From today Florence has a belvedere named after Franco Zeffirelli: the terrace adjacent to Piazzale Michelangelo. The ceremony was held on the centenary of the famous director’s birth, and was attended by Mayor Dario Nardella, Councillor for Toponymy Federica Giuliani, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Culture Vittorio Sgarbi, Minister for Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, Regional President Eugenio Giani, and the director’s son Pippo Zeffirelli.
A performance by the National Aerobatic Patrol of the Frecce tricolori over the city took place afterwards, the Air Force’s tribute to Zeffirelli.
"One hundred years ago,“ said Mayor Nardella, ”a great star was born, a great artist, a genius, a Florentine who never stopped loving his and our extraordinary city. Today we thank him for all the indelible marks he left in cinema, theater and opera, marks that made Florence stronger and greater. Zeffirelli’s genius was never separated from the passion he always had for the city. In Florence we made a foundation with his name with all his professional heritage that everyone can admire in the palace of San Firenze. Now we dedicate to him a stretch of the city’s most beautiful hills, from where to admire the city that Franco always embraced with his heart and thought."
“To Florence Zeffirelli returned to rediscover that cultural and emotional charge and inspiration that always characterized him, he drew strength from it,” stressed Councillor Giuliani. “Florence was his muse of inspiration throughout his life and in all his works.”
The event was organized by the City of Florence and the Franco Zeffirelli Onlus Foundation, under the patronage of the MiC - Ministry of Culture, the Region of Tuscany and the City of Florence itself, and with the collaboration of the Air Force, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy and the Italian Postal Service.
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The belvedere at Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence is named after Franco Zeffirelli |
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