Blog, Culture, History

Theater: The History of Florence in 60 Minutes

The history of Florence spans a period of almost 2000 years starting with the first settlement that appeared on the banks of the river Arno around the year 150 A.C.
It seems a mission impossible to fit as much as just the highlights of such a long and rich history into a theater production of only 60 minutes. Yet “The History of Florence in 60 Minutes” does exactly that and what starts off as a serious course in Florentine history quickly gets transformed into a delightful comedy/musical.

The play is set in a palazzo from the 15th century where the audience is gathered to attend the course “The History of Florence in 3 months” taught by professoressa Celeste Bueno. Budget cuts however quickly turn the extensive history course into a crash course of 60 minutes. Un impossible task it seems until the professoressa is joined by her assistants per caso Fabrizio Checcacci and Roberto Andrioli who help her depict the most important events of Florence’s history with song, dance and silliness.

All the main events are covered from the foundation of Florence, Charlemagne, Dante, the Renaissance, de’ Medici, Savonarola, Michelangelo and Leonardo to the flood of 1966 and our current day, colorfully illustrated by large variety of props from silly hats to actual pole dancing.

The “hole in the wall” location in via Toscanella creates a unique intimate atmosphere where the audience is literally seated inside the play and is part of the events in the role of the foreign students that enrolled in the history course.

“The History of Florence in 60 Minutes” is a fun night out for the English-speaking tourist, student or expat and offers an entertaining cocktail of history, comedy and musical.

You can catch the show on Monday, Thursday and Friday until the end of October. It will return again in the spring of 2016 for another run.
For more information about the show visit http://florencein60minutes.com/

 

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