Helen Farrell

2 weeks ago | theflorentine.net | Helen Farrell

A day at Vinitaly is not one for the faint-hearted, especially in the wake of the tariffs imposed on E.U. exports to the U.S. Despite the latent uncertainty, producers, buyers and the press remained in reasonably high spirits for the four-day wine extravaganza in Verona. Our Vinitaly experience began on the 8.36 train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, brimming with Tuscany’s wine people. A Rosso di Montalcino tasting was the first commitment of the day.

1 month ago | theflorentine.net | Helen Farrell

Bec Astley Clarke MBE might have been born in central London, but she has an innate Italian sensibility for beauty. The founder of one of the earliest online jewellery retailers, she recently moved to Florence via Umbria, opening a bricks-and-mortar gallery space in the Oltrarno to showcase pieces from her online business, TheItalianCollector.com. You’re known as The Italian Collector. How do you approach the process of collecting? Finding beauty is my starting point.

1 month ago | theflorentine.net | Helen Farrell

On March 16, the foremost exhibition space Palazzo Strozzi will reveal the first major show dedicated to Tracey Emin in Italy. Ahead of the showcase, Florence-based art collector Christian Levett talks us through the works he owns by the celebrated British contemporary artist. Every morning when he’s in Florence, Christian wakes up in the company of artworks by Tracey Emin, an artist that he has the pleasure of knowing personally.

1 month ago | theflorentine.net | Helen Farrell

Standing in the Castellani Chapel to the side of the main altar at the Basilica of Santa Croce, a 19th-century cenotaph to Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern was recently restored thanks to an American donor. Born to one of the most renowned aristocratic families in Prussia and raised under the protection of Maria Theresa of Austria, Louise of Stolberg-Gedern married Charles Edward Stuart, claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, for the purposes of diplomatic relations.

1 month ago | theflorentine.net | Helen Farrell

March is traditionally devoted to women centred on the eighth of the month with International Women’s Day. For far too many years, the inaccurate Italian label for this day was Festa della Donna, suggesting a celebration of yellow mimosa flowers and cakes rather than a much-needed reflection on gender equality, reproductive rights, and the continued violence and abuse against women.