In Florence, a festival in the city's most unusual (but no less interesting) places

From Sept. 8 to Sept. 30, the lesser-known unusual places in Florence, but no less beautiful and interesting than the famous ones, will host the Festival of Cultural Associations, a festival with many events involving more than 40 cultural entities, including guided tours, concerts, cinema, theater and conversations on art, literature and history, in 34 unusual and fascinating places in the Tuscan capital. The festival, now in its second edition, is organized by Centro Associazioni Culturali Fiorentine APS. On the program is a packed schedule of events that will offer participants the chance to discover spaces of immense historical and artistic value, many of which will open their doors extraordinarily for the occasion. The event is made possible thanks to the contribution of Estate Fiorentina, City of Florence, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, technical sponsor Unicoop.

Distinctive element of the festival are precisely the places that host it: from iconic spaces of Florentine culture (among others the Teatro della Pergola, the French Institute, the Biblioteca delle Oblate, the Rose Garden, the Basilica della SS Annunziata and the Villa Medicea La Petraia, Villa Bardini and the Stibbert Museum) to spaces that deviate from the usual itineraries (such as Piazza del Limbo, the Cimitero agli Allori, the Parco della Rimembranza and the Certosa di Firenze) to palaces, churches and private residences and institutions normally closed to the public, which for one day will reveal their treasures: the House of the Mutilated, for a journey through architecture, works of art and furnishings from the 14th century to the early 20th century; Villa Tornabuoni Lemmi, where the Medici Villa of Careggi and the little-known Platonic Loggia located on the banks of the Terzolle will be discussed; thehistorical archives of the Maggio Musicale and its priceless collection of documents, original sketches by great masters of contemporary and20th century, stage maquettes, costumes, posters and photographs; the Schlatter House Museum, atelier of mystic painter Carlo Adolfo Schlatter; Villa Il Palmerino, home of poet and writer Vernon Lee; and as many as six ancient oratories little known even to Florentines themselves.

Opening Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Saloncino del Teatro della Pergola with a double concert on pieces by Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Claudio Monterverdi, Henry Purcell, Gaetano Donizetti, Francesco Paolo Tosti, Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet and Manuel de Falla. Next, Ottavia Piccolo will star in “Cosa Nostra Explained to Children”: an actress, an ensemble of voices, Stefano Massini’s writing and the story of a woman, Elda Pucci, who was elected mayor of the city of Palermo and whose home was blown up two years later. Piccolo and the Soloists of the Multiethnic Orchestra of Arezzo return to confront Massini’s words, giving structure to a civil theater in which the story passes through the voices of those who often do not have it, in collaboration with Fondazione Teatro della Toscana.

Events not to be missed include opportunities to learn about or rediscover jewels of art, architecture and cultural heritage in the city: on Sept. 12 at Villa Tornabuoni Lemmi, now the institutional headquarters of INAIL, once an important humanistic center in 15th-century Florence, the symposium “A Renaissance Memory Place in Florence: The Medici Villa and the Platonic Lodge in Careggi from the 15th century to the present,” which will trace the history of the Medici Villa in Careggi and its Neo-Platonic Academy; while on Sept. 18, “The Green Hill of San Miniato,” an itinerary among gardens and places of memory with three different guided tours: a morning at the Rose Garden with Folon’s sculptures, which will include family workshops and a musical moment; afternoon at the Rimembranza Park; and conclusion at EdV’s Garden with a View, a unique contemporary garden in which beauty and sustainability come together. Then, on Sept. 19, it will be possible to learn more about the Basilica of SS Annunziata in an afternoon marked by two events: a guided tour that will extraordinarily include the recently restored Chapel of St. Luke, and a series of talks on power and devotion in the Medici family.

And more: the conference scheduled for Sept. 22-29 between the Auditorium al Duomo and Villa Il Palmerino entitled "The Idea of Florence. Relations between Florentine and European culture in the 19th and 20th centuries.“ A princely place of European culture, Florence attracted artists, poets and writers from all over the world who, in the decades between the 19th and 20th centuries, elected it their residence. Invited speakers will range from Giovanni Verga’s presence in the city’s cafes at the time of Florence’s capital to the cosmopolitanism of Frederick Stibbert, from the ’internationality of Florentine families to the tale of women who came from afar and found rest in the Cimitero agli Allori. Architecture and the art of fortifications will be the focus of a conference organized on Sept. 25 at the Certosa di Firenze; while a day on artist studies, books and culture in the San Lorenzo district, and in particular in Via Panicale between the 19th and 20th centuries will be convened on Sept. 27 at the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Auditorium. Also on the occasion, the urban regeneration project ”Keepers of the Beautiful for San Lorenzo" will be illustrated.

Literature: Florence at the center of twentieth-century and contemporary fiction, is the theme of the round table discussion at the Oblate Library on Sept. 15, with the participation of Daniela Cavini, Marco Vichi and Paolo Ciampi. There will be no shortage of celebrations: on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the Medici Riccardi Palace, to honor the anniversary of the International Day of Peace established by the United Nations, a morning of in-depth discussion is scheduled, which will open with a first part linked to the memory of the centenary of the birth of Father Balducci, an example of a community aimed at building peace in the midst of the Cold War. The second part will focus on the international perspective declined at the local level by the UNESCO Club of Florence. And then the cinema: on the centenary of Ugo Tognazzi’s birth on September 24 at Villa Bardini there is a big party with cuisine, films, guests and zingarate. Friends of the great performer will be present along with directors and actors Gianmarco and Ricky Tognazzi, for a day that includes book presentations between cinema and gastronomy - Tognazzi’s great passion - and screenings. In addition, the Mariette of Artusi’s home, will offer a demonstration of fresh handmade pasta, as well as a tasting of recipe No. 604 “Panettone Marietta.”

Not only that: a selection of off-festival offerings will be on the program from Oct. 1 to 19. free admission to activities, info and reservations at www.associazioniculturalifirenze.org. Admission is free for all events.

Pictured: the House of the Mutilated

In Florence, a festival in the city's most unusual (but no less interesting) places

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