In this Christmas season in the time of Covid, Florence is not giving up. Though museums are closed to prevent people from congregating, the city is focusing on all the beauty we can admire in the open air. The magnificent streets of Florence are resplendent with grandiose light installations, sparkling Christmas trees, huge colorful decorations, and outdoor nativity scenes in the Italian tradition. All will be on display through January 6.
First things first: the light installations. This year, the Rampe del Poggi, the monumental fountains that come down from Piazzale Michelangelo to the Arno, designed in the mid-nineteenth century by the architect Giuseppe Poggi, are lit blue as part of the Firenze Light Festival. The color was chosen to represent Dante’s Paradise because 2021 marks the 700th anniversary of the death of the great poet. But heavenly blue is not the only color on the installation: the main pool features a riot of color emanating from seven light fixtures hidden under the water surface.
Then there are two large video maps, one on the Ponte Vecchio and the other on Palazzo Medici Riccardi (in via Cavour 3), turning the surfaces of these historic sites into canvases colored with images inspired by Dante’s work. On the facade of the Museo del Novecento (Piazza Santa Maria Novella 10) is a little installation by the artist Claire Fontaine sending a big message in brightly-lit words reading, “Siamo con voi nella notte” [“We are with you in the night”], an expression of solidarity with all the people of the world in this dark era of the pandemic. It is all the more meaningful because conveyed on the facade of a building that was a hospital from 1345 to 1780.
And let’s not forget the Christmas trees designed by artists: the first, by Domenico Bianchi, is in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, and the second, by Mimmo Paladino, is in Piazza Santo Spirito. There is the magnificent 15-meter high Christmas tree, lit fully by LED, in Piazza Duomo, the resplendent one near Palazzo Vecchio, and the majestic one on Piazzale Michelangelo, which can be admired in all its glory from along the Arno too.
Florence’s main streets, such as Via Calzaiuoli and Via Tornabuoni, are brilliantly lit with grandiose colorful ornamentation. And there’s the artistic nativity scene, located near the Christmas tree in Piazza Duomo with life-size terracotta statues made by hand by a historic kiln in Impruneta (near Florence). These sculptures are part of the Florentine tradition of artistic terracotta dating back to the early 15th century, when the technique was used by the likes of Donatello and Brunelleschi.
The nativity scene, along with the countless lights brightening the city, are a way to light Florence with hope and joy. Come join us in their light here at the Principe Hotel & Apartment!
