Many exhibitions will be held in Florence in 2015, some in conjunction with Expo 2015, others adressing various facets of Italian art. It is a good occasion to visit Tuscany and, after a day in busy and hot Florence, to come and relax in the nearby Chianti, at Villa le Barone.
Milan held Expo 2015 focuses on food … and this is why many Florentine exhibitions will focus on this aspect of human life, essential to men throughout the ages and often source of inspiration for artists.
From March 8th to June 7th, at the Pitti Palace, «Dolci Trionfi» will exhibit decorative food, taking its inspiration from a banquet held in Palazzo Vecchio in the evening of October 5th, 1600 to mark the Florentine wedding of Maria de’ Medici with King Henri IV of France.
From May 1st to October 31st, «Signoria Tavola» will present in the Ivory room of the Bargello Museum, a long 16th century refectory table set with a selection of rare pieces of that period, recreating a richly laid Renaissance banqueting table.
Palazzo Davanzati will exhibit from May 8th to September 7th, under the title « Sun in the house », ceramic items for everyday domestic use in Italy from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Astonishingly creative decorations thanks to the skill and know-how of the artists and craftsmen who produced these objects.
A little bit outside Florence, but not far from Villa le Barone, at the Medici Villa and Still-Life Museum of Poggio a Caiano, the exhibit «Italian Kitchen in History» is devoted to art and everyday items associated with cookery and the kitchen from the 15th to the 17th centuries, including paintings on wood and canvas, ceramics, vessels, mezzine, copper utensils and glassware.
In Palazzo Strozzi, Via Tornabuoni, next to Palazzo Larderel, two exhibitions one after the other : from March 14th to June21st, «Power and Pathos», with outstanding examples of large-scale bronze sculptures, will explore the development of art in the Hellenistic age as it spread from Greece throughout the Mediterranean between the 4th and 1st centuries BC. And please note that after this, the exhibit will move on to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. And from 26 September to 24 January 2016 , il will be « Divine beauty. Sacred art from Van Gogh to Fontana ».
«The Middle Ages on the Road», at the Bargello Museum present from March 20th to June 21st some of the most outstanding aspects of medieval civilisation and in particular travel.
From March 30th to October 11th in the Galleria dell’Accademia, the «Franciscan Art»exhibition explores the Franciscan movement’s important contribution to art and religion as it spread to the East and even to China!
«Lapis Lazuli, Blue Magic» will be taking place from June 9th to October 11th at the Museo degli Argenti at Palazzo Pitti. This semiprecious stone imported from the heart of Asia, not only played a role in the creation of splendid and valuable peces of art, but also served, after being ground to a blue powder, to provide painters with what, together with gold, was unquestionably the most precious and costly of pigments.
We certainly do not pretend to have listed above all of the exhibitions to be seen in Florence, but certainly those that we would recommend…. and this is why Villa le Barone offers to book your tickets in advance (Uffizi, Bargello, Palazzo Strozzi…). We have also a special offer enabling you to get free pre-booked tickets in the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, or the Bargello. After a long day visiting these works of art, we suggest you head for the fresh hills of Chianti and relax on the terrace or by the pool of the nearby historic hotel Villa le Barone. By the way, you will also discover artworks at Villa le Barone!