Saturday night I went to two art exhibits and then a couple of my friends and I met up with others in Piazza della Repubblica here in Florence, Italy. We were on our way to a concert featuring Il Genio (“The Genius”) at the Flog Auditorium.
However, we discovered another of Florence’s manifestazione under way. This one had fire and smoke and police in a line of defense. Naturally, I ran towards the action, even though I truly hate my now very unreliable (increasingly failing focus and light metering) digital camera, but it was all I had.
My Italian friends were vague about the reasons for this public demonstration. One shrugged this off as just another Communist demonstration, while another said that the Fascist party was protesting a new Muslim church appearing in Florence.
The van you see here had a loud speaker on it and a man with a megaphone was airing the protest. I was too caught up in the visuals to hear the speech. After he was done, the excitement dropped dramatically as the van drove off and the entire parade just dissolved. The row of polizia was totally unnecessary. But who knows if their presence actually prevented anything. Most people just want the opportunity to be heard.
Afterwards, my friends and I took two cars up to the Flog. Il Genio was fun, however, their engineer should have done a better job. The lead singer’s voice is so soft that it is easily lost in a live setting. I wanted to see this band after hearing some of their CD. The music reminded me of 1960s Paris and also the movie “Funny Face” in which Audrey Hepburn does a funky dance in a Parisian bar while wearing form-fitting black and white. Classically cool.
My friends and I agreed that the lead singer has a beautiful mixture of sensuality and innocence and a face that joins Italy and Japan. She is lovely to watch. The other singer has a very sexy deep voice and he compliments her well.
1 comment:
Great photos and stories !!
Thanks for taking the time to share these events.
Life is a blast in Florence.
Gene P.
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