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Sale - Sant’Ambrogio in Festival
May 29, 2023

Sale, the festival of good food and the memory of Fabio Picchi arrives in Sant'Ambrogio

From 15 to 18, the first edition of the festival dedicated to the community of Sant'Ambrogio, its workshops and the memory of the great chef from Cibreo

Sale is the first festival dedicated to all those who give flavour to the neighbourhood and community of Sant'Ambrogio. The people, their souls, the vicissitudes of an entire community, the buzz of daily life that emanates from the market. Sant'Ambrogio, a place where food has always been the protagonist: from the raw materials of the market, to the tasty dishes of the many refreshment points present. A place where art is breathed in every shop, by every artisan, in its Teatro del Sale, in the theatre of life. A place where 'making food' and 'getting your hands dirty' are the values taught by Fabio Picchi. Sale is a popular festival dedicated to Saint Ambrose and Florence, where moments of cheerful and festive conviviality will alternate with theatrical and musical performances.

The Teatro del Sale, created by Maria Cassi and Fabio Picchi as a large theatre, dance and music backroom, thus leaves its walls and for three days lives in the streets and squares of the district, bringing out its art and food.

Teatro del Sale photo Vitanova

From 15 to 22 June, in each of the Cibrèo restaurants (Cibrèo Ristorante, Cibrèo Trattoria, Cibrèo Caffè and Ciblèo in Sant'Ambrogio; Cibrèo Ristorante & Cocktail Bar and Cibrèo Caffè inside the Hotel Helvetia & Bristol) you can find one of Fabio Picchi's favourite dishes to choose either as a single dish of the day or as an entire 6-course menu to be enjoyed in a touring formula in each of our restaurants.

Teatro del Sale

THE PROGRAMME OF EVENTS:

  • Thursday 15 June
    8 pm: "THE PEOPLE'S DINNER: Religious Communities meet between food and reflection".
    A dinner prepared by the cooks of the three religious communities in the neighbourhood who will present dishes of their own culture and tradition.
    10 pm: The communities tell their stories
    - Introduction by the Councillor for Education, Welfare and Immigration Dr Sara Funaro
    - Moderator: Raffaele Palumbo, Journalist
    - Dialogue between religions: the Church, the Synagogue and the Mosque tell their stories. Each guest will be able to present
    their own community and dialogue about the incredible triangle that characterises it, recounting
    this coexistence from the inside
    Reservations are necessary by writing to: booking@cibreo.com or calling +39 055 2001492

  • Friday 16 June
    6:00 p.m.: Inauguration of the winning flag in the competition aimed at students from the Polytechnic School of the Arts and the School of Architecture.
    The festival has announced a competition aimed at students of the Polytechnic of the Arts (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, Conservatorio Cherubini, Isia) and the School of Architecture of the University of Florence, to create the flag of Sant'Ambrogio. The work will be exhibited during the days of the festival.
    In the jury, in addition to Maria Cassi and Giulio Picchi, there will also be Arturo Galansino, general director of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Leonardo Merlini, Askanews Milano's service chief and dance critic, as well as Lorenzo Cipriani, Art Historian and Divulgator.
    Announcement of the winner: 7 June on the Teatro del Sale website
    In the jury:
    Maria Cassi - Artistic Director and President Teatro del Sale Association
    Giulio Picchi - Vice-President Teatro del Sale Association
    Arturo Galansino - General Director Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi
    Leonardo Merlini - Askanews Head of Service and dance critic
    Beatrice Beneforti - Photographer and journalist, former student at the Florence and Bologna Academy
    Irene Borsotti - Head of Public Relations SALE Sant'Ambrogio in Festival
    Fabrizio Rangone - Secretary Teatro del Sale Association
    Lorenzo Cipriani - Art historian and populariser
    6:20 pm: Official opening of the festival with Funk Off
    The well-known street band made up of 15 extraordinary musicians will play through the neighbourhood following a route that will start from the entrance of the Teatro del Sale, stop in front of every shop taking part in the festival and then return to the Teatro del Sale.

    8 p.m.: "A NONNIENTE DI..." Picchi's ideal menu!
    Dinner event at the Teatro del Sale inspired by Fabio Picchi's great gastronomic and culinary passions with an exceptional menu full of his favourite dishes and great Cibrèo classics.
    Where: Teatro del Sale, via dei Macci 111r
    How: reservation is necessary by writing to: booking@cibreo.com or calling +39 055 2001492
    10 pm: "AND IF TOMORROW..." To Fabio.
    Unpublished show by and with Maria Cassi and Leonardo Brizzi, with the participation of Nino Pellegrini on double bass Where: Teatro del Sale, via dei Macci 111r
    How: booking is necessary by writing to: booking@cibreo.com or calling +39 055 2001492

  • Saturday 17 June
    8 pm: "WE TUSCANS ARE VEGANS WITHOUT SAYING IT".
    Dinner at the Teatro del Sale. The recipe book of Tuscan tradition has always been rich in vegan recipes, designed to make the best use of all that our land offered and offers us. The chefs of Cibrèo will work hand in hand with the flavours and traditions of Indian cuisine to bring to the table a unique taste experience that brings together two great vegetarian and vegan cultures. Sridevi Jasti*, Indian Holistic Nutritionist, and the brigade of Oscar Severini, Executive Chef of the Cibrèo restaurants, will build together a dinner that will start from Tuscan raw materials and combine them with the fermentation techniques of Indian tradition.
    Where: Teatro del Sale, via dei Macci 111r How: booking is necessary by writing to: booking@cibreo.com or calling +39 055 2001492

    10 pm: "THE POSSIBLE INTERVIEWS".
    A show and talk show together, Le Interviste Possibili will be held on the stage of the Teatro del Sale where four pairs of experts will discuss the contradictions of their work in a confrontation between those who observe the same object from different perspectives. A salon evening between audience and stage, presented by Maria Cassi with Raffaele Palumbo.
    With:
    - Erika Pontini, Chief Reporter of La Nazione di Firenze with Clara Incerpi, Paper and Digital Publishing student - Stefano Mancuso, Director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology with Andrea Battiata, CEO Ortobioattivo
    - Sara Funaro, Councillor for Education, Welfare and Immigration of the Municipality of Florence with Vincenzo Ribera, Artisan of Sant'Ambrogio
    - Davide Paolini, Journalist and Writer with Duccio Cavalieri, Full Professor of Microbiology at UNIFI Maria Cassi, Leonardo Brizzi on piano and Nino Pellegrini on double bass will also participate with their surprise songs
    Where: Teatro del Sale, via dei Macci 111r
    How: booking is necessary by writing to: booking@cibreo.com or calling +39 055 2001492

  • Sunday 18 June
    1 p.m.: 'SANT'AMBROGIO A TAVOLA' (SANT'AMBROGIO AT THE TABLE)
    A free and charitable lunch to be held under the market loggia for around 300 people from the associations and reception centres.
    Our guests: Comunità di Sant'Egidio, Cooperativa il Girasole, ASP Firenze Montedomini, Opera della Madonnina del Grappa, Caritas, Ass.C.A. Cooperativa Gaetano Barberi, COSPE, Associazione Onlus Nos Otras, the children of the Pestalozzi School-City* and the students who took part in the competition.
    The lunch will be prepared by chefs from various cities in Italy and with the involvement of restaurants and caterers from the neighbourhood and the city.
    Chefs/Restaurants already confirmed: Fratelli Briganti, Ristorante Cammillo, Hosteria Giusti, Ristorante Da Mario (Friuli), Divina Pizza, Gilda Bistrot, Tripperia Pollini, Ristorante Arà, Il Pizzaiuolo.
    Where: Loggia del Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio How: Lunch by invitation of the charities involved

    From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. "IL BALLO DEL SALE" A summer dance floor will be set up under the loggia of Sant'Ambrogio Market in Piazza Ghiberti.
    The evening of 18 June will conclude SALE - Sant'Ambrogio in Festival with the SALT DANCE: an evening dedicated to dancing. The loggia under the market will be festively dressed with a stage, lights and an installation of forty olive trees, past and present memory of our culture and gastronomic and aesthetic symbol of our territory*. Around chairs that will outline our ballroom of fantasy lit by soft lights, everyone will be able to imagine their own life, art and sociability.
    Dancing, which through music becomes a universal language, sees us participating in a shared joy, an entertainment that has always been able to arouse in all ages past, moments of relationship, fun and freedom. The SALE Ball sees The Tooscanians on stage, with Mauro Porro and Bob Jay as well as a group of swing dancers. The concert is opened by Petz Are Cool, a project born in Florence that combines the ideas of 8 musicians on Funky, Rock and Pop notes. An unexpected musical cocktail that makes you want to dance.
    For this event, they present themselves in a 5-member "zipped up" version** and with an unreleased acoustic repertoire, ready to make you spend a carefree and playful evening. Where: Loggia del mercato di Sant'Ambrogio How: Free admission

  • Thursday 25 May: 'Racconta la tua Sant'Ambrogio' literary competition in cooperation with La Nazione. The literary prize "Racconta la tua Sant'Ambrogio" (Tell your Sant'Ambrogio) will be launched during the festival press conference: those who wish to participate can produce an unpublished essay (length up to 2,400 characters including spaces) to tell the story, facts and protagonists of this historic district of the city, interpreter of the sense of belonging and identity of the Florentines. It will be a way to recount its characters, shops, markets, moods and feelings of such a lively and lively portion of the city. Personal memories, facts and events of the past and present will be illustrated, but it will also be possible to tell how we imagine the district will be in the next decades or how we would like it to be in the future. The editorial staff of La Nazione will award some stories by publishing them on the web/social pages of the newspaper and will present the winner of the prize with a La Nazione plaque during the evening of Saturday 17 June. The text will also be published in the paper edition of the newspaper.

  • On Sunday 11 June, at 7 p.m. SALE Sant'Ambrogio in Festival will be the guest of La Città dei Lettori.
    Giulio Picchi will present a preview of SALE Sant'Ambrogio in Festival, the festival conceived and realised by Teatro del Sale and on the legacy of Fabio Picchi. An event dedicated to the Sant'Ambrogio district and all the realities that animate it. Maria Cassi will participate in La Città dei Lettori with Diavolacci, reading the words, colours, smells and tastes of Fabio Picchi. An unpublished reading, dedicated to Florence, its recipes and Fabio Picchi's great passions, taken from the book Papale Papale by Giunti editore.
    Villa Bardini, 7 pm

  • Interdisciplinary workshop Pestalozzi School-City Collaboration with Pestalozzi School-City involves an interdisciplinary workshop with the aim of producing a number of artistic works that will be used as table mats during the festival days.
    The project began in March, with a trip to the Sant'Ambrogio district that ended at the Teatro del Sale where the children were welcomed by Giulio Picchi who told their history and curiosities. Afterwards, the students made drawings with watercolour crayons, with technical assistance from Caran D'Ache, on two themes of their choice: the Sant'Ambrogio district and food. There was also a workshop on the collage technique, ensuring that all the children involved participated with whatever technique, and a creative Italian workshop that led to the creation of short stories developed on three key words: neighbourhood, market, cook. The 'small-large' 10 graphic works will be printed as table mats and used during the festival days.

  • From 16 to 18 June and as part of World Sustainable Food Day, SALE - Sant'Ambrogio in Festival joins forces with La Consulta Nazionale dei Distretti del Cibo.
    La Consulta Nazionale dei Distretti del Cibo proposes a pact to promote the areas of our country through good food, the beauty of the landscape and the uniqueness of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage with an event to be held on 16, 17 and 18 June in Matera. The Picchi family, the Community of Sant'Ambrogio and SALE - Sant'Ambrogio in Festival have joined the pact by promoting the Culture of Sustainable Gastronomy in the memory of Chef Fabio Picchi with all Florentines. The Forum of the National Day of Food Districts will take place in Matera, which in the same three days will be the European Capital of Rurality, where the future of rural areas will be discussed with its traditional agri-food productions, its agricultural landscapes contextualised in the FAO GIAHS project and in the Intangible Heritage as instruments of development. The National Council of Food Districts will support the three-day event in Florence with its agrifood products from the various territories represented, thus making itself known to the Community of Sant'Ambrogio and the Florentines by sharing the values of conviviality linked to food and the work of the Districts' producers.

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