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blending newsletter issue 4 year 2 palazzi fua june july 2012 image courtesy of santa cristina breaking news santa cristina announces scholarship for fall 2012 tuttotoscana program by blending staff apicius is pleased to announce a scholarship offered by santa cristina for the 2012 tuttotoscana special fall program the scholarship is valid for the program tuition covering the 3-week period of study in florence and the 1-week study in nyc the scholarship also covers housing for the 3 weeks in florence santa cristina is a tuscan wine producer located in cortona and is a property of marchesi antinori the producer is a part of apicius friends an initiative of the apicius wine department to gather prestigious wine producers throughout italy to sustain wine academics at the institution eligibility and scholarship requirements 1 application for the scholarship is open to students who wish to fulfill the entire tuttotoscana program the 1-week nyc-only option is not eligible for this scholarship the scholarship covers tuition for the entire program and housing in florence only travel arrangements and meals are not covered 2 the scholarship is open to individuals applying directly to apicius/fua 3 the scholarship winner must fulfill a total of 3 news articles based on santa cristina s wine presence at the tuttotoscana nyc events.

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2 blen d ing june/july 2 0 1 2 application instructions 1 send cv academic records and a 1500 word scholarship motivation letter the scholarship letter will express how the applicant wishes to communicate italian wines and specifically santa cristina wines to the us audience please note a separate brief program motivation letter will be required once the scholarship winner is announced and the enrollment process is initiated 2 the scholarship winner will be announced and contacted on july 16 scholarship applicants who have not received the scholarship will be contacted about proceeding with regular enrollment to the program for more information visit www.fua.it or write to info@apicius.it events fua professors and professional artists exhibit at forte dei marmi by blending staff the exhibition terribilità e vaghezza at the seaside town of forte dei marmi features 13 artists linked to florence university of the arts and how they interpret the two important historical terms through their personal creative expressions the term terribilità refers to the emotional intensity of conception and execution in an artist or work of art and characterizes artists such as the 16th century artist michelangelo vaghezza on the other hand implies impalpability and transparency evocative of artists such as desiderio and rossellini two contrasting terms that can be considered beyond art history and used to interpret the passage from concrete dictatorships and oligarchies to the weakened transparencies of today s democracies curated by lucia giardino the exhibition opened on sunday june 10 at forte dei marmi s villa bertelli and will be on display from 5-11pm until july 8 via g mazzini 200 forte dei marmi ­ lucca when the jazz circus comes to town by thomas brownlees fua professor thomas brownlees was part of the organizing team for the usf jazz circus that took place in the garden of the corso tintori campus thomas shares with us a review of the event concert days are always a little different there is something in the air that makes everything a little special more vivid and alive especially when the performers and the venues merge in a colourful palette of history and youth on monday june 18th in a beautiful summer sunset palazzi opened its renaissance doors to a group of talented musicians touring italy with their band and carrying along within their instrument cases not only their passion and talent for the performing arts but also their culture and enthusiasm for the silky notes of smooth jazz led by the world-class saxophonist jack wilkins director of the jazz studies program at the university of south florida the usf jazz circus came to perform here at palazzi transforming the beautiful courtyard of palazzo bombicci in a wonderful circus of music the band featured a rotating line up which varied from a five trombone front line to a more traditional jazz sextet or to a complete jazz sonnet featuring 5 horns showcasing a much diversified selection of tunes approachable by every ear the band engaged the audience with its head-nodding rhythms and shifting front line formations which made the viewer s experience very dynamic and fun it was truly an evening of great music as the talent and passion of the musicians was a real inspirational to all.

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b l e ndi ng june j u ly 2 0 1 2 3 the concert ended with jack wilkins himself playing a couple of cameos in the closing tracks listening to his saxophone was like listening to a wise man enlightening you with musical phrases of such elegance and wit that left you in awe i can t think of a better way to spend a summer evening as the day subsided palazzi students and staff applauded the wonderful evening leaving the musicians with a warm memory of a wonderful concert photo by giries hattar international poets visit fua by blending staff the festival voci lontane voci sorelle hosted international poets on june 19-27 in florence italy for a series of literary events supported by the city of florence and local associations such as fua feltrinelli bookstores and the oblate library the 10th edition of the poetry festival hosted 19 poets and writers from italy croatia australia and luxemburg for 8 days of talks readings presentations and round tables centered on topics of contemporary poetry and literature fua travel writing professor elisa biagini was part of the festival s organization and developed with alexandra lawrence fua professor of food writing a face-to-face encounter between students and poets croatian poets anna brnardic and damir sodan interacted with writing students on june 20th to discuss a myriad of topics in class professor lawrence shares that the topics included the role of writing and poetry in `dealing with the horrors of war translation and its ability to force our attention to the mechanics of writing and the importance of international travel/living for young people in creating a more tolerant society we were very fortunate to have had them in class as it got us all thinking about how we can use our various experiences to enrich our writing lives the intrigues of the venetian basilica by krystal modigell travel as i stood in line at the entrance i gazed at the 24-carat gold ceilings of saint mark s basilica and wondered how a church could still be standing strong since the year 1063 on a weekend trip i traveled to venice and visited the basilica in the piazza san marco the church was built around saint mark the evangelist s tomb because he was one of jesus seventy disciples and one of the four episcopal sees or bishops of christianity with our conservative clothing on required for admission my tour group and i entered even though the church was exquisite with mosaic paintings beautiful marble stone and byzantine architecture there were facts about it that engaged my understanding of the history and way of life in venice the city was created from over 100 islands over 400 bridges and sewn together with 150 canals since it was not built high above sea level the city for the past 1,000 years has been sinking and experiencing occasional flooding in the streets surprisingly the entrance to the basilica is the lowest point in venice and causes the church to flood.

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4 blendin g june/july 2 0 1 2 the arts the tour guide informed us saint mark s tomb was moved up several floors to be protected from the gushing water one ofa the causes for the city s gradual sinking is the fact that it was built on loose sediment walking through the basilica was like hiking over small hills the tiles were pushed in throughout the church causing the rows of chairs in front of the altar to be slanted even though the church s structure is built from brick since it is lighter than marble the church is still too heavy and continues to sink the basilica connects with the doge s or leader of venice palace the doge nonexistent since 1797 was elected to make political and administrative decisions concerning the city one of the famous bridges in venice connects the doge s palace with the prison the ponte dei sospiri or the bridge of sighs was the last piece of venice criminals saw after being interrogated in the palace and moved into the prison supposedly the criminals would sigh on the bridge while looking out the barred windows as we continued our tour i noticed the environment inside was dark and quiet creating a soothing atmosphere however there were some rules to be followed like no pictures or explanations out of respect for the church the inside and outside of the basilica could be observed for hours and it is worth the free cost to receive a millennium of information the arts photo by lucia giardino an interview with f_air s summer artist in residence kali nikolou by blending staff our summer 2012 artist in residence at f_air hails from greece and is a resident of the netherlands kali nikolou is currently teaching drawing at fua while preparing for her solo exhibition scheduled for opening on july 12 kali tell us about yourself how you became involved in contemporary art the first years of my life were defined by the borders of my parental house in corinth greece as soon as i realized the impossibilities of this environment art became a way to break loose from it when i turned eighteen i decided to move to athens and study at the school of fine arts where students are trained intensively in the technical aspects of painting and drawing during this program i also started experimenting with different contemporary media such as video after graduating i moved to amsterdam to continue my studies in the gerrit rietveld academy and the sandberg institute mfa in order to give more attention to the conceptual aspects of art later i became more interested in the social aspects of producing and applying art and i continued with a postgraduate program in what is called social design what course are you teaching at fua can you tell us about the experience of interacting with international students at fua i teach to students the traditional drawing techniques while also introducing conceptual ways of approaching art being in florence poses an important challenge it is the city which opened the first academy of drawing in europe a city that now has a position of responsibility for imparting contemporary approaches to creating and thinking i very much enjoy working with international students it definitely enriches my own experience what type of art media do you work and experiment with the themes that you explore i do not have a specific medium every project demands its own means i do have a preference for subjects that

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b l e ndi ng june j u ly 2 0 1 2 5 are related to the existence meaning and functioning of different ideological systems and their demands i see myself mostly as an explorer and not as an inventor i tend to present the already existing which is either not easy to be seen or too normal to be noticed what do you envision for your residency exhibition my intention is to make people specifically question the function of the art institution itself and the political system in general i see fua as a micro-cosmos of the general cultural scene of florence by openly presenting some of the conditions of the art institution and the city in general i challenge participants to rethink the established question the authorities and to take action how has living at f_air and the city of florence influence your way or working can you share your impressions of your new surroundings the fine arts studios at f_air remind me quite a bit of the studios at my first art school in athens this gives me the possibility to return to a specific environment but in a different position after having acquired a more analytical perspective the specificity of the institution and the city that it belongs to are my main source materials i find it crucial to react upon every current given the surrounding environment and circumstances being from greece how does the italian mediterranean culture impact/contribute to your creative approaches italy definitely influences me as every place would there are obviously similarities with the greek culture but big differences as well i try to avoid comparisons and to integrate to my new environment italy and especially florence has the reputation of being the mecca of renaissance and indeed they are however there are other contemporary social political and economical issues that make this location an interesting place where a contemporary artist can intervene when art sprouts institutional wings by lucia giardino the director of fua s school of fine art shares the recent successes garnered for art projects in institutional and academic contexts one of the most interesting and successful projects by palazzi/fua is invisible cities an interdisciplinary collaboration between the classes of digital photography and literature taught respectively by david andre weiss and simonetta ferrini their students created an imaginative and poetic interpretation of famed italian writer italo calvino s book le città invisibili the collection of texts and superimposed photographs was first presented in florence in 2010 and has traveled since to the united states nmla 2011 conference at rutgers university and the opening of the new city library in termoli italy the termoli stop included a calvino workshop held by local high school students which i presented i was honored to be there and as i explained to the young public this exhibition is the proof of being able to concretize the goal of combining culture and education as well as being able to negate common assumptions such as con la cultura non si mangia one cannot survive off of culture alone the traveling exhibition demonstrates exactly

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6 blendin g june/july 2 0 1 2 the opposite and i was able to offer in front of an audience of students from 13 to 18 years old a living example of how art and culture can be exported how a project can make your living make you travel make your dreams come true we are currently hosting at the f_air gallery another edifying example along the same lines as invisible cities named i centro sguardi and curated by fua professor margherita abbozzo and photographer alessandra capodacqua the project is based on the possibility of alternatives for those who come from places of social crisis and criminality one hundred children aged 10 to 18 were given one hundred cameras to capture images of their home city of corleone a sicilian town historically associated to the mafia since the exhibition s debut in corleone not even a year has passed and the project has already shown in four italian cities upon finishing its stop at f_air july 10 i centro sguardi will continue to its following destination in sarajevo bosnia food wine wine producer interview marchesi mazzei by blending staff apicius has recently announced a new apicius friend partner marchesi mazzei a tuscan wine producer whose origins date to 1435 and is located in three wine territories in italy ­ chianti classico and maremma in tuscany as well as noto in sicily the apicius friend initiative of the apicius wine department gathers prestigious wine producers throughout italy to sustain wine academics at the institution we had the privilege of interviewing marquis francesco mazzei about his family s vision for quality italian winemaking keep reading on to the next article for a tasting note article on mazzei wines written by wine student krystal modigell hicle of wine promotion and our wines are definitely a reference point within the panorama of italian winemaking the company stems from a long history the mazzei family has been producing for centuries and generations what is your approach to wine in the 21st century to the strategies for the future it s important to be able to adapt gradually to change without overturning things there are always ample opportunities for improvement without renouncing one s identity we want to consolidate our position as a company representing an important example in italy by increasing our focus not only on the product but on all of our operations mazzei is represented by three properities of which two are in tuscany and one in sicily each is characterized by unique territories can you describe for our readers the spirit of each winery the overall spirit of all properties is to interpret in a unique memorable manner the diverse territories that we represent this common denominator is found in the wines of all of our properties and in fact explains the reason for acquiring belguardo in maremma and zisola in sicily ­ our desire to face rich diverse realities in each location out of the three wine properties of the mazzei family is there a particular wine that has a special story to tell it would be without a doubt il castello di fonterutoli a true chateau of chianti classico wines it features 36 bio-types of sangiovese grapes from the best parcels of the property i d also have to mention siepi an avantgarde example of the tuscan enology renaissance this product is the ideal marriage between sangiovese and merlot from the best grapes picked from the eponymous vineyard at the property how would you define your relationship to tuscan territory and italy how do your wines represent wines in the national wine market very strong tuscany is our past present and future as for italy i believe that the country is an extraordinary ve-

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b l e ndi ng june j u ly 2 0 12 7 tasting two tuscan wines producer marchesi mazzei by krystal modigell as an international student who did not know anything about wine except that it is made from grapes i was intimidated to take a wine exploration course in the world s largest wine producing country little did i know wine is not a beast that needs to be tamed it is exciting to learn and taste different wines from the regions of italy something i never planned to accomplish now that i am half way through the course i understand the beauty of producing wine and how to appreciate its characteristics i have tasted wines from northern central and southern regions and my taste buds seem to have a strong fascination of tuscan wines i tried a red wine a chianti classico produced by mazzei located in west tuscany i heard positive and negative comments about chianti wine which is the most well-known wine from tuscany but i gave it a fair try this particular wine surprised me it smelled like fruit with a hint of vanilla and spice i was worried it would be too concentrated with a high amount of alcohol but it was well balanced and slightly warm down the throat i was pleased and decided i would drink it again ­ especially with some lasagna now that i enjoyed a famous chianti classico it was time to try a white wine i was able to taste belguardo from the same producer mazzei observing the wine in the glass it was a straw yellow color giving me the impression it was light and fresh after taking my first sip i was correct it was a young wine harvested in 2011 creating a fresh and slight tannic flavor there was a strong taste to it that i could not identify even after five sips i could taste a slight saltiness but this wine had a unique way of dancing on my tongue i have learned to enjoy the exquisiteness of both red and white wines but prefer white wines i believe they are lighter and easier to drink they compliment light foods like salads and white fishes which are easy to make at home but it is difficult to find a particular type of wine to claim as a favorite depending on what is on a dinner plate should vary the type of wine paired with the food keep an open mind and taste buds when sipping wine and remember that everyone prefers different tastes all wines are unique on the simplicity of ingredients by michele pettis ravenous we sat down to lunch at the salcheto winery just outside of montepulciano what culinary delights would be spread before us my friends and i couldn t help but wonder we had ridden a bus from florence for 90 minutes explored pienza had a pecorino tasting and been given tour of the winery where we learned how they were making wine with a minimum environmental impact now we were about to have lunch and taste some wine and we were thrilled the meal was splendid rivaled only by the views outside the window the first dish was pici with tomato sauce served with a young red wine the pasta which originates from siena is a hand-rolled spaghetti had so much flavor it was hard to believe that only two ingredients are utilized semolina flour and photo courtesy of palazzi

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8 blendin g june/july 2 0 1 2 water the thick strands almost resembling spaghetti on steroids were a challenge to twirl but worth the effort the tomato sauce definitely tasted like it was made from a few simple ingredients as well to say the sauce was fresh would be an understatement it was as if the tomatoes had been minutes prior to our arrival and someone had literally sprinted with them to the winery s kitchen after our simple pasta dish came a buffet the main star of which was bread sliced bread was topped with chopped liver mayonnaise with radishes or mayonnaise with mushrooms and onions tuscan bread is typically saltless but with toppings like these one doesn t even miss it there were also tomatoes simply dressed in oil and vinegar and some salad greens as well as pecorino alongside soft fresh ricotta honey graced the cheese the gentle sweetness perfectly complimented the cheese s delicateness the way in which our meal was prepared with no pomp or circumstance was quintessentially tuscan community voice social communities for human rights by blending staff on june 18-19 the robert f kennedy foundation held a 2-day conference on social media and human rights at le murate complex in florence the opening ceremonies were held by louis bickford secretary general of the rfk foundation in europe the mayor of florence matteo renzi and david thorne the us ambassador to italy mayor renzi s speech contextualized the location of the course at le murate a place of darkness as a former prison where today literary cultural and artistic events are held ambassador thorne stressed the importance of social media as something good for democracy pos itive for all countries the conference featured panelists from all over the world including middle eastern journalists and italian media specialists some speakers broke new ground and shed light on crimes hidden by society such as rana husseini who covered the murders of jordanian women committed by male family members herik heresman the co-founder of ushahidi presented how his tech company provides immediate and digitalized ways of mapping out and responding to crises in africa and other countries through the internet participants at the conference also were involved in smaller workshops to discuss topics such as the use of social media and open/citizen journalism in the sphere of human rights the rfk foundation s european headquarters are located in florence italy and continually spearhead efforts to create change in the face of repressed countries and communities more information can be found here http rfkennedyeurope.org rowing sports opportunity for fua students by blending staff upcoming academic sessions at fua will include in the near future a new activities opportunity for students fua staff members are currently discussing details with the vice president of the canottieri comunali a rowing club located on the arno river in florence an example of a confirmed activity that will take place through this collaboration is dragon boat racing dragon boats are constructed from wood are 12 meters long and hold up to 20 people in two rows of 10 seats the individuals in one boat compose a team in which there are always a helmsman and a drummer the rowers follow the counted beats of the drummer in fact dragon boat rowing fully counts on team spirit to successfully compete in races dragon boats originated in china and have spread around the world through the birth of organized federations related to the sport it has not yet received olympic status a goal that the federations are working towards for future editions of the olympic games participating fua students will enjoy this new activity not only from a sports perspective but also for the sustained belief that observing florence from the river is an enchanting sight to behold that should not be missed out on.

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b l e ndi ng june j u ly 2 0 1 2 9 compare and contrast city life by alyssa kara miller i am not only a fourth generation american but also a fourth generation new yorker i grew up in the suburbs of new york city near a farm that was surprisingly only 30 minutes away from the city while i visited new york city whenever i could it also left me cursed to always compare my current location with it immediately when i got to florence my eyes darted around nervously until they merged into a venn diagram i instinctively tried to make connections and note individual characteristics my apartment is on via san zanobi which honestly is not that unique of a street it is the typical city block i know i am going in the right direction when the graffiti gets denser on the buildings it s almost a permanent trail of breadcrumbs that guides me home for some reason there is a direct correlation between run-down areas and artsy places no poor artist jokes please as an art major myself i try to ignore that stereotype or fact a few blocks away from the run down buildings where weeds are growing through the bricks and cement i found my favorite restaurant dolce vegan and several other unique places on that same road from organic clothing to vintage shops the apartment is past the main tourist sites and despite my horrible sense of direction i do appreciate the location via san zanobi is a quiet area my classes are about a 20 or 30 minute walk away and it gives me the time to observe small details that i may not have noticed or even experienced otherwise i love how my feet slip over the ridges in the sidewalk and the differences in the path where over time it has been worn smooth i try to absorb florence hoping that by watching i will understand everything or even just something while my roots are in new york i can t deny that i am from a small town with huge backyards gardens and apple-picking in the fall i think a glaring difference between nyc and florence is that there is nothing similar to central park here i did find the garden of roses but that is set up more for tourists to take pictures of the skyline and leave i am talking about land trees and benches i want to sit outside and relax with a book or my journal nothing well that is a lie this type of place does exist but it is locked away they are almost secret gardens in the nicer apartment complexes usually protected by big iron gates i tend to stop and look into almost every store window and when i pass an apartment if the front door is open i am still surprised a dark walkway leads my curious eyes over to a green blur sunlight bleaches over the plants and it is almost as if a safer central park was squeezed into that very space or it could be a metaphor about eden i m not going to look too deeply into it either way i am locked out student voice photos by alyssa kara miller

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10 blendin g june/july 2 0 1 2 my solution to this problem didn t quite solve anything but it kept me busy i started taking pictures of any nature that i saw i then began to enjoy the contrast in these things the cement building with brick covered windows and decorated with graffiti is the city flower pot i see the plants growing through sidewalks and gardens locked away they are starting to become the same i became so intent on finding nature that i noticed it everywhere so i didn t miss it as much while florence is another city it is unique i feel that almost everything should be noticed here i find myself staring at the sun setting over the river by ponte vecchio while everyone hurries past me to get dinner i am still enamored by the horizon the buildings morph into the mountains that then greet the clouds in the distance the old buildings do not seem intimidated by the modern city everything seems to be confident and hold its ground i tend to default to the new york way of putting on my headphones and walking quickly even if i have no place to go i love the days when i take off my headphones and walk a little slower because beyond the common areas florence has a quiet voice whispering the way the light peeks out through those clouds and i wish more people would listen faculty voice professor umberto gori and the italian-american experience by amy tanzillo for four semesters florence university of the arts instructor umberto gori has been leading students in his italianamerican experience class in considering issues of heritage and identity the class is comprised primarily of students who share a common background the majority were raised in the united states yet under the heavy influence of their italian ancestry gori s class reflects upon some of the experiences that students of all backgrounds have upon arriving in florence for the first time these surprises are all the more shocking for those raised with stories of their ancestral lands which do not necessarily meet reality italy may eternally be described as il bel paese but its history tells of the horrors that drove these students ancestors to pursue new lives elsewhere gori s class provides a reality check for students like kim whose grandparents emigrated from sicily in the 1920s but still have fond memories of the old country alive through several generations kim says that before taking the class she never fully understood the hardships that her family faced throughout their process of immigrating to new york watching italianamerican martin scorcese s 1974 uplifting family documentary makes it easy to forget that immigrant life was brutal she says the relative prosperity italian-americans experience today has superseded their sobering memories of immigrant life gori s lectures and assignments however get students thinking about this difficult but poignant topic discussions on immigration in this class are especially affecting both gori and kim assert when one considers that migration is still an important issue in italy today for those who come from italian-american families or communities it s not surprising that this class would cover immigration as a result of the mass emigration from italy at the turn of the twentieth century today approximately 16 million americans can claim italian ancestry just as kim does another film we watched in class called lamerica forced us to think about the immigrant experience as something our families share with families in italy today kim says lamerica is set in the mid-nineties when italy s neighbor albania endured complete destitution and political turmoil after the fall of communism albanian citizens had no choice but to flee poverty in their homeland and to search for a better life in italy the parallel is drawn between what america was for poor italians and what italy became for albania kim explains gori supplemented the impact of the film with articles that discuss italy s immigrant problem today as thousands enter sicily and the italian peninsula from africa to find a better quality of life gori says that by familiarizing his students with this concept he tries to give them a more complete understanding of contemporary italy and emphasize the similarities between italian-american culture and italian culture i enjoy this class because it celebrates italian-american identity but it has also made me see a bit of myself in the immigrants here [in italy kim admits contemporary italy may not be what her relatives have described to her all her life but her new understanding and identification with italy is all the more powerful as a result.

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b l e ndi ng june j u ly 2 0 1 2 11 exploring florence by giries hattar faces places palazzi summer intern giries hattar is assisted the graphics communication and publishing office and went on a photojournalism assignment for this issue of blending he captures the faces and places of florence through his personal variations of the theme this series follows the faces and place of florence that i have chosen to illustrate by shooting both during the day and night at the same places i went to six different areas around florence three on each side of the river out of resulting photo selection i chose four to use in series featuring piazza della santissima annuziata piazza torquato tasso and piazza de pitti i tried to portray florence in a completely new and original way by portraying two different concepts within the faces and places theme the first two shots illustrate two different locals in public on their bicycles one during the day and one during the night the final two shots represent two tourist groups in a public area framed by transit signs to give them a bit of an edge an average busy day for a local an average busy night for a local tourism by day tourism by night

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blending newsletter supplemento di blending magazine reg trib di firenze n° 5844 del 29 luglio 2011 anno 2 numero 4 giugno luglio 2012 editore florence campus per ingorda editore via alfonso la mamora 39 50121 firenze redazione corso tintori 21 50121 firenze tel 055-0332745 stampato in proprio blending masthead editor-in-chief matteo brogi senior editors grace joh rebecca valpy copy editing blending staff layout editor alberto simoncioni blending is a monthly newsletter created with and for palazzi faie students in collaboration with the student services department of palazzi for information contact g.joh@palazziflorence.com www.palazziflorence.com www.palazziflorence.com www.fua.it

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