Treasure in national treasure

In a quiet corner of the bohemian district of San Frediano, hidden behind an 18th-century iron gate that opens onto a whimsical wisteria-covered alleyway, lies a Florentine cultural treasure: the Antico Setificio Fiorentino , or Antique Florentine Silk Mill, which has been producing precious textiles since 1786. To enter through the atelier’s large, worn timber door is to slip back through time and revisit the enchantment and beauty of a more opulent era. Inside, 18th- and 19th-century timber and iron looms, some towering over 16 feet tall, clatter furiously in rhythm with tens of thousands of luminous silk threads, weaving warp and weft yarns into sumptuous fabrics, guided by the skilled hands of a select team of expert artisans. Since moving to Italy in 2003, I’ve grown increasingly fascinated with the country’s highly talented artisans, their intriguing workshops and the quality of their products, particularly in the Tuscan capital of Florence. When I … [Read more...] about A Glimpse Inside a Florentine Silk-Weaving Workshop

0 This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own. Sports He lost the mayor's race, but has an autobiography brimming with interesting anecdotes. Scott Benjamin , Community Contributor Posted | Updated Reply STAMFORD, CT — It was just 32 days ago that he lost the mayoral election in The City That Works and called out the media for "all the lousy coverage." CT Mirror's election story stated that Bobby Valentine, 71 – who lost 52.54 percent to 47.46 percent to Democratic state Rep. Caroline Simmons - made "gaffes" in the closing weeks of campaign. He dismissed Simmons, 35, who is Harvard-educated, as a "girl" and "seemed dismissive of the renters who have filled the city's new apartments." Less than two weeks before the balloting, The New York Times reported that Chris Russo of Sirius/XM radio was predicting victory for Valentine, who was running as an unaffiliated … [Read more...] about Candid Talk Valentine’s Way

0 This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own. Sports Stamford's Bobby V is still a civic treasure. Scott Benjamin , Community Contributor Posted | Updated Reply By Scott Benjamin STAMFORD, CT – Twenty years ago, S.L. (Scott) Price wrote in Sports Illustrated that from the time he was a teenager, Bobby Valentine "was seen as a civic treasure" in a city that in the 1960s Time magazine called "a dingy factory town." Stamford, where Valentine and later Price grew up, is now called "The City That Works" and over the last 15 years has jumped over Waterbury and Hartford to become the state's third most populated city. The signs near Interstate-95 on the high-rise buildings for Henkel, Indeed, WWE, UBS, NBC Sports and Thomson-Reuters make you think, "This isn't Connecticut." "Over the last 25 years we did what successes do, and that is we were able to adjust," … [Read more...] about The Pride of “The City That Works”