Patrons in Volterra, 2009
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Friday March 19
Modern Art Exhibit and Patrons Reception
De Chirico, Max Ernst, Magritte, Balthus: A look into the invisible
This event will be open to Patrons and potential Patrons of Syracuse University in Florence to showcase our program. Join us for a special tour of the exhibit De Chirico, Max Ernst, Magritte, Balthus: A look into the invisible, led by Mary Anne Calo, Art Historian, Colgate University.
The exhibition explores the early career of De Chirico and the influence of his first works on movements such as Surrealism and the Neue Sachlichkeit. Through her insight and knowledge Mary Anne Calo will bring to life this fascinating period in art, providing a rare opportunity to investigate Surrealism in a medieval city.
After the visit there will be a reception at the Villa Rossa, where you can meet the new Director, select staff and faculty.
Meet at 10:00 am in Piazza Strozzi
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Friday April 23
Artigiani: Hands on bookmaking
Patricia Silva, SUF alum and artisan bookmaker, will lead this Patrons workshop in her private studio on Via San Zanobi. Patricia will demonstrate the unique skills ofleather stamping and the ancient art
of bookbinding. Using the finest pre-marbled papers and binding the pages, you will create your own journal or photo album to take home with you as a memento of the morning.
Meet at 10:00 am at Via San Zanobi 104r
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Wednesday April 7
International Architecture Lecture: “Informal Networks”
with Cecil Balmond
As part of the SU Florence School of Architecture lecture series, Cecil Balmond, one of the world’s greatest structural engineers and Deputy Chairman of the Ove Arup Group in London, will speak in Florence at 5 pm on April 7, in the Salone Brunelleschi, Istituto degli Innocenti.
Balmond, head of the Arup research lab AGU (Advanced Geometry Unit), was the structural engineer ofmany ofmany recent buildings with innovative designs by architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Alvaro
Siza, and Toyo Ito. Balmond is best known for his inventive approach toward creatively applied mathematical formulas and art, which ultimately challenge the boundaries of architecture and structural engineering. Recent work includes the Serpentine Pavilion in London and the Taichung Opera House in Taiwan (both with architect Toyo Ito), the CCTV building in Beijing (with architect Rem Koolhaas).
Meet at 4:30 pm on Piazza SS Annunziata
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Thursday May 13
Medici Villas: A Day in the Country
Join SUF’s Professor Jane Zaloga for a day exploring the Medici Villas outside Florence.
The powerful Medici family was responsible for commissioning some of the greatest works of the Renaissance. Under astute Medici leadership, Florence enjoyed a period ofpeace and prosperity. The result was an outpouring ofart and architecture. Much of the money went into building villas in the countryside, such as Castello, Poggio a Caiano, and Artimino. By the 16th century, country villas had become mansions on a princely scale. Carefully laid out with geometric designs in topiary, terraces, pools and streams, these miniature kingdoms continued to inspire a tasteful and opulent way oflife well into the 19th century. Zaloga will lead a visit to a selection of Medici Villas in the countryside and take you to a Patrons’ lunch al fresco at Ristorante Del Delfina.
Meet at 10 am in Paizza Signoria, Loggia dei Lanzi
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Thursday June 3
Garden Party at the Villa Rossa
Smell the roses and celebrate the beginning of summer with your fellow Patrons. Enjoy conversation, music, aperitivi and antipasti with the Director, and select faculty and staff in the lovely SUF garden.
Meet at 6 pm in the garden of the Villa Rossa
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Thursday September 16
Jewish Life in Florence
Your walk will begin by exploring the Piazza Signoria, the original home ofthat most famous ofFlorentine icons, David, King of the Jews. Nearby, learn how a hidden corridor above the Ponte Vecchio saved hundreds of Jews during the German occupation of Florence during World War II. Going further back in time, trace the medieval streets behind the once-thriving Florentine market and former Roman forum, once home to the historic Jewish ghetto and its two synagogues.
Nearby, a famous Florentine sculpture museum displays a disturbing work ofparticularly Jewish significance, alongside Renaissance masterpieces by Donatello and Verocchio. After short stops outside the home of a famous Jewish poet, and a local bakery producing the Florentine version of the bagel, make your way to the medieval church of Santa Croce, with an enormous Star of David on its façade. Finally, reach the city’s modern-day Jewish synagogue, created in the 19th century “emancipation style,” and visit the small Jewish museum located next door. Patrons will enjoy a traditional Jewish lunch at Ruth’s Kosher Restaurant in Florence.
Meet at 10 am in Piazza Signoria, Loggia dei Lanzi
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Friday October 1
Bronzino: Artist and Poet
Strozzi for an in-depth look at the Medici Grand Duke’s court painter, Bronzino.
One of the greatest painters of the sixteenth century, Agnolo di Cosimo Tori, known as Bronzino (1503-1572), embodied the fullness of the “modern manner” in the years of the government of Cosimo I de’ Medici.
Florence is clearly the best location for a monographic exhibition on Bronzino, since the majority of his paintings are still conserved here, above all in the Uffizi, but also in other city museums and in the churches. This exhibition, the first devoted to Agnolo’s pictorial work, will also include works on loan from major museums all over the world.
Meet at 10 am in Piazza Strozzi
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Thursday November 4
The 1966 Flood of Florence and Photography
On November 4, 1966, Florence experienced the most devastating flood ofits entire history. On that day, Swietlan Nicholas Kraczyna, a twenty-six-year-old American artist living in Florence, went out into the flooded streets and photographed the dramatic unfolding events.
Kraczyna was awarded the Fiorino d’Oro—the highest honor of the City of Florence–for ten of those photographs. Kraczyna is an internationally known artist, who has had 128 one-man exhibitions in five continents, and whose work is also preserved in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. He was the technical assistant to Marino Marini for all of his color etchings, and has himself become a leading artist in this field.
SUF Patrons will spend the morning walking through Florence with Kraczyna as your guide. You will head out early, just as the city awakens, to capture some brilliant memories with your own cameras. By the end of the morning session, you will definitely have some great photographs to share with your friends and family. Enjoy a Patrons’ lunch at the Villa Rossa with the Director.
Meet at 8 am on the Ponte Vecchio
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Friday December 3
Annual Graduate Symposium
The 2010 Syracuse University Florence Fellows will present their research on the topic “Gardens in the Italian Renaissance.” The annual public symposium is held at the Villa Rossa and is a culmination of graduate students’ scholarly work in Florence. Gala reception follows.
Meet at 3 pm in Room 13 of the Villa Rossa |
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Archive 2009
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