Friday Notes from Florence: Power Plays, Carnival and a Romantic Walk idea
On ancient families making noise, wax sculptures worth seeing, and a Valentine's route through the city's most romantic corners
Hot off Bad Bunny's epic Super Bowl halftime show, kick off your Friday with a parody performance that brings some very local flavor, featuring various Tuscan cities and, inevitably, an appearance by the iconic "Pisa Merda" (Pisa S**t), the affectionately insulting phrase so deeply embedded in Florentine culture you can barely walk a block without spotting it in graffiti. Curious about the origins of a rivalry so petty even 50 Cent would tip his hat? Helen's article breaks down the surprisingly rich historical backstory
It’s hard to tune out the constant barrage of news these days, a daily reminder of just how grotesque power can make people. Surprised? Not really. And yet every morning seems to bring some new revelation from the Epstein docket that manages to be shocking anyway, a fresh glimpse into the depths people will sink to when they think no one is watching.
Lately, I’ve been turning to Cody Dahler, the comedian and podcast host who somehow manages to break down these absolute horrors with humor and astute commentary that is as entertaining as it is informative. Because when the news is literally engineered to keep us panicking (all by design methinks), sometimes you just need someone with a great accent to lay it all out in a way that doesn’t make you want to crawl under a blanket forever. Plus, as Cody would say, who wants to be a “thicky thicky dumb dumb”? Definitely not me.
For sharper, on-the-ground Italian context, I've also been reading Jamie Mackay's The Week in Italy, a newsletter I genuinely recommend if you want serious, beautifully written coverage of what's actually happening in this country beyond the headlines (and mentioned in this roundup). He flagged something that, for once, felt like actual good news in terms of consequences: Milan's Public Prosecutor Paolo Storari opening an investigation into Glovo for what Jamie rightly calls digital caporalato, the exploitation of over 40,000 riders working without real contracts, earning as little as €2.50 per transaction on 12-hour days. As Jamie points out, with the referendum on judicial reform approaching, an independent judiciary may be the only thing standing between those riders and total abandonment by the system. Go subscribe. He's the real deal.
Speaking of power and who gets to wield it, I have been seeing one story making the rounds this week about some of Florence’s oldest families signing an open letter to Mayor Funaro over what they’re calling a breaking point in the city’s urban planning and questionable deals that don’t seem aimed at improving the lives of anyone other than the wallets of the investors (the cubo nero being the kickoff of WTF deals that literally don’t make sense).
The letter was the result of something its organizers have half-jokingly nicknamed operazione sangue blu: Operation Blue Blood: two months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that culminated in sixteen representatives of Florence’s most ancient families gathering for lunch, then marching their concerns to Palazzo Vecchio and collecting a fair amount of signatures and support from the local public.
The ask: a moratorium on the ex-OGR development near Le Cascine, where the plan by finance investors is to create new luxury residences, as well as the construction of the so-called Pistoiese-Rosselli "highway" along the Fosso Macinante. What is being proposed instead is for the region of Tuscany to buy the land and space and turn it into a Kulturforum, modeled after the one in Berlin.
The man behind it all is Professor Roberto Budini Gattai, a longtime urban planning professor at the University of Florence, known within Florentine noble circles as “the communist.” He prefers “left-wing.” His family traces back to the Florentine patriciate of the Medici era, with the Pazzi of the famous conspiracy somewhere in the family tree, and yet he’s spent his entire career fighting for socially just urban planning. When critics muttered about ricchi che si schiererebbero contro l’edilizia residenziale — rich people positioning themselves against housing development, he pointed out that his parents’ inheritance was divided among twelve siblings and that he lives on a professor’s salary and pension.
There's a long-running joke that Florentines will complain about everything and change nothing. But there's only so much a city can absorb before resignation tips into a sort of resistance, and watching pieces of Florence sold off playground by playground to the highest bidder seems to be doing exactly that. Thank fucking god.
Also, before we wind down this news heavy intro (sorry guys!). I drove two hours south into Northern Lazio last Saturday to visit Civita di Bagnoregio, a medieval village perched on volcanic rock, slowly crumbling into the valley below. They call it la città che muore, the dying city which sounds pretty morbid except only about eleven people actually live there and one being Mr. Harry Styles.
Let’s get into it.
THE FIVE
KIDS: February 14th, Carnevale di Firenze dei Bambini, Piazza Ognissanti
Florence’s beloved children’s carnival returns for its 21st edition this Saturday, February 14th, and Piazza Ognissanti transforms into what the organizers lovingly call “the piazza of children from all over the world.” The afternoon kicks off at 2pm with traditional Japanese dance in kimono, a live Mariachi band, circus games, and a theatrical performance featuring Stenterello, Florence’s own historic carnival mask, born right here in Borgo Ognissanti. The grand finale around 5:30pm is a fire show followed by the ceremonial burning of a papier-mâché Stenterello, made by children hosted at Fondazione Solidarietà Caritas. Worth noting: if it rains the event is cancelled, so check the Associazione Borgognissanti Firenze Facebook page before you head out.
ARTS & CULTURE: Through February 28, Black History Month Florence, Various Venues
Florence’s Black History Month program runs through the end of the month with several exhibitions now open across the city. At Murate Art District, in collaboration with the American Academy in Rome, three shows are currently on view: Black Body, Ancient City by T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, Triplet Consciousness by Heather Hart, and The Angel in the Death Cell, a theater piece by William Demby celebrating two current Rome Prize Fellows alongside the ongoing work of Black Archive Alliance, which holds a permanent residency at the venue. Also open: Donald D presents Rock the House Y’all: My Hip-Hop History through Pictures and Flyers 1979–1987 at The Recovery Plan, and Victor Fotso Nyie’s Veglia at the SRISA Gallery of Contemporary Art. Get the full program here.
KIDS: February 13–14, Carnevale at the Hogwarts school, Centro Coop Gavinana, Feb 13th, 14th 4-7pm.
Carnevale gets a magical twist this weekend at Centro Gavinana, where the first floor transforms into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Both today and tomorrow, Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th, from 4 to 7pm, young wizards-in-training (for kids over 4+) can build their own magic wand from recycled materials in a Hogwarts-themed workshop. Then on Saturday, the magic continues with a live magic show guaranteed to leave everyone, grandi e piccini, speechless. A special afternoon of smiles, spells, and general enchantment.
EVERYONE: Carnevale di Pace, Sunday February 15 — Piazza dell’Isolotto to San Donato
If you want to experience Florence at its most genuinely inclusive and joyful, this one is worth your afternoon. The Carnevale di Pace, now in its expanded citywide edition, brings together over 30 associations, dance schools, and international communities for a colorful parade that winds from Piazza dell’Isolotto at 2:30pm, across the Arno footbridge, through the Cascine park, past Manifattura Tabacchi and Piazza Puccini, finishing with a grand finale of performances at Centro San Donato at 4:30pm. Free, family-friendly, and open to all ages, the message at its heart is simple and rather beautiful: “Chi vive a Firenze fa parte di Firenze”, whoever lives in Florence is part of Florence. Note that in case of bad weather the event moves to Sunday February 22.
CULTURE: Wax Upon a Time: The Medici and the Arts of Ceroplastics, The Uffizi (until April 12)
If you haven’t yet made it to this exhibition at the Uffizi, consider this your nudge. “Cera una volta” (a beautifully untranslatable Italian pun, cera means both “wax” and “there was”) explores the largely forgotten world of Medici wax sculpture from the 16th and 17th centuries through around 90 works, including funeral masks, polychrome portraits, and the genuinely unsettling anatomical masterpieces of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, whose work on plague and bodily corruption is as darkly extraordinary as it sounds. The exhibition layout is deliberately designed as a labyrinth, which feels entirely appropriate. Tickets are €10, or €7 if you already have a valid Uffizi Galleries ticket for the same day. Open Tuesday through Sunday 8:15am to 6pm, last admission 5:30pm.
ONE WINS & ONE WOBBLE
Win: There’s a particular kind of satisfaction that comes not from finishing something, but from finally starting it. This week I did exactly that, got moving on a project I’ve been sitting on for years, and I cannot wait to share it with you. Taking an idea from the abstract place it lives in your head to something real and tangible is genuinely not for the faint of heart, but here we are. One of my intentions for 2026 was to stop thinking and start doing, because time, as we all know, waits for absolutely no one. This felt like a proper first step.
Wobble: My daughter started a new school last year, where she’ll likely be for the foreseeable future, and I’ve been trying, with limited success, to crack the parent social code. I get it. We’re all running on fumes, everyone’s schedule is packed, but a casual coffee after drop-off? Apparently an ambitious ask. I know so much of this is circumstantial and outside my control, and I genuinely love living here, my positive experiences far outweigh the negative, but occasionally just trying to be a normal social human being feels like an Olympic sport I didn’t train for.
READING / DOING
Doing: SMART Pedicure and Manicure at Parlour Florence. I was invited to a proper pamper morning at Parlour Florence and it is truly one of a kind in terms of a quality nail salon (they also do mini facials and eyebrow perfecting). I had both a manicure and what they call a SMART pedicure, and the latter in particular genuinely surprised me. Unlike a standard spa pedicure where your feet are soaked into submission, a SMART pedicure is entirely dry and device-based, working on feet with precise single-use discs to gradually reduce hard skin, calluses and rough heels layer by layer. The finishing step, a specific oil buffed in to seal and protect the freshly treated skin, meant my feet felt genuinely different, not just temporarily tidied up. The manicure was equally considered, I appreciate that they take a prescriptive approach, choosing the base coat depending on your individual nail type rather than a one-size-fits-all system, with the focus firmly on long-term nail health. They use Bio Sculpture’s HEMA and TPO-free colour gels which is great news if you have sensitive or reactive skin. My nails looked immaculate walking out but more importantly they’re built to stay that way. A genuinely special morning and one I’ll be repeating.
Reading “The Invisible Revolution: Why AI Is Rewriting the Rules of European Tourism” by Mirko Lalli on LinkedIn. This one was sent to me by my girl Arttrav and genuinely made me think. Mirko Lalli’s reflections from EU Tourism Day 2026 in Brussels articulate something I’ve been feeling but couldn’t quite name: the shift from travellers who search to travellers who ask to travellers who will soon simply delegate their entire trip to an AI. The implications for independent travel writers, small destinations, and locally-rooted businesses like the ones I champion and well my own work are significant, if your content isn’t structured in a way that machines can understand and recommend, you essentially become invisible. As someone who has spent 15+ years building something from scratch, it’s a lot to take in. Worth your time, especially if you work in travel, hospitality, or content creation and have been wondering what exactly AI means for the work you do.
MAP PIN (Mini Route): A Florentine Valentine
Whether you’re celebrating with a partner, a friend, or just Florence itself, this one’s for you. Start at the Church of Santa Margherita dei Cerchi off Via del Corso, where Dante first laid eyes on Beatrice and where, to this day, visitors leave handwritten letters to her at the Portinari family tomb → head across the Ponte Vecchio to take in the view and look but not buy any jewelry (go to A Thousand Joys or Officina Nora to get great quality atrisan jewelry instead) → duck into the Oltrarno and reward yourself with a glass of something excellent at L'Volpe e L'Uva, the tiny, beloved wine bar tucked just steps from the bridge in Piazza dei Rossi with some perfect crostini→ cross into the Oltrarno and wind up through Piazza San Niccolò, pausing to spot Clet Abraham’s subversive street signs on the way up → end at San Miniato al Monte for the view that has closed approximately ten thousand first dates, find a spot on the steps, and let Florence do the rest.
Itinerary inspired by the lovely people at Florence for Free, who have been mapping the city’s best free adventures for years — worth bookmarking.
Closing Note
As always, thank you for being here. I mean that genuinely and not in the way people say it as filler, this newsletter exists because you read it, share it, and occasionally send me a message to say it landed somewhere. Those messages matter more than you know, especially in a media landscape that keeps insisting everyone has abandoned reading in favor of fifteen-second trending videos. The fact that you’re still here, scrolling through my thoughts on wax sculptures and power plays and smart pedicures and my random wins and fails, means the world to me.
For those of you heading to Florence soon, or with friends and family making the trip, my Florence Guide on Saltade is a true labor of love, fifteen-plus years of living here distilled into tried-and-true recommendations for restaurants, artisans, boutiques, and hotels that you won’t find recycled across the same top ten lists. It’s the guide I wish had existed when I arrived.
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Perhaps the use of AI for travel will at least keep some places special, and off the AI tourist path. Maybe not helpful for the business owners, but fabulous for those who are prepared to search for what they really want. And surely that's important.
Lots of info here, good job, Georgette!