PROVIDENCE – Climate and cultural ties between the Ocean State capital and Florence, Italy, will take center stage throughout mid-November at a festival spanning the downtown area.
The festival, Splendor of Florence, will officially kick off Saturday and run though Nov. 17, featuring 50 events highlighting climate change, resiliency efforts and cultural exchange between the transatlantic cities.
Splendor of Florence previously made an appearance in the Ocean State in 1999, and marked the signing of a friendship pact between Providence and Florence. Twenty-five years later, the upcoming festival will renew this shared commitment.
The festival, organized by founder Joyce Acciaioli Rudge and the Downtown Providence Park Network, will bring 10 artisans, musicians and dignitaries from Florence to Providence, and features art exhibits, culinary events, live music, educational events and other activities.
But behind the typically celebratory associations of of food, music and art, the festival harkens back to a somber link between the cities: Their shared experiences with catastrophic flooding in the mid-20th century, and severe weather events that have only become more frequent into the modern day.
This focus on climate change will feature in the festival's central exhibit, "Sott’Acqua: A Tale of Two Cities Underwater." The display will highlight photography of catastrophic flooding that took place in Florence during 1966, and destruction in downtown Providence caused by Hurricane Carol in 1954.
"The shared experiences of each city inspired the festival to focus on the climate crisis and each city’s commitment to the protection of the environment," the Downtown Providence Park Network said in a statement.
In addition to the exhibit, programming will include offerings such as film screenings, art history presentations, wine and cheese tastings, an Italian opera performance, and Tuscan cuisine, the latter of which will take place in the former Yoleni's location at 292 Westminster St. – passerby may have noticed that the sign for the Greek restaurant and marketplace, which shuttered in March 2023, has been replaced by an "Osteria Toscana" sign.
R.I. Commerce Corp. will sponsor the event in partnership with a variety of area businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and higher education institutes.
A full list of programming is available at
splendorofflorence.com.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
