporary stage arts Fabbrica Europa plans a particularly varied and complex programme with exhibitions, workshop and shows. The main theme is the concept of “the mobility of art”, indicating “movement”, “transit”, “journey”, both across nations and across cultures, but also across “time” and “generations” (focusing particularly on the relationship between the Masters and the young). Musicians, videomakers and dancers are coming from all the parts of Europe for 10 days of contemporary art.

From its catalyzing historical centre, the Stazione Leopolda in Florence, Italy, where a number of the most interesting European contemporary works will be hosted, it will stretch out across the city of Florence in a capillary invasion of squares, streets, Renaissance corners etc., to bring alive a real “creative, hyper-textual and interactive map” of the contemporary scenario in order to involve and spread cultural action not only to the wide public of the Festival, but also to the still wider “man-in-the-street” population, not habitually in touch with the languages of art. 

Florence, Stazione Leopolda and other places

Opening May 3rd 2012 - until the 13th of May

XIX edition

Sunday aperitivo in Florence at Piazzale Michelangelo

While you are coming up to Piazzale Michelangelo's hill to admire the heart breaking view of Florence, and need a rest, stop a Caffetteria La loggia for a great aperitivo before lunch. For just 9 euros you can have your favourite drink such as italian best famous Negroni Cocktail with the best view of Michelangelo's David and Ponte Vecchio just in front of you. 

And if you are starving... have some appetizers for free! Enjoy those tiny pizzas to pick up with your fingers.

Caffetteria La Loggia Piazzale Michelangelo 

(there's also a restaurant if you want to stay longer)

Every Sunday from April to September.

Aperitivo from 11.30 until 1.00 pm

Lunch from 1.00 to 2.30 pm

Cheap vegetarian brunch in Florence

Last Sunday a friend of mine went to this cozy restaurant in the center of Florence, close to Santa Croce Square. The space is small. It's a sort of a private club: but the entrance fee is included in the 15euros brunch menu.

You can eat as much as you can, choosing between: tasty fried salted pieces of bread ("coccoli"), italian ricotta cheese served with some topping and apples, sweet italian buttery cheese called "burrata", pumpkin vegetarian cakes, pasta salted with red salad cooked in the Guinness beer, spicy vegetarian cous cous, fried spicy aubergines with rice... all served with several types of bread, and american coffee.
Don't miss to taste the desserts: apple crumble, cherry pie, sachertorte chocolate cake.

La Vie en Rose
Borgo Allegri 68r Firenze (close to Piazza dei Ciompi)

Superlative massage at the Four Season Hotel Spa in Florence

I was completely shocked when I received, as a birthday gift, a superlative 75 minutes massage at the Four Season in Florence! I had various opportunity to visit the Four Season in Florence (aperitif, brunch etc), but a visit to the spa was certainly a treat. 

I chose the massage, “Gocce di Luce” with candles. The candle composed by a special butter melt transforming the butter in warm oil used to massage the skin: this oil is composed by avocado oil, coconut oil, Shea butter; the fragrance is sweet oriental- spicy with vanilla tones.

Few words about the atmosphere of this Spa: amazing, warm and a tremendous kindness of the girls who work there. They let you fill up a form, first of all, asking if you want a gentle, medium or strong pressure of the massage then they lead you to the big changing room.

Everywhere all kind of amenities you might need like towels, make up removal, candles, water, fruits, fragrances: a true paradise for women.

After wearing my soft bathrobe I enter my room called after one of the hundreds kind of trees of the garden. It took me just few seconds to disconnect my brain from the rest of the world: the gentle but energetic massage of my back, the legs, feet and the massage of my face relaxed me so much that I said to myself: ”I stay here forever”.

The relax continued also after the 75 minutes massage when I lay on a bed in the relaxing room, sipping a herb tea cup and eating some organic biscuits watching the freezing cold wind bending the arms of the trees.

Other details I appreciated of the spa:

Many objects that you see at the Four Season in Florence are created by Florentine or Tuscan artisans like the alabaster shelf coming from Volterra or the tray and basket coming from a Florentine artisan, but above all, all the spa products coming from The Officina Profumo of Santa Maria Novella, an institution in Florence since 1612 that created only for the Four Season in Florence (no other 4 Season of the world have) the 4 Spa line named after the seasons, like the famous scrub made by the berries of the Tuscan cypress. 

Info: 055/2626 630 - mail: spa.firenze@fourseasons.com

Four Season Hotel - Borgo Pinti Florence, Italy.

You may be interested also in http://lovingflorence.blogspot.com/2008/10/mediterranean-massage-at-urban-spa-in.html

Taste fair in Florence: food bloggers, chefs, foodies...

"Taste. In viaggio con le diversità del gusto" will be back at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence from 10 to 12 March, 2012: 3 days of tasting, excellence, shopping, events and lifestyle experiences dedicated to taste, plus the Fuoriditaste events around town.

This is the seventh edition of this national food fair: the place where the world’s best members of the haute gastronomie community gather, along with the ever-growing number of foodies, the people who seek out quality foods and new taste trends. The 2011 edition of TASTE welcomed 12,000 visitors (a 20% increase over the previous year), and enjoyed fantastic media coverage.

“Beekeepers, master brewers, fisherman, experts in cooking equipment, sommeliers, food bloggers and many more are the ‘taste protagonists’, the people at the fulcrum of this year’s edition of TASTE,” says Agostino Poletto, deputy general manager of Pitti Immagine. "It is true,” he goes on to conclude, “that chefs are still the key figures in the more media-driven world of wines-and-foods, but new figures are coming forward – like the foodies who are enthusiastic about niche products and are creating new and unexpected interpretations for the industry.”

This edition of TASTE will feature about 250 firms selected among niche producers of excellence from nearly all the regions in Italy. They will present their products and latest creations in Florence. Over the years, TASTE has become an enjoyable and enthusing experience for members of the food and food service industries and the general public. It is a multi-sensory journey of discovery aimed at finding and defining the many ways we express and experiment tastes today.

• Taste Tour an itinerary that will allow you to sample the products presented by the 250 exhibitors to become acquainted with – and learn more about – Italy’s gastronomic riches; there will be lots of things, old and new, to discover, from the concentrated white truffle cream to ground dried capers, from salami to wine, from aged cow cheese to mild pecorino, from handmade pasta from Italy’s major pasta factories to figs preserved in balsamic vinegar, to saffron liqueur, to chocolates filled with Limoncello cream to red eggplant jam to….!
• Taste Tools is the area dedicated to designer food and kitchen items, tools for chefs and for those who love to cook – from kitchenwear to professional kitchenware. 
•  Taste Shop is the “department store” for exclusive foods – with over 1,500 items in the catalogue and sales exceeding 21,000 pieces last season. This is where to buy what you see and taste around the fair; 
• Taste Ring, is the cultural-gastronomic arena orchestrated by Gastronaut Davide Paolini who was recently elected “Person of the Year” in the poll conducted by the online daily Italia a Tavola. In this area devoted to debates and ideas, the leading players on the food stage challenge each other on the most interesting topics related to contemporary eating, from foods to flavors, interpreting what is happening today and anticipating the trends of tomorrow. 

The many events around the city, under the FuoriDiTaste banner were also a huge success with the public and the press. Here is a taste of some of the special projects at TASTE 2012:

• King of Catering: the competition among the best catering and banqueting firms of 2011, is organized by Bisol, who have been making wine in the Valdobbiadene area since 1542, and is sponsored by Mondadori. The theme for finalists in this second edition, and a very important topic for all catering companies is the “Wedding Reception”. The competition will be held on Friday, 9 March at the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence; a prestigious panel will judge, the first and main courses, the dessert, the entire menu and the service.

• The Casaviva Vintage Table: the magazine Casaviva will be participating in this edition of TASTE. Is vintage a real trend? Martina Liverani, the editorial staff foodie, will be at TASTE in the Casaviva stand to talk about recipes, tables, curiosities and anecdotes – and strictly nostalgia colored.

• The genie in the pot: tasty recipes at TASTE 7! Pitti Immagine decided to involve a dozen talented food bloggers to celebrate the contemporary foodie spirit of TASTE 7 and highlight a spreading phenomenon. They will be busy preparing tasty dishes made with ingredients provided by some of the exhibitors. And then, the recipes will be published on dedicated page on the Pitti Immagine website, buon appetito!

… and flavors spread around Florence with FuoriDiTaste

FuoriDiTaste is the calendar of “outside the fair” events that brings Florence into the heart of TASTE and features the city’s restaurants, gourmet shops, boutiques, art galleries, theaters and museums. FuoriDiTaste will light up the city and its places of excellence with theme tasting sessions and dinners, entertainment and new ways of presenting quality foods. The last edition of FuoriDiTaste met with huge public and critical acclaim. The roughly 100 events held in just as many venues transformed Florence in a festival of quality foods and excellent cooking.

TASTE. IN VIAGGIO CON LE DIVERSITÀ’ DEL GUSTO

10-12 March 2012

Florence, Stazione Leopolda - V.le Fratelli Rosselli, 5

Hours:

9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon (members of the trade only)

12:00 noon – 7:30 p.m. also open to the public

Monday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Admission:
€ 15 day ticket for the general public
€ 8 for registered members of the trade (one ticket is valid for all 3 days)

3 star hotel in Florence with free parking and Wi fi

I would like to suggest this 3 star hotel in Florence: the Hotel Jane is located near the banks of the Arno River just a few steps from the historic center. Small and welcoming, suitable for accommodation for tourism, business, families and small comitive. The rooms are newly renovated and tastefully decorated. Continental buffet breakfast, including croissants, cereals, juices, yogurt, cheese, salami etc. is served in a beautiful dining area. The staff is always available to satisfy your needs.

By booking through this blog (lovingflorence), have a special discount of 10% on for sale on their Internet sites and Bike rental + Garage for free.

Wi-fi Internet Connection.

Hotel Jane Via Orcagna, 56/58 - 50121 - Florence Italy · Ph.: +39 055.677382 · Email: info@hoteljane.it

From Tripadvisor:

Exhibition at Corsini Gardens: Artigianato e Palazzo

From Friday MAY 11th to Sunday MAY 13rh 2012 in Florence at Giardino Corsini, Via della Scala 115 there will be ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO.

The gardens of Palazzo Corsini are especially open to the public for this occasion. The Exhibition presents over 80 master craftsmen from Italy and from all over the world Practical demonstrations of techniques by hand in the crafting of: iron, glass, wood, textiles, precious stones and metals.

Special guest of this XVIIIth Edition: Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella di Firenze. The world-famous Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy will celebrate its 400th anniversary at ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO in the Corsini Gardens.

Giorgiana Corsini and Neri Torrigiani have invited Eugenio Alphandery to hold the celebration of the historic Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella here, at Artigianato e Palazzo, a fitting

venue for the 400 year-old activity founded nearby in 1221 by the Dominican Friars of Santa Maria Novella.

The Friars cultivated medicinal herbs and the Pharmacy was opened to the public in 1612. Since then it has become world known and now has 55 single-brand shops in the world, over 15 of which are in Japan and Korea. The products of the Pharmacy are inimitable: their centuries-old history an emblem of continuing innovation and research. The products of the Pharmacy combine artisanal techniques dating back to the Middle Ages with high quality materials and advanced technology.

This historical brand will be the main protagonist of the “Principe Exhibition” which is held every year at the Limonaia Piccola. Previous special guests have been brands of great success whose common denominator is to have their beginnings as small handcrafters and artisans: Gucci, Vacheron Costantin, Il Bisonte, Bulgari, Ente Tabacchi Italiano, Roberto Capucci, Loretta Caponi..

Friday 11th through Sunday 13th May there will be a number of celebrations dedicated to the 400 years

of the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella: a preview with Eugenio Alphandery, director and co-owner of the Officina, as guest of honour. Eugenio is the heart and soul of innovation at the Officina and is responsible for the expansion abroad of this most Florentine of brands.

Another special guest of the 2012 edition of Artigianato e Palazzo will be the Consorzio “Il cappello di

Firenze”, founded in May 1986 by the Association of Florentine Industrialists to safeguard and widespead the traditional art of straw hats of Florence. On exhibit, under the XVth century Loggia of Buontalenti of the Palazzo Corsini, will be some unique pieces made especially for this event following the tradition of those straw hats which, since the nineteenth century, have been crafted by Florentine hatmakers in many materials: straw, felt, raffia, precious threads, silk, satin and lace. On show will also be a grandiose collective installation.

During the three days of Artigianato e Palazzo the many artisans and craftsmen present will do practical demonstrations of how they achieve their high quality products. You will be able to understand, hands-on, the difference between quality products made by hand and others produced serially.

The gardens of the Corsini Palace, this Florentine “secret garden” created in the XVIth century by Gherardo Silvani, will once again host the techniques and ancient secrets of artisans and craftsmen. Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the wealth of ancient trades and gestures, symbols of a new form of elegance, whose value is both in the image and in the quality of their products.

Over 80 artisan shops will be set up in the midst of the greenery and flowers of the Corsini Garden and inside the splendid Limonaie (the lemon-houses). Visitors will assist in the work of craftsmen where innovation and love and respect for the past merge to create special products.

For 18 years this philosophy has guided the spirit of ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO. Our aim has been to set up shows and initiatives in the intention of preserving the age-old traditions of artisans and craftsmen, an ever-important resource for the city of Florence and for Made in Italy in the world.

Giorgiana Corsini e Neri Torrigiani have been organizing and promoting Artigianato e Palazzo for 18 years. The exhibition gathers in the Corsini Garden many master craftsmen who re-create, in this special setting, a corner of their “bottega”, their shop. The visitor hence can understand how artisan products are made, by hand, and how the precious manufactured goods are then put on the market. “Someone one said that teaching handicraft is more difficult than learning it, because most of the art is not to be explained but to be stolen rather: with one’s eyes.”

ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO

Friday 11th, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May 2012

Opening times 10 am to 8.30 pm

Entrance € 8. Reduced tickets € 6. Childeren under 12, free.

Catalogue free

Tickets are on sale at reduced pre-sale prices on: www.boxol.it

For informationTel. +39 055 2654589

www.artigianatoepalazzo.it

info@artigianatoepalazzo.it

Facebook: artigianatoepalazzo

Twitter: @MostraAeP

YouTube: artigianatoepalazzo

Flickr: artigianatoepalazzo