April 2020 266 The English-speaking news magazine in Florence www.theflorentine.net Healing not broken A commemorative issue We hope you enjoy our interactive digital edition. Everything you see in blue is clickable, as too are the Healing advertisements. This is The Florentine into the future, not broken a brave new world of A commemorative issue publishing in Florence, Italy. Editor’s letter: Healing not broken / Helen Farrell Contributors Florence will rise again / Dario Nardella The future? / Marco Badiani Voices of tomorrow / Giovanni Giusti Empty Florence / Francesco Spighi How to help Italy + Florence The empty ballroom / Perri Klass + Larry Wolff A message / Benjamin V. Wohlauer No more chances after today / Marisa Garreffa The best and the worst / Sarah Crowe Retreat into your home, not into yourself / Harry Cochrane Opportunity / Alexandra Lawrence Family life in lockdown / Jane Farrell Il British during lockdown / Amanda Lowe 2 TF266 April 2020 The next adventure / Simon Gammell A sense of community / Eugenio Giani A different world / Luigi Salvadori The wisdom of farmers / Paolo Chiappini Full city, empty city / Carlo Francini Tuscany, together for tomorrow / Francesco Palumbo An opportunity to change direction / Carlotta Ferrari The meaning of “home” / Kamin Mohammedi Neighbourhood spirit in San Niccolò / Lisa Brancatisano So, so special / Nardia Plumridge Thoughts from just another girl in Florence / Georgette Jupe Living in a today which never seems to end / Ela Vasilescu The “adopted home” of so many / Gabrielle Maria Taylor Florence, that grande dame / Deirdre Pirro Lost Verse / Kirsty Jane Falconer My One and Only / Aimelie Moen Thoughts from young readers / Téa Mijatović, Sofia Lydia Barbieri, Liam Danilo Barbieri + Allegra DiFlorio My sweet quarantine / Vincenzo d’Angelo Making pasta in lockdown / Emiko Davies Radiant, lethal Italian spring / John Hooper April 2020 TF266 3 the English-speaking news magazine in Florence editorial office + advertising via dei Banchi 4 - 50123 Firenze [email protected] theflorentine.net theflorentinepress.com EDITORIAL TEAM editor-in-chief Helen Farrell deputy editor Jane Farrell photo editor Marco Badiani editorial assistant Harry Cochrane MANAGEMENT director Marco Badiani deputy director Giovanni Giusti graphic & art design Leo Cardini advertising Giacomo Badiani digital + web Alexandra Korey accounting Deborah Bettazzi founding editor Nita Tucker WRITE TO US AT: [email protected] events [email protected] advertising [email protected] classifieds [email protected] [email protected] direttore responsabile Silvia Bini editore B’Gruppo srl via Valentini 10 - 59100 Prato partita iva 01715830970 iscritta al registro degli operatori di comunicazione (ROC) al n. 14773 del 17/11/2006 - Reg. Trib. di Prato n.4 del 12/09/2006 FLORENCE AS IT HAPPENS News and events online, all the time. theflorentine.net CLASSIFIEDS Looking for an apartment, appliance or even an elephant? You never know… If it’s in Florence, you’ll find it here! theflr.net/classifieds WEB TV see hundreds of videos ldmnews.it SOCIAL CONTENT facebook.com/tfnews @theflorentine instagram.com/theflorentine youtube.com/theflorentinenews Cover image: Francesco Spighi www.francescospighi.com Healing not broken The Florentine has been with you since 2005: 15 years of news, events, arts, culture and stories of international living in Florence. Now, in the spring of 2020, just before Easter, we are privileged to publish He- aling Not Broken, a commemorative issue documenting the emer- gency we are all enduring, wherever we are in the world. Propinquity is the word that keeps coming to mind, a poignant noun that made me fall in love with Florence a smidgen more on reading Michael Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient. Never before has huma- nity been so united in a shared cause. Never before has our magazine received so many messages from so many people, expressing their closeness to Florence and concern for our team. It was this feeling of nearness that drove us to make a new commitment to our readers around the globe during lockdown: TF Together (www.theflr.net/ tftogether), a weekly line-up of digital events to keep you company in the interim. This sense of camaraderie can be felt throughout Flo- rence as schools have switched overnight to online learning, associa- tions have changed their events to virtual platforms and museums accompany us on tours around their collections. Humanism, of course, had its home in Renaissance Florence and, now more than ever, rational thinking, collectivity and experience inform a code for us to live by. In this special edition of The Florentine, we witness an outpouring of a renewed humanism in Florence, of learning, words, thoughts and cre- ativity, with articles, poems and short stories scribed by our internatio- nal community, some a product of our literary competition launched to keep you company during quarantine, plus ideas and considera- tions for the future from Tuscany’s leaders and institutional figures, all interspersed with iconic photography of Florence at its most restful. To our readers in Florence, please continue to document this unusual gift of time, albeit tragic, and to reach out to us with a view to publi- cation. To our readers all over the world, please postpone, not cancel your forthcoming trips to this magnificent city. The joy of Florence and Tuscany changes with the seasons and will amaze you just as much in the autumn, winter and beyond. The city we love so deeply has endured the plague, conspiracies, flo- ods and bombings. Florence will endure this challenge too and with time, perseverance and your support, our Fiorenza will flourish once more. Helen Farrell, editor in chief Please continue to support The Florentine at this critical time for Italy: www.theflorentine.net/support 6 TF266 April 2020 index index April 2020 TF266 7 Contributors Dario NARDELLA mayor of Florence Benjamin V. WOHLAUER Consul General of the United States in Florence Eugenio GIANI Carlo FRANCINI president of the Regional head of the World Heritage Council of Tuscany and UNESCO Relationship Office of the Municipality of Florence + site manager of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Historic Centre of Florence” Luigi SALVADORI president of Fondazione CR Firenze Paolo CHIAPPINI director of Fondazione Sistema Toscana Francesco PALUMBO Simon GAMMELL director of Toscana director of The British Promozione Turistica Institute of Florence 8 TF266 April 2020 index Amanda LOWE deputy director of The British Institute of Florence Mattia MARASCO photographer based in Carlotta FERRARI Florence director of Destination Florence CVB + President and Founder of the Italian Francesco SPIGHI Convention Bureau photographer based in Florence Larry WOLFF Julius Silver Professor of History at New Sarah CROWE York University, the former international executive director of journalist, who has the NYU Remarque worked for the UN/ Institute, + co-director UNICEF for the past 16 of NYU Florence at Villa years, + currently lives La Pietra and works in Florence Marisa GARREFFA writer + performance Perri KLASS artist living in Florence Professor of Journalism and Pediatrics at New York University + co-director of NYU Florence at Villa La Pietra Alexandra LAWRENCE professor and private Deirdre PIRRO tour guide who has columnist of The Florentine + author of Italian lived and worked in Sketches: The Faces of Modern Italy, published by Florence for over 20 The Florentine Press. She’s an international lawyer years who lives and works in Florence index April 2020 TF266 9 EUROPASSITALIAN.COM Aimelie MOEN Nardia PLUMRIDGE artist born and raised Kamin MOHAMMEDI 20% OFF on next course in Florence published author + in South Florida. She published author, if you book before JUNE! freelance travel and studied Fine Arts and journalist, broadcaster, lifestyle writer who Art History at Marist editor and public regularly contributes Georgette JUPE College in Florence, speaker to print and online digital social media and currently lives publications in the UK, marketing strategist, between Florence and US and Australia editor of Italy Los Angeles Magazine + founder of the popular Girl in Learn Italian Online Florence blog Ela VASILESCU Online now, Lisa BRANCATISANO story hunter translated in Florence next year! founder of This into a writer, editor, Tuscan Life magazine. + teacher, based in Gabrielle Maria TAYLOR Born and raised in Florence, Italy Melbourne, Australia, president of Club she lives in Florence Tornabuoni Kirsty Jane FALCONER writer + translator living in Poggibonsi. Her work has appeared in The Tablet, Times Literary Supplement and the Honest Ulsterman Vincenzo D’ANGELO Emiko DAVIES John HOOPER works as social Australian-Japanese Italy + Vatican media manager food writer, correspondent for at The Florentine’s photographer + The Economist. He is communications cookbook author, who also the author of The company flod + is a Online courses has called Italy home Italians and The New LGBTQIA+ advocate for over a decade Spaniards GROUP CLASS +39 339 840 4773 ONE-TO-ONE LESSONS +39 055 247 9995 [email protected] 10 TF266 April 2020 index EUROPASSS AGILE PLATFORM EUROPASSITALIAN.COM 20% OFF on next course in Florence if you book before JUNE! Learn Italian Online Online now, in Florence next year! Online courses GROUP CLASS +39 339 840 4773 ONE-TO-ONE LESSONS +39 055 247 9995 [email protected] indexEUROPASSS AGILE PLATFORM April 2020 TF266 11 Dario Nardella Mayor Of Florence Florence will be Florence again, for everyone. That’s my promise to you. Florence will rise again We need to be clear-headed and strong to overcome this phenomenally difficult time. It’s an epochal challenge for the whole wor- ld; nobody can be excluded, nobody can say they feel truly safe. I am certain that, together, we will win this terrible battle. Florence, in its long history, has always known how to rise again after even the most ruinous losses. I’m thinking of Florence destroyed by the fury of the Arno in Novem- ber 1966, when the city appeared to be on the brink of losing all its beauty and uniqueness.