Mimito Sorrydista Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I have always been shy when meeting new people. That would almost go for double when meeting the street performers in Florence, Italy. I recently wrote about gReY, il mimo. I watch him perform any chance that I can, but I did not meet him in the street. Instead, a dear friend of mine brought him to a private party in Florence almost two years ago.

Last month I met Mimito il sorrydista. Some call him ”L’Uomo del Vento” (“The Man of the Wind”). Born in Rome, he has performed in many countries, but now you may find him on the streets and in the piazzas of Florence. He knows a lot of the madonnari and will occasionally take his break by hanging out near us street painters. I am shy, not generally rude, so it was inevitable that we would meet.

This street performer explained to me that his name ‘sorrydista’ is a word that he made up. In Italian, ‘sorridere’ means “to smile” and he wanted to make a sarcastic play on words with the English “sorry.” Forget your worries. Street performers such as Mimito want to help you laugh even if only for a moment. Their humor is natural, kind, and fun for all ages.


So, I photographed Mimito il sorrydista helping this class of young boys become posers. I hope you enjoy the series. Afterwards, Mimito put a purple spiked hair wig on their teacher and got him into the act. The kids loved seeing their teacher in a TOTALLY new way. It was all good fun.





Even a “vigilanza” will stop to watch Mimito. And, of course, even this southern Italian woman could not escape his Italian charm.



When Mimito is not being blown about by the wind, he is an accomplished musician and finds others to play with. Seen here in Piazza della Repubblica in Florence is Mimito with a guitar player. Beside him is his companion Kleo (clay-oh). Mimito told me that Kleo was free when they met and later, this puppy chose to go home with Mimito. It turns out that the now four-year-old dog has showman-like skills. While I have only rubbed her belly during a break from street painting, several of my friends have seen Kleo perform. She can keep a palloncino (balloon) up in the air while running across the entire piazza! I am glad they found each other.




Especially after witnessing this white poodle who could not stop barking at ”L’Uomo del Vento”


The following image shows how Mimito experiences ‘Stendhal Syndrome’ in front of the recent street painting my Wednesday and Thursday group of madonnari created on Via Calimala. This was a copy of Caravaggio’s “The Supper at Emmaus.”

And I leave you with a self-portrait I took with Mimito on the day that we met. My face is relatively clean considering my normal state during chalking on Via Calimala. Enjoy!

Visit Mimito il sorrydista at his Web site: www.sorrydista.com

More images of this charming artist can be found on Flickr.com (search ‘sorrydista’)

Be like me and befriend Mimito il sorrydista on Facebook, search for
Maurizio Mimito Stefanizzi

If you like what you read, enjoy the photos, and would like to help support this blog(ger) / artist, click here . . .

SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW – Slava Polunin in Florence, Italy

My friend Marina arranged to secure tickets to SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW – messa in scena di Slava Polunin at Teatro Verdi for a bunch of our artist friends here in Firenze. She promoted the show as “Russian mime” knowing that I “have a thing” for all things Russian or Ukrainian (especially the language and vodka!). The Teatro Verdi pubblicità states that “Slava Polunin è considerato ‘il miglior clown del mondo.’” (Slave Polunin is considered the best clown in the world.) Even artist Jered teased me, “You are willing to pay to see a mime?” Apparently so.




But the show was not anything I had expected (no white faces or a man trying to find his way out of a box). It was truly wonderful and fun and human. Marina told me that I would be happy with the expressiveness of the performers. And for me, another charmer was hearing the children’s laughing voices in the audience mixed with the grownups, even though the show began at 20:45.

Teatro Verdi is a beautiful theatre and very close to where I live in Florence, Italy. I saw the “Gala Nureyev” there last year. These Slavic performers last night were not only expressive and the music perfect, but there was a lot of interaction with the audience. At one point, a giant blanket of spider webs was passed over the entire floor of the theatre as members of the audience helped to propel the huge fabric over our heads towards the back of the theatre. Confetti was everywhere and the air festive. We all had great fun.




The images from my camera that I post here were taken by me, except for the one that our friend Richard took of Lisa and me before the performance began. Perhaps you can have some idea of the energy inside Teatro Verdi. At the end of the performances, giant balloons were released into the air space in the crowds. For a moment of was reminded of the TV show “The Prisoner” (“I am NOT a number!”), except that these giant spheres were of many colors and in greater quantity. Later smaller, but still large spheres were also bouncing around as children and adults alike tried to pat them and keep the motions going. And, of course, it rained confetti. Fantastic!

http://www.teatroverdifirenze.it