Florence pays a tribute to Catherine and Maria de’ Medici with an art exhibition in Palazzo Strozzi inaugurated last Friday.

After 400 years Florence celebrates the myth of 2 of her most powerful ladies of the past with a unique collection of monumental tapestries displayed in Paris in the Galleria dei Gobelins in the Castle of Chambord.

15 spectacular masterpieces (some 5 meters high) dedicated to the legendary Queen Artemisia. The event depicted by the tapestries was inspired by the epic poem Historie de la Royne Arthemise (1561-1562) by Nicholas Houel, a tribute to Queen Catherine de’ Medici where Houel combined the events of 2 Artemisie d’antan, both queens of Caria, a region of todays Turkey.

The event is taking place at:

Palazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi, Firenze
Hours: Every day 9:00-20:00. Thursday 9:00-23:00. Visitors are allowed in up to 1 hour prior to closing time.
Tickets: Full fare € 10; reduced rate € 8,50 – 8 – 7,50; schools € 4.
Information: 055.2645155, www.palazzostrozzi.org.

Hotel Relais is proud to suggest any one of the following hotels in Florence while visiting this fine art exhibition:

5 star hotels:

• Villa Olmi Resort at Bagno a Ripoli
• Montebello Splendid in central Florence

4 star hotels:

Lungarno Suite in central Florence

UNA Palazzo Mannaioni at Montaione

Hotel Bernini Palace in Fiorence

Plaza Hotel Lucchesi in Fiorence

Historical Residences

Residenza del Moro in Fiorence

The inauguration of “Mondi Possibili” by Eliseo Mattiacci, will take place on November 1st 2008, within the framework of the ongoing events in the Cantina Icario.

The permanent exhibition will be open until April 30th 2008.

Cantina Icario, Via Delle Pietrose 2, Montepulciano (SI)
Tel. 0578 758845
www.icario.it

BATEAU IVRE, the modern art exhibition inaugurated in April, will remain open until September 28th.

The exhibition is located in Montepulciano, Tuscany in the Cantina Icario in an area created by the famous Architects Valle & Valle, and reviewed by famous magazines such as Domus, AD, Exibart, Lifestyle …

This contemporary art exhibition feature important Italian artists:

• Gabriele Arruzzo
• Pier Luigi Malignano
• Maurizio Cannavacciuolo
• Alberto Di Fabio
• Fulvio Di Piazza
• Nathalie Du Pasquier
• Massimo Kaufmann
• Laboratorio Saccardi
• Francesco Lauretta
• Andrea Mastrovito
• Davide Nido
• Cristiano Pintaldi
• Antonio Riello

and others.

BATEAU IVRE – Progetto Culturale Icario

Art direction: Aldo Premoli

CANTINA ICARIO
Via delle Pietrose 2
53045 Montepulciano, Siena – Tuscany
Tel. +39 0578 75 88 45

www.icario.it

The Tuscan Sun Festival is under way in the small town of Cortona, on the border between Umbria and Tuscany, in the countryside softened by hills and lakes. The 6^th edition of the Tuscan Sun Festival was inaugurated on August 2^nd and will end on August 10^{th -}

The Festival was founded by Barrett Wissman who gave life to a Tuscan Sun Festival in Napa Valley in California and Singapore, with a calendar rich in events that are divided into several sections:

• music
• art
• literature
• ballet
• oriental disciplines
• section on refined tastes

The inauguration saw the performance of the Russian dancers of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, heirs of an ancient tradition. A spectacular outdoor staging in Piazza Signorelli with the Swan Lake and The Nutcracker of Tchaicoskj, the Spartacus of Khachaturian, Prokofiev Cinderella, Don Quixote of Minkus.

Another big event is expected on August 8^th when the famous American actor Robert Redford will read some poems by Robert Frost, accompanied on piano by Nicola Luisotti, pianist and conductor recently appointed director of the San Francisco Opera.

The reading will take place in the centre of Cortona, near the historic Teatro Signorelli, a small neoclassical style theatre.

Following the Robert Redford reading is a tribute to one of the most famous poets Italian Giacomo Leopardi, whose poems will be recited by Gabriele Lavia, one of the biggest theatrical stars of the Italian theater.

During the Tuscan Sun Festival private tours to the Museum of the Etruscan Academy , wine tasting in combination with local meats and cheeses; a unique combination of cultural and gastronomical events.