Festival della Creatività

For four days this weekend, there was a Festival of Creativity in Florence. In the past, it's been held at Fortezza da Basso, near the main train station. I went to the festival several years ago, but at the time I didn't know much Italian, everything was presented in Italian and the affair seemed to be attended mostly by Italians, so I didn't get much out of it. The Fortezza, one of the first Italian citadels, is a big conference hall away from the center of town, and most tourists don't even know about it.

This year they decided to try something different, placing 33 exhibits in many areas of town, which proved to be much more effective in attracting not only Italians, but tourists as well. Fortunately for me, many of the exhibits were near my flat, so I had an easy time of getting to most of them.

This exhibit, offering spectators the chance to participate in creating African art, was in the piazza just outside my door.

These photos are from an exhibit that focused on art created from recycled objects.



The next exhibit, located in a yurt near the Duomo, was called "città infinita," (infinite city), which allowed people to "use waste materials (mostly wood) from industrial processing to create and recreate urban landscapes."

Kids of all ages enjoyed this one.

And here's a street artist creating a masterpiece.....on Friday:

And the finished work on Sunday:

Alas, it rained the next day, and the the masterpiece is gone. But in a few days, another marvelous creation will take its place.

Creativity is everywhere you look in Florence, and I enjoy being overwhelmed by it. I'm curious to see how that influence will direct my life in the future.

To see more art by some very talented street artists, click here: The road is our canvas