In September, the renowned Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) Enchanted Villas and Gardens concert series returns with performances in three Medici Villas of Florence: Careggi, Poggio Imperiale, and Villa Castello. Both both paid and free admission options are offered, with tickets now available for purchase and reservations open.
The evening starts at 9 pm on Wednesday, September 13, at the Villa di Poggio Imperiale, featuring the talents of Virginia Ceri on the violin and Edoardo Riganti Fulginei on the piano, a winner of the 2021 Premio Crescendo. Listen to Mozart’s Concerto n.9 for piano and orchestra K.271, Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio overture, and Schubert’s Symphony n.5 D 485. Admission to this concert is free with a reservation. The premises of a prestigious boarding school since 1823, the architecture of Poggio Imperiale is a blend of Renaissance and neo-classical styles, with a Baroque interior. There is also an Italian-style formal garden, “Il Giardino Grande.”
Saturday, September 16 at 5:30 pm provides a chance again for those who missed the June 10 concert due to inclement weather. Playing at the Garden of the Villa di Castello, the Chorda Quartet, a string quartet, will perform a selection of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Purchased in 1477, the Villa di Castello is one of the Medici family’s oldest suburban residences. The villa’s garden was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici and contains the Grotto of the Animals, decorated with birds and animals sculpted in marble or bronze, surrounded by seashells, mosaics, and stones.
On Sunday, September 17, the Villa di Careggi welcomes the Quintetto a Fiati (ORT Wind Quintet). This performance, set in the inner courtyard, includes pieces by Mozart, Rossini, Bizet, Milhaud, and Farkas. Admission is free with a reservation.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketone.it, www.eventbrite.it, and at the Biglietteria del Teatro Verdi. (milla elizabeth)
