Tuesday, 30 April 2013 was the deadline to submit to Eat in Europe – Photo Contest 2013, sixth edition of the “IMAGO europæ” Photo Competition.
The main theme of this year is “food” in its different aspects and facets, including food waste, in the European Union.

First of all, we want to thank you all for the participation.
Secondly, we would like to thank also those who sent their favourite cooking recipe.
However, the contest has not come an end, yet! The organising team of the contest selected the photos which were in line with the criteria requested by the Regulation, and posted them in the photo album on Eat in Europe Facebook Page.
You can vote for your favourite photo till June, 25th 2013.

You have to become fan of the Facebook Page and click on “Like” under the photo which, in your opinion, best represents and fulfills the aim of the contest. You will thus contribute to determine the winner of the Popular Jury and to let him/her win an Ipad Mini.

In the meantime, a group of persons of relevant expertise has already started working to decide who will be the winner of the Technical Jury.

For more info, visit: http://www.edfirenze.eu/2013/03/eat-in-europe-photo-con/

On Saturday, May 18 all European state museums and institutions will be open from 7 pm until 1 am, with free admission for visitors. The evening will also feature special concerts, performances, guided tours, tastings and many other events.

In Florence, the museums will include the Uffizi Gallery, the Palatine Gallery, the Accademia Gallery and the San Marco Museum, as well as the Medici villas of Petraia, Poggio a Caiano and Cerreto Guidi; some of which will be holding special events. At the Palatine Gallery, visitors can see a special collection, entitled “From the Dynastic Collections to the Palatine Gallery: Masterpieces at Palazzo Pitti.” In the library of the San Marco Museum, there will be a concert at 8 pm featuring musicians from the State Conservatory of Music, “L. Cherubini,” of Florence. At the Medici villa at Petraia, a special choral concert, “Sesto in Canto,” will be held at 9 pm: the choir will feature many different kinds of music, including selections from the classical, jazz, gospel, and ethnic genres. At the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano, at 9:15 pm there will be a special visit to see important artworks conserved in the villa (reservation required by calling  055-877012). At the Medici villa at Cerreto Guidi, the evening will start at 4:30 pm with a conference, led by Marilena Tamassia, entitled “Bardini, Antiquario del Rinascimento: accrocchi e bardinate,” and at 9 pm there will be a concert by the string group  from the musical academy of San Miniato Basso.

For more information, see http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/eventi/

From May 16 to 19, the event, the Perfumes of Boboli, will be held in the lower botanical garden of Boboli Gardens, where, historically, a building used as an Apothecary once existed. This exhibit-market is dedicated to the artistic and handicraft tradition connected to the world of botany and will host a selection of exclusive producers, some of which are lesser-known, of perfumes, soaps, candles, air-fresheners, essential oils and cosmetics extracted from aromatic herbs, spices, flowers and plants, accessories, textiles and antique prints: products and fragrances that merge seamlessly with the atmosphere of this one-of-a-kind garden. During these four days, there will be many related events in the botanical garden such as conferences, art exhibits and guided tours.

The garden will be open for this event on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, from 10 am to 6:30 pm, and on Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm. Entrance is free for those are resident in Florence.

The Boboli Garden is located in Piazza Pitti 1 in Florence.

For more information, visit http://www.profumidiboboli.org/

On Wednesday, May 15 the Italian band, Calibro 35, will have a concert at Teatro della Pergola of Florence. Paraphrasing the title of a celebrated film, the title of the concert is Indagine sul cinema del brivido in Italia (Investigation of Italian Thriller Movies). This is the new project of the band, that for some years has touched on the soundtracks of the so-called crime drama genre, drawing on the past works of Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliano and Ritz Ortolani for inspiration. Now, they add songs from Italian thrillers, such as Profondo Rosso. Only during this event, the band will be accompanied by percussion, electronic musical instruments, vocals, strings and brass.

The concert will start at 9.15 pm and tickets will cost 18 euros.

Teatro della Pergola is located on Via della Pergola 18/32. For more information, visit www.musicusconcentus.com

From May 17 to 25, Teatro Goldoni of Florence will present The Rape of Lucretia by Benjamin Britten, which deals with a dramatic and topical theme: violence against women. The work, written in the aftermath of the Holocaust, plays with the symmetry of that terrible period and an interpretation of the Roman era, in which Lucrezia became a symbol. The story of Lucretia, a woman of exceptional virtue in ancient Rome during the period of the conflicts with the Etruscans, tells of her rape by Tarquin, the last king of Rome, while waiting for her husband to return. Unable to bear the shame of her corrupted virtue, Lucretia killed herself in front of her husband, despite his pleas that her spirit had not been violated, even if her body had. A violent society that raises violent individuals is portrayed by Britten; a society who was an audience to the horrors of war, whose shadow also fell on Lucrezia in 510 AD. Rape and violated innocence is still an issue today, and Britten’s audiences are struck by the modernity of The Rape, of the capacity of his music to speak without rhetoric, and with the freshness of the language of an ancient tragedy, but a theme that is always extant. Jonathan Webb, the English director that has directed more than seventy performances, will lead the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

All performances will begin at 8:30 pm except Sunday’s, which will be at 3:30 pm.

The Teatro Goldoni is located on Via Santa Maria, 15.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to http://www.maggiofiorentino.it/content/rape-lucretia

Thursday, May 16 at 9 pm the Teatro Puccini of Florence will presents the concert The Religion of My Time, featuring vocals by Pierpaolo Capovilla, piano and electronic sounds by Kole Laca, music by Steve Reich, Scott Walker, and Kole Laca. Giorgio Agamben writes that “a contemporary is he who keeps his gaze in his time, to perceive not the light, but the darkness (…) who is able to write dipping his pen in the obscurity of the present.”  Pasolini was able to scrutinize with ruthless clarity the darkness of our present and, with a severe gaze, the incessant transformation of Italian society, that had declining values of the newborn democracy in the dull conformity and consumerism of the economic boom. The anthropologic change of Italian society of the last 20 years has become deeper and more regressive, as a sign of hedonistic individualism, cultural impoverishment, abuse and social uprising. This is why Pasolin is still so contemporary. His poetic work, inexplicably forgotten, was a fierce critique of the oblivion of values of resistance and a narration of an Italian society unable to be more equal and just.

The short-tempered and loving Pasolini-esque poetry is poetry that still illuminates with hope in the darkness of our days.

A seat costs 9 euros plus presale; while reduced cost of 5 euros (only at the theater).

Teatro Puccini is located on Via delle Cascine, 41. For more information, see http://www.teatropuccini.it/

On Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18, from 3 pm to 11 pm, twelve great Florentine historic palaces open their courtyards and gardens for the fourth edition of Wine Town, the well-established event that combines wine tastings, concerts and shows. The two days of the intoxicating tastes, smells and music at the heart of Florence allows one to discover, taste, and enjoy quality wine while listening to concerts at Palazzo Pitti, the Bargello, and the Loggia del Grano or attending theatrical performances in the palaces along Via Tornabuoni, via del Proconsolo and in the Oltrarno area. The wine is being selected by Davide Bonucci of Enoclub Siena who is introducing a “Sangiovese Thoroughbred” itinerary of wines, while Gianni Pini of Eventi Music Pool is coordinating the concerts and Alessandro Gigli and Alberto Masoni of TerzoStudio are overseeing the artists and theatrical shows. WineTown will also feature an original array of food by Sabino Bernardino.

It will be possible to move from palace to palace with a pedal rickshaw, bookable on the website www.winetown.it or available along the paths of the event.

From the most beautiful piazzas in Florence to the most significant places in all of Italy. In May 2013 the Italy Gelato Tour, a roadshow with the best gelato-makers and industry leaders from Italy and abroad, will continue the Italian tradition of cold dessert invented in the Renaissance by the artist Bernardo Buontalenti.

The Italy Gelato Tour was conceived by the creators of the Florence Gelato Festival to spread the culture of gelato to the entire Italian peninsula and increase the involvement of all territories in the values, pleasures, and traditions of the world’s favorite cold dessert. Special attention will be dedicated to those who want to approach the world of gelato like professionals or entrepreneurs. The Italy Gelato Tour will come to Florence from May 17 to 26 with the Florence Gelato Festival. This year the Florence Gelato Festival and the Italy Gelato Tour represent the ideal stage for every gelato-maker: for those who make gelato because it is their passion, their work; for those who have personality, charisma, communication skills and team spirit and want to bring innovation, creativity and high quality to their gelato.

For more information, go to www.firenzegelatofestival.it

On May 17 at 9 pm Lucrezia’s One Voice Gospel Choir will have a concert at St. James American Church in Florence. The choir is directed by Giorgio Ammirabile, with Giacomo Ferrari playing the piano, Hammond Michele Papadia playing the organ and Janko playing the bass. The choir is an integral part of an association founded in memory and at the wish of Lucretia Balatri, a Florentine artist and musician. The association was established to promote education and training for developing projects in the music world and to promote cultural exchange to support social initiatives, with particular attention to the humanization of relationships in hospitals. Admission to the concert is free with a donation.

The St. James American Church is located on Via Rucellai, 9.

For more information, visit http://www.firenzeevangelica.org/livewebuser/index.php?action[]=open&id=478907e97e70c&ids=478907e979481&language=en

From Thursday, May 16 to Sunday, May 19, the beautiful Corsini Garden in the historic center will be specially open to the public for this occasion featuring a new selection of 80 master craftsmen from all over Italy and abroad with live demonstrations of all the principle techniques of handmade crafts. The event will last for four days and on Saturday and Sunday will stay open until 10:30 pm. Visitors can even go for a ride in a hot air balloon above the Corsini Garden and enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of Florence at sunset.

On Friday and Saturday at 11 am and 5 pm students of the History of Clothing and Fashion of Smith College’s Florence program will be available to guide visitors through the garden and explain some of the artisan techniques and materials as well as the history of the garden. The tours will be held in both Italian and English with a maximum of 15 participants at a time. They are also free (you pay only the entrance fee of 8 euros or reduced fee of 6 euros). http://www.osservatoriomestieridarte.it/lets-work-artisans/smith-college-2013-jya-florence-per-artigianato-e-palazzo

The Corsini Garden is located on Via della Scala 115 in Florence. For more information, see http://www.artigianatoepalazzo.it