Every Friday the podcast from L'Arno will paint you a picture of the extraordinarily beloved region by telling the stories from today and the past that make it unique, while explaining every time a facet of the Tuscan character and the history of this land. The only English language podcast made by Tuscans, dedicated to everyone around the world that has a special place in his heart for this wonderful but very complicated region. Hosted by Luca Bocci, available every Friday.
All content for What's Up Tuscany English is the property of L'Arno.it and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Every Friday the podcast from L'Arno will paint you a picture of the extraordinarily beloved region by telling the stories from today and the past that make it unique, while explaining every time a facet of the Tuscan character and the history of this land. The only English language podcast made by Tuscans, dedicated to everyone around the world that has a special place in his heart for this wonderful but very complicated region. Hosted by Luca Bocci, available every Friday.
The Rificolona, Florence’s oddest festival - Ep. 149
What's Up Tuscany English
15 minutes
2 years ago
The Rificolona, Florence’s oddest festival - Ep. 149
One of the most challenging things we face while trying to explain what makes this land so special is that we constantly have to fight stereotypes. Whenever people think about Tuscany, a series of images of outstanding beauty, art and refinement come to everyone's mind. While it is true that, sometimes, our motherland can offer such peaks of astonishing beauty, the reality is quite far from this picture-perfect image. Take our capital, for example. You might have the impression that once you've seen the greatest hits, the stuff everyone knows and cherishes you feel you know what this city is all about. You couldn't be more wrong. Florence is nowhere near as polished and refined as its incredible landmarks make you believe. Its soul is much more complex, steeped in centuries old traditions and not without a mean streak. If you want to know more about how this remarkable city really works, you're in luck as this week will offer you one of the best ways to get a glimpse into its very soul. That's why What's Up tuscany will bring you back to Florence to tell you everything there is to know about its most beloved festival, the Festa della Rificolona.
If you listen to the full episode you will learn how this festivity was born centuries ago around a Catholic holiday and the pilgrimage that brought many people from the countryside in town. I'll tell you how, according to some sources, the weird name would come from a very unpleasant nickname that Florentine youngsters would use to describe a rather prominent physical feature of the ladies coming from the countryside. You will also learn how the name was then used to describe the very colourful paper lanterns that turn downtown Florence into a veritable festival of light but also used to describe a woman that shows poor judgement when it comes to selecting her clothes. That's Florence in a nutshell, I suppose. Very poetic, beautiful but also rather mean, prone to excessive and relentless mocking. On the night of September 7, children love to show their paper lanterns while teenagers go around with blowpipes trying to burn them down. In the last part I'll tell you the many different events organised in and around Florence that will be able to turn that evening into a remarkable experience for you and your children. A final word: if Florentines mock you, don't take it personally. It's not that they don't like the way you look or talk: they just can't help themselves. We still love them and so will you, if you give them a chance. Email: podcast@larno.it Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany
LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN ONLY) https://www.toscanainside.com/it/aneddoti-e-curiosita/post/la-rificolona-un-buffo-nome-frutto-dello-scherzoso-spirito-fiorentino/ http://www.villalariflorence.com/it/la-festa-della-rificolona-tradizione-e-devozione-fiorentina/ https://www.firenzetoday.it/eventi/rificolona-firenze-2023.html https://www.visita-firenze.it/eventi-e-folklore/festivita-fiorentine/la-rificolona
BACKGROUND MUSIC Pipe Choir - Bom Bom Breakthrough (Instrumental) Wayne John Bradley - Waiting Pipe Choir - Children of the Son (Instrumental) Incompetech - Leopard Print Elevator Pipe Choir - A Midnight on Jaquay Wayne John Bradley - Blues Rock Original Instrumental All released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-bom-bom-breakthrough-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/waiting-original-uplifting-indie-pop-style-instrumentalcreative-commons https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pc-one-children-of-the-son-creative-commons-instrumental https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1500077 https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipechoir-a-midnight-on-jaquay-instrumental
What's Up Tuscany English
Every Friday the podcast from L'Arno will paint you a picture of the extraordinarily beloved region by telling the stories from today and the past that make it unique, while explaining every time a facet of the Tuscan character and the history of this land. The only English language podcast made by Tuscans, dedicated to everyone around the world that has a special place in his heart for this wonderful but very complicated region. Hosted by Luca Bocci, available every Friday.
