Florence Gelato Festival

Today Beautiful Florence blog photographer and myself visited Florence's Gelato Festival and got the real scoop.  Details tomorrow.

The Florence Gelato festival, which we visited yesterday afternoon, is on through
Sunday, May 27 (open noon - midnight).  The hours are such because I imagine that Italians would celebrate their coffee break with a shot of dark espresso coffee up to noon.  Dinner in Florence is any time between 8 and 10 pm, so gelato would be the perfect dessert.

Having experienced Florence's Chocolate Fair (see Feb. 17 post),
 I was expecting
more of the same with the Gelato Festival, a fairly new entry on Florence's food fest scene.

Well, as we discovered, the script was a bit different.
No spoonful of free gelato appeared under one's nose in again the centrally located
 Piazza della Repubblica as happened with chocolate
 during the Chocolate Fair.

Instead we discovered tourists lining up for a 15 euro Gelato Card
that allowed one five tastings, plus a gelato cocktail in addition to other perks.
The card even featured an English translation.

Gelato card, indeed!  This in a country where spoonfuls of gelato are customarily offered as taste samples.  I was disappointed.  It wasn't free gelato I was seeking;  after all I could have pulled out my press pass and gone to town.  No, I was putting myself in the shoes of the visitor.  Was this just some commercial venture?

So I asked the cashier where some free gelato samples were to be found at the fair.  "Not in here in Piazza Repubblica,"  she said, "try one of the other Gelato Festival locations, say, Piazza Santa Maria Novella."

We hit gold, well to be more precise, a free sampling of chocolate ice cream in
Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

After a few stern, firm turndowns--"gelato card, please"--a young lady extended this complementary spoonful.  She was in the employ of Carmelo Chiaramida, a master gelato maker of clear Sicilian origin (it can be argued that the best gelato in Italy comes from Sicily) who lives and works in near Udine, above Venice.

So the sign told us.

Afterwards, when we identified ourselves as doing a story.
Carmelo immediately scooped out
(see opening picture) more of his
intensely rich dark chocolate ice cream,
which is interspersed with bits of chocolate
muffin, and topped with black cherries.

There goes dinner, I thought.

Carmelo explained that he uses only the best dark chocolate, melted only with hot water and not milk.

The black cherry sauce is meant to add contrast, he said.

He also told us that the only the best ice makers in Italy are invited to the Gelato Festival, where each specializes
in just one flavor.

Well, the next gelato master who offered us a
free sample was obviously a non Italian.  He also
advertised this fact with a large Canadian flag
in the background.

We made the kind acquaintance of gelato passionate
 James Coleridge, from Vancouver.

"This is the largest Gelato Festival in world," he told us.  "And why are you here?" I asked.
"I was the top ranked North American in the World Gelato Championships," he said, "and like everyone else here, I was invited."

I began to understand why there was a 15 euro Gelato Card.
"Well, I just give out gelato," said James.  "My philosophy is taste, taste, taste."

So, what taste treat is in the hand of your faithful Beautiful Florence blogger?

It is none other than Jame's signature pecan ice cream,

made from California pecans, Moldon salt from the U.K,. and sprinkled with carmelized pecans and slighted warmed Canadian maple syrup.

"There are four flavor notes," James noted.

I noted the maple syrup from Quebec nearby.

Although I am a fan of both homemade American ice cream and Italian gelato,

James told me many things that I did not know.

"Ice cream is composed of up to 25% fat, while gelato averages less than 7%," he said.

"Gelato is best conserved out of sight in steel vats in order to maintain the integrity of the ice crystals," said this graduate of the Italian Culinary Institute in Calabria and 

the Carpignano Gelato University in Bologna.

Well, at this point I was close to speechless.
Unbeknownst to us, however, another gelato surprise lay in wait nearby.

This is Alessandro, the nephew (don't you love it) of Toni Cafarelli,
the self styled Re di Gelato (King of Gelato),
who makes "Sicilian gelato" on Florence's viale Strozzi across from
the Fortezza da Basso.

The bottle of olive oil next to Alessandro is no coincidence.  His uncle's stand displays
a creamy crema gelato flavored with one of six types of high quality olive oil produced by Prunetti near San Polo in Chianti (a half hour from Florence).
The types were classified by Tuscan olive varieties.  Tawny tried the one with a dash of oil made from mild Leccino olives.

The Gelato King's gelato was to die for, even on sight.

The surprises continued.  Not only did this gelato taste as good as it looks,
when putting a cupful together, Alessandro went to work with a will and skill that would make his
invisibile uncle-king proud.

He sprinkled on just a little crushed black pepper, ground poppy seed and bread crumbs as well as red salt from Hawaii (!!!)

"That way the gelato is both cold and warm, sweet and salty,"
said Alessandro.
"The entire palate is involved."

Well, earlier we had noticed homemade, mainly gluten free ice cream offered at a democratic price not part of the Gelato Card by Coop, Italy's giant cooperative supermarket.

Well, as good as the Coop's premium gelato might be, it was nothing compared to the
olive oil ice cream with special toppings
by the self-anointed (by popular acclaim) Gelato King.

See the crushed bread crumbs, poppy seeds, black and pink pepper?
The taste experience brought a flavor memory to mind.

I suddenly realized why 25 years ago, with a only a few lire (Italian currency) in my pocket
I opted to have gelato--and nothing else--for lunch.

An Expat Free Art Show in Florence

    This beautiful photo of Florence's Ponte Santa Trinita at twilight is part of a local expatriate art show
American Contemporary Artists in Florence.
Few people know that the bridge was designed by Michelangelo.
The picture, by Christine Dickert, is on display with more photos, paintings, sculptures and small installations at the Palagio di Parte Guelfa (near the central post office close to Piazza Repubblica)
through May 11.

With visiting hours from 9 am - 6 pm, American Contemporary Artists in Florence 
is open to the public with free admission as it part of
the 2012 Amerigo & America program
in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the death of
Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci,
 who gave his name to two continents.
The resident artists are members of three groups based in Florence:  the American International League,the Network and the Young Anglo Women's Network.  Christine Dickert, who heads up the Young Anglo Women's Network, was exhibiting as part of a fourth participating organization,
the Healing Photo Art Foundation.

Also on display at the Palagio di Parte Guelfa, the above photos of the Tuscan countryside, were taken by Elaine Poggi, the founder of Healing Photo Art.  Elaine came to Florence with the intention of becoming a concert pianist, married, had a family, then created the Healing Photo Art Foundation to bring landscape photos by both amateur and professional photographers to hospital rooms both in Italy and the U.S.

On show at American Contemporary Artists in Florence is this
still life by AILO member Olivia Santiago.
 Olivia is a professional painter who specializes in drawings and paintings in the style of the Old Masters.  Immersed in the cultural and art world of Tuscany, she draws inspiration from the beauty of her surroundings.

The American-International League to which she belongs, is the oldest expatriate organization in Florence.  Founded in the 1975, AILO's main purpose is to raise money for charity projects, which the organization does in a spectacular way at the annual Dec. 8 Christmas bazaar.
Members of AILO come from all over the world, but the common (and official) language is English.

Speaking of Christmas, this work is from a former Network member Yvonne Di Palma,
who passed away last December.  A young Yvonne arrived in Florence from Philadelphia 30 years ago, eventually married a Neapolitan, and decided to recreate the magnificent 17th century Neapolitan tradition of il prespio (Nativity scene).  Yvonne went one step further, however.  She decided to use this art form as political commentary on current affairs, incorporating a myriad of scenes-within-a-scene with guest appearances by world leaders and politicians.

I don't know if the mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi knows that he is represented in Yvonne Di Palma's Nativity scene--but there he is, the figure to the left.  I also don't know who this Crudelia figure is to Renzi's right, but perhaps a reader of Beautiful Florence can help identify the person.
These photos were taken by faithful Beautiful Florence blog photographer Elke Schoolman.

This work, titled Philosophic Conversations with the Wind  is by Network member Alanna Dotson, a native of North Carolina.  In her own words, Alanna felt "done with the world of corporate America, took a trip to Tuscany, fell in love with culture and beauty here, and renewed my creative spark."  She teaches Mixed Media workshops and is currently writing and illustrating children's books.  The organization to which she belongs, Network,
is a social and professional organization founded in 1991 for native English speaking residents in Tuscany.  Its purpose is to foster communication and friendship, and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information.

AILO has regular monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month;  Network meets for a light potluck supper starting at 8 pm, followed by a a speaker at the Florence campus of Syracuse University the second Wednesday of the month; while the Young Anglo Women's Network (YAWN)  is a light-hearted crowd that meets over the Florentine tradition of aperitivo (cocktail hour featuring a buffet) starting at 7 pm generally on the third or fourth Thursday of the month.

YAWN member Hillary Scott, whose charcoal drawing is pictured above, was always passionate about drawing, painting and working with people with developmental disabilities.  After earning a degree in Art and Psychology from Ohio Wesleyan University, she came to Florence.    A new mom, who currently lives in Florence with her family, Hillary is looking forward to "reconnecting two loves:  drawing and working with people from under-served populations and communities."

This work is by Jamie Morris, who has lived in Florence for over 25 years after earning a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from Kent State University, both in Painting and Drawing.
Says Jamie, "certainly living in Florence has had a huge impact on my art.  There is a synthesis between worlds happening on various levels;  a mixture of ideas, images, materials and techniques."
Her works are characterized by oil and water based paint, marble dust and exhibit elements of collage.

Above is a portrait in pastel by Barbara Maraventano, a long-time member
and past president of AILO.

She is originally from New York City.

The abstract work below, entitled "Measuring Space," is by AILO artist Sylvia Teri, who has participated in shows in the U.S., Italy, Austria, Spain and Korea.  Her work is inspired by a quote by Antonio Parronchi, "elaborations of planes and forms....space is dilated or again restrained...a sort of form-color...always harmonious in its pure chromatic timbre..."

Sylvia's piece and the beautiful quote reminded me why I added a show of the women's expatriate groups to the Amerigo & America program....out of pure love for the artist.
I was very lucky, having been recognized for writing at a very early age, so I recognize the importance of giving voice to
 artistic expression.

The youngest artist to exhibit at American Contemporary Artists in Florence is Sofia Nordgren from YAWN, who has lived here since September 2011.   Florence has inspired her paintings though its colors, flowers and nature as experience at the Cascine Park, Rose Garden and Fiesole.

Sofia's work to me is reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe.

Healing Photo Artist photographer Sara Amrhein also exhibited as a YAWN member with some of her jewelry.  A third generation (half) Italian-American, her artistic work consists of painting, sculpture, drawing, photography and jewelry design.

"I believe the message of the Renaissance masters was not to continue repeating the same ideas and methods but rather to continue pushing forward and to create the new and unexpected and to challenged the perception of what art is," says Sara.

Inaugurating the American Contemporary Artists in Florence show was U.S. Consul General Sarah Morrison.  To her left is Robert Shackelford, secretary of AACUPI, American College and University Programs in Italy secretary and one of the members of the Amerigo & America committee.  Robbie introduced all the artists participating.  To the right of the Consul General is your Beautiful Florence blogger, head of the Amerigo & America committee whose program will be presented officially in two weeks.  To the right of Rosanna is Andrea Poggi, who collaborates with his mother Elaine Poggi on the  Healing Photo Art Foundation
that Elaine founded and heads.

I so happy to finally meet the artists who filled in the frame of American Contemporary Art in Florence--I had made this request before the exhibition but somehow it never happened.
Thanks also to American contemporary artist Alanna Dotson of Network who took the photo.

Those familiar with the Beautiful Florence blog know my love for flowers and nature.  So, I would like to end with what Tuscany looks like at the beginning of May:  poppies in bloom--quite a difference from the opening photo in the previous post

A Light in the Darkness:  Kate Brooks.

This lyrical painting is by AILO member Lolita Valderrama Savage, who also trained at Florence's Fine Arts Academy under Professor Silvio Loffredo.  She spends part of the year painting in Tuscany, and her works can be found in private collections and in exhibitions in the U.S.A.

This is the scene in the fields just outside of Beautiful Florence
right now.

In the Light of Darkness: Kate Brooks

Spring showers and spring flowers have arrived here in Florence, along with a perspective of spring in the Middle East, seen in the above photo of a woman in Afghanistan walking through a field of opium poppies.  Part of the retrospective In the Light of Darkness, it is the work of  renowned American photographer Kate Brooks, currently on view at Tethys Gallery, via Maggio 58/r through May 1.

The show is part of a larger event entitled "Middle East Now," which includes a mini film festival at the Cinema Odeon, and an exhibition by Iranian photographer Newsha Tavokolian at the Otto art gallery directly across from Tethys on via Maggio 13.

Above is another photo by Kate Brooks, of a highly decorated (see the medals on her chest?)
paratrooper official, forced into early retirement and sent home when the Taliban became a powerful political force in her home country, Afghanistan.

Who exactly is Kate Brooks?  I have to confess, I had never heard of her until I flipped through "D,"
Repubblica's magazine for women.  I happen to detest "D" but it comes as a supplement to the paper's Saturday edition.  I was surprised to see that the exhibition was scheduled to open at my photographers' (Atlantide: Stefano Amantini, Guido Cozzi, Massimo Borchi) gallery, Tethys.
After an animated phone call with Stefano, he confirmed he had never heard of Kate Brooks either until Guido began working in collaboration with "Middle East Now."

In her mid-20s at the time, Kate Brooks went to the Middle East right after 9/11, moving first to Pakistan.  Determined to work as a photojournalist, she also wanted to document the impact of American foreign policy on the region, ultimately covering the invasion of Iraq and the ousting of the Taliban.  In the form of news stories and features, she has documented conflicts in Bagdad, Kabul and Beirut as well as social change in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Above is a group of Afghan women surreptitiously acting out a Shakespeare play at home.

Participating in this scene for Newsha Tavokolian growing up in Iran would have been impossible.   As a child she dreamed of being a singer--in a country where it is illegal for music soloists
to perform on stage or release a CD.
Instead of singing, she decided to document Iranian singers, photos of whom are featured at the Otto gallery.

For Tavokolian, photojournalism became her voice, and ultimately, her weapon in
a male-dominated society.

Below is the artist's self portrait.

As for her American colleague Kate Brooks, she now works for the New York Times, Time magazine,
 the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, Newsweek and other periodicals, never calling anywhere home but the Middle East since the Twin Towers exploded and the world changed.

This is Kate Brook in the field, quite a contrast to her Iranian colleague Newsha Tavokolian.
Makes you think...she's not wearing the helmet because she's having a bad hair day.
Wait a minute, when she packed her camera 11 years ago and up and left the U.S., she wasn't going to  a post fisso (a steady job or job for life, so dear to the Italians, less so to Premier Monti who publicly commented that he would find it boring).
How did she live before she became famous?  Now that's a story.

I actually met Kate at the Tethys opening, which became packed.  She was dressed soberly all in black and Guido Cozzi lifted a camera above the crowd to take photos of her (hey Guido, how about a shot to publish in Beautiful Florence?)


I spoke to her briefly--she was only in Florence briefly as she was returning on assignment to Lebanon a mere day-and-a-half after the show's opening.

This reminded me that there is work that remains to be done in the Middle East, and photos to take.
Part of Kate's body of work has recently been published in the book
In the Light of Darkness:  A Photographic Journey after 9/11.

This is the cover of the book.

These are Taliban in an Afghan prison.

One can only hope that the ray of light had the same effect as the one that 

knocked Saul off his horse in the New Testament, granting him 

a new life 

(and a new identity) as St. Paul.

Observing this from the safety of Beautiful Florence, having lived in Italy for many years and reported on art, I can only say that chiaroscuro (the interplay and contrast of light and shadow) is fundamental in a work starting with the Renaissance.

Kate Brooks is discovering light as well as shining some light

in an area with marked chiaroscuro.

The amazing result is beauty.

Listening Summit, Gargonza Castle

Doesn't the impressive location above look like a movie set?  Gargonza castle

 is not something Hollywood constructed but for real.

Located an hour and a half from Florence, Gargonza castle was built in the 1200s on a strategic hill between Arezzo and Siena.  Dante Alighieri stayed at the castle in 1304 when he was exiled from Florence.  In his Divine Comedy, Dante cites the surrounding valley, the Val di Chiana both in Inferno and Paradiso.  I confess I have not looked up his impressions.

I do confess, however, that the one and only time I had been previously to Gargonza was in the 1990s on assignment.  I had the pleasure of going up in a hot air balloon for a story I wrote for the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica."  More about that later in this post.

Fast forwarding to spring 2012, Gargonza Castle hosted a three-day Listening Summit.  Professors and students from the Florence campus of Pepperdine University, the University of Florence and LUISS-Guido Carli university in Rome met to discuss "U.S. - European Relations, the Economic Crisis and Beyond," in this ancient fortification.

The Listening Summit was presented by Pepperdine's International Programs Division as a pilot project at the school's campuses in Shanghai and Tuscany with the underlying philosophy, as expressed by Ralph Nicols, "the best way to understand people is to listen to them."

Involving American as well as Italian professors and students of political science and communication, examined were the causes and effects of international miscommunication and intercultural misunderstanding.  The lingua franca

was English the entire time, 

no simultaneous interpreters in sight!

Above are the professors who guided the Listening Summit 

(left to right): Prof. David Davenport of Stanford's Hoover Institute; Dr. Rick Marrs, Dean of Seaver College, Pepperdine University; Pepperdine Associate Professor Steven Lemley; Pepperdine Professor Milton Shatzer and LUISS Guido Carli Professor Roberto D'Alimonte.

As an eye witness, I cannot only say that we were privileged

 to listen to wise sages.

Among the topics they discussed were "U.S.-European Relations:  Through Which Lens: Crisis or Normalcy," (Davenport),

"A Union in Crisis--Is the Euro a Bad Idea?" (D'Alimonte), "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict--Differing Views," (Shatzer), "Western Values Questioned," (Lemley) and a thought-provoking "Americans are from Mars, Europeans are from Venus," (Davenport).

On their part, students completed a survey regarding cultural attitudes and had a chance to put their beliefs to test in their small work groups (above) which had to come to a consensus on issues of foreign policy, culture, domestic policy and economy.

LUISS student Samantha Figeruero, along with Tibein Tedermet of Pepperdine and Michele D'Aloisio of the University of Florence examined the trade partnership between the U.S. and the European Union, which Listening Summit participants learned is

 the world's largest

 (and not China as is commonly believed).

Figeruero spoke for the group, "it would be best if both the E.U. and the U.S. would work towards a greater integration of the economies.  To move in that direction, we would like to see more long-term investment in the U.S. and greater consumer spending, at least in the short term, in the E.U."

All was not purely academic, however, at the Listening Summit.

As an icebreaker after dinner, Pepperdine University director Elizabeth Whatley hired two

professional instructors to teach the students ballroom dancing!

The students were asked to dress the part.

I admit that an instructor pulled me in for a few lessons.  My photographer, Marco Giacomelli,

tactfully did not point his lens in my direction, but focused on everyone else.

So much for cultural understanding.  After a couple of hours of serious and not-so-serious ballroom boogie-ing, disco music was put on and students danced until the wee hours of the morning.

Below is the view which waited for us later outside when we walked back the short distance to our lodgings, Gargonza's rooms and apartments.

Stunning, genuine Tuscany, wouldn't you say?  

So what were all these buildings?  Originally these were the homes of Gargonza's tenant farmers, who all left, with the abolition of sharecropping in the mid-20th century, for the big city.

The owner, Count Guicciardini Corsi Salviati, transformed the complex into a historic holiday residence.

The past is represented by the red doors, which Marco told me were characteristic of farmers' dwellings 

(case contadine) and the Italian three-wheeled utility vehicle, the Ape or "bee" named for the buzzing sound it makes when in movement.

During the Listening Summit, I met the Count's son, Neri, who remembered the hot air balloon excursions and the English pilot, Robert Etherington, very well (molto bene).  They were an attraction at Gargonza in the '90s until the pool was built for guests.

Well, 20 years later, I was impressed by the dialogue created at the Listening Summit as well as the complete renovation of the complex (I remember '60s furniture when I originally stayed over in the '90s).

The experience reminded me of seeing the incredible view of countryside and cities from the hot air balloon.

The entire spirit of the event and the place--dialogue, change, peace and poetry--is captured by the following photo I asked Marco to please take.

In all my years here, I had never before seen fragrant hyacinths actually blossoming in the sweet earth of beautiful Tuscany.

Easter 2012 in Florence

Spring has sprung here in Florence, as shown by the view from our office window at Borgo degli Albizi.

Here in the courtyard of a Renaissance palace, our fig tree is in leaf--if you look closely you will even see tiny figs--with pale violet of a climbing wisteria in the background.


New life, that is Easter's universal theme.  When I cast about for a subject for this post,
 I remembered an Easter article of mine that was published in the national insert of the International Herald Tribune on the unveiling of the newly-restored Giotto crucifix in Santa Maria Novella along with Masaccio's Trinity fresco in the same church.  A sidebar (related story) on the same page that I also wrote was on Easter traditions and happenings in Florence, including the famous Parenti Easter egg display.


Già, Parenti.  Beautiful Florence's faithful blog photographer Allison Clark and I headed over to the Parenti shop on via Tornabuoni, where it has been located since 1865.
Twelve years ago, I wrote about Parenti's famous Easter egg collection displayed in the window for passersby to see.  Now Allison and I are arriving at the shop, our reflection in a silver Easter egg.

You may notice the bronze dancing figure close to the egg.  This Easter, Parenti is also displaying the bronze figures of Florentine sculptor Antonio Crivelli on the theme of form freeing itself from matter, symbolizing subsequent spiritual elevation.

This is one of the Crivelli exhibits we found in an Easter installation
outside the shop.


Inside, we feasted our eyes on Parenti's precious Easter eggs of porcelain, wood, enamel and gold.
The kind owner, Giuliana, explained to us that painted egg is an Easter tradition because it represents "the emergence of new life and the transcendence achieved with the Christian resurrection."

"The elaborate chiseled workmanship reflects the richness of the soul's hidden depth," she said.


This Easter, the theme of resurrection is especially close to Giuliana's heart since her husband Michele, great-grandson of the Parenti founder, passed away last December.


"Florence has always been the city of art and humanism, consequently what it produces is luxurious and of high quality,"  she told us.  "Good taste is innate to Florentines, as is freedom of choice."


As living proof of this philosophy, while we were speaking, a woman from Siena came in asking about 
an antique necklace of coral and jade.
Giuliana took it out of the shop window.

"Try it on," she said to the lady, who asked in turn, "how much does it cost?"


Giuliana answered calmly, "30.000 euros ($45,000)
Wow!  She even laid it down on my 
Beautiful Florence diary.

Gorgeous.  The Sienese woman answered, "I'll have to come back here with my husband."


Well to feast the eye on beauty costs nothing, so here are some more of Parenti's one-of-a-kind Easter eggs.

Too unique to break open.


Speaking of feasting the senses, another Easter tradition is the chocolate egg.
Vestri on Borgo degli Albizi has some of the city's best, in dark chocolate,
chocolate hazelnut, milk chocolate, almond chocolate, even sugar-free chocolate for diabetics.
These delectables may be custom-ordered.

Here is Leonardo Vestri proudly holding one of his handmade chocolate creations like a trophy.
The chocolate egg is hollow, and is meant to be broken open also to discover the hidden surprise inside,"which can be personalized,"
says Leonardo.

Of course, beautiful packaging is important as well in Beautiful Florence, and the decorated egg plus wrapping and bows is a better bargain that the 30.000 euro antique necklace.
The average price is 20 euro.  Here is one artistic example at Vestri.

Buona Pasqua!