MAGIC 2010: Fortezza da Basso, Viale Filippo Strozzi, 1, 50129 Firenze, Italy

Grand Prix are easily the biggest open events the DCI offers. They're high-energy and held around the world. Plus, no invitation is necessary – anyone can attend. No pro points? No problem. Playing a good game is all that matters, and with Pro Tour invitations down to 16th place and cash prizes all the way down to 64th place, one thing is certain: a Grand Prix is sure-fire great time. Plus each participant gets an alternate art Umezawa's Jitte.
Players or teams with high ratings or Pro Players Club levels can earn byes for Grand Prix tournaments. You can also earn byes at Grand Prix Trials.
Major Magic: The Gathering events are held around the world every year. Find a location near you and see how you stack up against the best players in the world! Grand Prix tournaments are open to the public. Pro Tours and World Championships are invitation-only for the main event but feature multiple open tournaments as well.
Choose Hotel Mario's for your stay at Florence: the hotel is three minutes walking from Fortezza da Basso and ten minutes from the most important places in the town.

AAAS - 10 ADVANCED ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL SYMPOSIUM: Palazzo dei Congressi, 20 - 24 Settembre 2010 Piazza Adua, 1, Firenze

As in the past event, the principal aim of the Symposium is to involve technicians, scientists, public administrators, associations and institutions in a debate on the role of aerosols in atmospheric pollution, the actions which should be adopted and the limitations proposed by the actual regulations.
Although more than two decades have been dedicated to these subjects in an extremely abundant literature and in several meetings, the distance of the clear understandings and the little appreciations of the proposed actions seem vanify any optimistic forecast for the next future. Therefore the Italian Association of Chemical Engineering (AIDIC) sponsored by the major Industries, Universities and Institutions invite all the specialists to a three days conference where the above theme will be put under discussion from all the possible different perspectives.

The Symposium topics will mainly deal with the following aspects:
- Fundamental Aerosol Chemistry & Physics
- Anthropogenic and Natural Aerosol
- PMx and Urban Aerosol
- Combustion and Materials Processing
- Instrumentation & Control Technology
- Remote Sensing and Satellite Aerosol Observations
- Aerosol Modeling
- Legislation & Health Related Aerosols
- Ultrafine and nanoparticles aerosol
- Anthropogenic and natural emission sources
- Biological effects of PMx and nanoparticles

THE FLORENCE FLOOD: 4th of November 1966

"On November 4, 1966, in Florence the Arno river swollen with dark, muddy waters, spilled over sweeping away everything in its way. When the waters subsided, only destruction enveloped the city." (main source: the book "Florence flood 1996")

This flood, happened between the 3rd and 4th of November, was the worst of all in Florence and in the surrounding villages, due to the big quantity of water that flowed into all of the region, about the third part of the annual average ( about 200 litres for square metre ) and also because of the fact that the level of the Arno rose up to 11 metres.
The 4th of November flood, damaged not only the historic centre of Florence but also the zone of the Arno’s dock. Moreover, the surrounding fields continued to be flooded for many days after the disaster and a wide range of smaller communes were damaged heavily and also isolated.


The Chronicle Of The Drama

The last few days of October and the first ones of November were characterized from intense rainfalls, interrupted only from short clearings during the All Saints’ Day.
Even if during the following days the rainfalls continued and increased in intensity, the inhabitant of Florence weren’t worried because they can’t imagine the catastrophe that will happen, above all because they are accustomed to the autumnal floods of the near river and watercourses.
The victims were relatively few, because the horrible flood didn’t overtook them while they are going to work or while they are working in the fields, but the majority of them was at home to pass the 4th of November with their families.
3rd of November
In the evening: the first worrying news come from the Mugello and from the province of Arezzo ( Casentino, High Valdarno),where river and torrent have flooded.
At the Midnight: The River Arno begin its work of destruction, firstly in the zone of Casentino and High Valdarno , secondly in the zone of Incisa, where have to be interrupted the motorway of the Sun and the railway to Arezzo and Rome. In a second moment, the waters of the Arno flood the surrounding villages such as Montevarchi, Figline Valdarno, Incisa, Rignano sull’Arno,Pontassieve and many more. An episode to remember with sadness, happened in the zone of Reggello, is that of an habitation, where lived seven persons, completely destroyed by the flood.
4th of November
1:00: the Arno overflows in the zone of “la Liscia” in the commune of Lastra a Signa . The state road Tosco-Romagnola and the secondary ways between Florence and Empoli were interrupted.
3:00: the fury of the Arno reaches Florence.
3:30: The Arno breaks the levees in the zone of Rovezzano. Moreover, many quarters of Florence are flooded and there is the first victim of this natural catastrophe, a man called Carlo Maggiorelli, who was an overseer of the water establishments. In the historic centre the sewers and the cellars are being flooded.
From this moment, during all the night and also during the next day the situation becomes even more critical. In fact, the destructive strength of the water causes problems to the things and to the persons; maybe, among the damages to the things, those to the National Library and to the well known quarter of Santa Croce can be considered the most serious.
12:00: The worst moment of this drama for the artistic town of Florence, because the water reach the first floor of the buildings and the first victims are made known ( a couple of old persons and a young prisoner ) .
18:00: the River Arno begins slowly to return into its levees.
Finally, a strange image of a fact happened during the flood and filmed from all the means of communication, has been considered the symbol of this tragic day, that it is the image of a group of cows gathered at the first floor of the “Casa del popolo” in the zone of San Donnino, due to the attempt to save them.


About The Rescue Work - the "Angeli del fango"

The flood was the first episode in Italy that underlined the absolute lack of an efficient body for the civil protection. In fact, in this critical situation the first official helps arrived six days after the beginning of the catastrophe.
Luckily, there were some non-official helps that tried to solve the problems caused by the flood, such as a multitude of young voluntaries of various nationalities, called “ the angels of the mud “ , who came to Florence to save the books and the works of art from the destruction. However, the damage to the artistic and historical heritage was considerable, in fact in the storerooms of the National Library, thousands of precious volumes were completely destroyed and the world famous picture by Cimabue, the “ Christ Crucified “ was destroyed at its 80%, in spite of the subsequent restoration.
The only financial help from the government was of five- thousand-lira to the traders.
Finally, we haven’t to forget the documentary about the flood by the world-famous Franco Zeffirelli , very useful in the work of sensitisation, with the sorrowful call by the English actor, Richard Burton.

Florence, June 24: Florence celebrates the feast of its patron, San Giovanni.

THE HISTORY: FROM GOD MARTE TO SAN GOVANNI BATTISTA The choice of San Giovanni Battista as the Saint Patron of the city of Florence, comes only after the total transformation of the city to Christianity. Initially, the Patron (or Protector) of the city was the God Marte whose statue was located at the north entrance of Ponte Vecchio and remained there until 1333, when it was completely destroyed by the Arnio flooding.

Feast of the Patron of Florence: old cartIt was however in the Longobard period (6th to 7th century), that San Giovanni Battista was recognize as the Saint Patron of Florence. San Giovanni Battista was already chosen as the Saint Patron of the Longobard people. In fact, it is in this period that the San Giovanni Baptistery was reconstructed in Florence (6th-7th century) over the rubbles of what it once was the Marte Temple.

The selection of San Giovanni wasn't only first and foremost for his clear and brief pedagogy, but also for his strong and courageous personality. However, it was until June 24th in the 13th century that the first celebration dedicated to San Giovanni Battista took place.

Thanks to these celebrations the San Giovanni Baptistery and the Duomo Square became the city heart of the Religious and Political life of Florence. In fact,it is in front of the Baptistery that the festivities of June 24 end. History narrates that an ancient tradition asked to the Noble people of Florence to donate their big candles richly ornamented which had then to be burned in front of the Baptistery. Originally, the festivisty ended with a large candle that was transported in a wagon from Piazza Signoria to the front of the Baptistery. That same wagon named Carro di San Giovanni (San Giovanni's Wagon) gave birth to the Scoppio del Carro festivity (Wagon's Outburst); however, at a second stage, this festivity was devoted only to Easter ceremonies instead to the Patron.

Florence, June 24, 2010: Fireworks for Saint John

June 24th, it's a day where several festivities take palce in Florence throughout the day such as parades, the Rowing Club competition along the Arno river, fireworks, etc.

The final game of the Calcio in Costume (football soccer in costumes) was played on this same day. The famous Historic Florentine Football, was a peppy Medieval version of football, usually played in Santa Croce square. In 2006, the event was cancelled because an article of a document from the fifth council commission of sport and culture prohibits sporting events that cause violent celebrations by its fans. “The unjustify events that took place on the opening match of the 2006 edition, forced the Municipality of Florence to take action on this important sporting event.”

Along with the Historic Florentine Football, another sporting event is celebarted on this day. The Notturna di San Giovanni (night run marathon), it's one of the oldest marathons in Italian history.

Firework show in Florence for the feast of the PatronIn order to salute the Saint Patron, at around 9:00pm, you can admire a firework show in Florence. The best spot to see them it's in Ponte Santa Trinita (Santa Trinita Bridge). From there you can see Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), and behind it the beautiful fireworks reflecting in the Arno river. The bridge and its surrounding streets gets jammed of people, so it is recommended that Florentine people having houses with view towards Piazzale Michelangelo open their doors to their friends and relatives, so you can enjoy the show in company of your loved ones.

Again, during the same weekend it is usually organized another funny event, concerning just one side of the city: Nottarno, la notte bianca in Oltrarno (Nottarno, the White Night in the Oltrarno zone). This year, the event is expected for Saturday 27 of June 2009. Various and different events will be organized and dislocated along the streets and squares of the city district, and have been already inserted in the program of the night (download the pdf of the program): music, exhibitions and various kinds of entertainment. On the occasion, shops, pubs and restaurants of the Oltrarno district stay open all night long and arrange tables on the streets of the centre.

FIRENZE: PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA

Piazza della Repubblica is a city square in Florence, Italy. It is on the site, first of the city's forum and then of the city's old ghetto, which was swept away during the city improvement works or Risanamento initiated during the brief period when Florence was the capital of a reunited Italy, work that also created the city's avenues and boulevards. The ghetto's remains may still be seen in the square, as may the Mercato Vecchio, the Loggia del Pesce. Among the square's cafes, the Giubbe Rosse cafe has long been a meeting place for famous artists and writers, notably those of Futurism.
The present appearance of the square is the result of the city planning announced and carried out on the proclamation of Florence as the capital of Italy (1865-71), with particularly intense activity in this Piazza between 1885 and 1895. In this period, known as the Risanamento in the commemorative nineteenth-century terminology (or, by its detractors, the sventramento or ruining), large parts of the city centre were demolished.
The decision to broaden the square allowed the total destruction of buildings of great importance: medieval towers, churches, the corporate seats of the Arti, some palaces of noble families, as well as craftsmen's shops and residences. The demolition was presented as a necessity if the area's insanitary conditions were to be improved, but was in reality led above all to building speculation and to legitimization of the will of the emerging middle-class emergente, protagonist in the events immediately prior to unification.
The town in fact underwent an enormous loss, minimally compensated for by the rescue of monuments like Vasari's Loggia del Pesce that was dismantled and reassembled in piazza dei Ciompi. The appearance of the square before the nineteenth-century demolitions is documented in prints, paintings and drawings in the Museo di Firenze com'era in Via dell'Oriuolo. A plentiful supply of works of art and architectural fragments fed the antiquarian market, and only some of them could be saved for the Museo nazionale di San Marco, whilst others were returned to the town as donations such as those that allowed the founding of the Museo Bardini and Museo Horne. Artists like Telemaco Signorini depicted with melancholy this disappearing part of town.
In 1888, after the demolition of the hovels in the center of the Mercato, the old piazza del Mercato Vecchio reappeared, with the Loggia, the Column of Plenty and the church of San Tommaso, but the shrewd restorers preferred to proceed with a more radical demolition yet.
On 20 September 1890, with the building-sites still open to rebuild the palazzoni in the square, the equestrian monument to Vittorio Emanuele II was inaugurated in his presence. This monument gave the piazza its original name. An old photograph taken on the day of the inauguration show the buildings of the square still incomplete and covered for the civil ceremony in scenery representing good luck. The statue, a commemorative and rather rhetorical work which did not please the Florentines, was mocked in a biting sonnet by Vamba, entitled Emanuele a corpo sciorto. Today the sculpture is in piazzale delle Cascine.
The palaces that rose in the new square, painted bitterly by the young Telemaco Signorini, followed the eclectic fashion of the time and had been planned by already well-known architects: Vincenzo Micheli, Luigi Buonamici, Giuseppe Boccini. Following this transformation, the square became a kind of "lounge" for the town; since then refined palaces, luxury hotels, department stores and elegant cafes have sprung up around it, among which the known Caffè delle Giubbe Rosse, where famous scholars and artists met and clashed.
The inscription on the arch
The porticos with the triumphal arch, called the "Arcone", was designed by Micheli and was inspired by the most courtly Florentine Renaissance architecture, even if its additions to that style seem to be distant from the true ancient style. The pompous inscription that dominates the square was dictated, it seems, from Isidoro del Lungo, or another literary source:


L'ANTICO CENTRO DELLA CITTA
DA SECOLARE SQUALLORE
A VITA NUOVA RESTITUITO
(The ancient centre of the city / restored from age-old squalor / to new life)

On top of the Arcone is an allegorical group of three women in plaster, representing Italy, Art and Science. The Florentines instead nicknamed them after three famous prostitutes of the era, la Starnotti, la Cipischioni e la Trattienghi. Having deteriorated, the group was removed in 1904.