The open spirit of Florence

by Giuliano Da Empoli

When visiting Florence in 1840 Alexandre Dumas was greatly impressed by the weekly ball the Grand Duke held for foreigners passing through or staying in the city. “Anyone whom his ambassador deemed worthy of being received by the sovereign was presented: nobleman or merchant, industrialist or artist, he was welcomed with the kindly smile that always characterized the Grand Duke. After the introductions, the foreigner was invited to attend the princely soirées from then on, even alone, where he could drink, eat and leave without having to speak to anyone, as if he were in a splendid hotel”.

The mission of the Assessorato alla Cultura e alla Contemporaneità [Council for Culture and the Contemporary Arts] is to revive this openness of spirit by creating a platform of continuously developing programs designed to promote exchange between Florence and the rest of the world.

On the one hand, it involves importing the best of the world’s cultural and intellectual output. On the other, it means developing the means for promoting local culture on the international level by offering a dedicated channel for exporting original works by Italy’s creative talents.
Flo’n the go is perfectly attuned to this vision and we hope that it will go on to become an increasingly important virtual catalyst for our city.