YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME!!

On May 1 each "viola’s" supporter had to say goodbye to the dreamt Uefa Cup finals, with a dramatic defeat of Fiorentina against Glasgow Rangers in the Artemio Franchi stadium.
After 210 minutes of agony, finished in a tie, Fiorentina suffered a humiliating 4-2 on penalties.
"The lads have shown they have a great spirit and this bitterness will pass. We deserved to get to the final, in two games we lacked a bit of luck." This is what Prandelli, the Fiorentina coach, said after the match.

Nevertheless, Fiorentina has a lot to do this season because they have to fight for the fourth place to qualify for the Champions League. Fiorentina has only a few points more than Milan.
About the game against the Rangers, the UEFA president Platini praised the players of

Fiorentina whit the coach for their sportsmanship, respect and hospitality: this because despite the Rangers passed the semi-finals, the club showed outstanding hospitality to thousands of Rangers supporters, including a lot of them without tickets.

Martina Goretti & Filippo Contardi

What will happen to our planet in the near future?

An article from “the Florentine” newspaper

Unfortunately everybody knows that pollution is endangering our planet , because lately the environmental conditions have worsened and the air is more and more polluted.
Mayor Domenici, Martini8 the regional president) and other local administrators have been officially indicted for failing to respect the environmental and to limit the air pollution. On May 6 Florence’s Public Prosecutors Giulio Monferini and Giuseppe Soresina laid charges against Florence and other provincial officials.
In the end 14 local officials have been accused, because none has respected the laws and the regular level of emission of pollution in the air. In fact they had to decrease the levels of the airborne pollutant PM10.
According to national and European law they must not exceed 50 micrometres a day for more than 35 days in any given year. Florence prosecutors believe that this condition was broken in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Domenici and Monferini say that they are satisfied about these data ,because even if the condition of Florence and the nearby area is not really good, they are doing their best to improve the situation.
A 2006 study conducted by Global Health Organization (Oms)revealed that if we reduce the smog level in the air of 40 percent, we can save 129 lives a year in Florence.

Paying the price for pollution

On 6 May , Florence’s Public Prosecutor Giulio Monferini and Giuseppe Soresina have officialy indicted the Mayor, the President of Tuscan Region and other provincial officials for negligence in carrying out their duty to decrase the levels of airborne pollution. The court date has been set for October 3 2008.

Florence Prosecutor’s belive that the regolation of the smog was infringed in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The accused officials defend theirself saying that they did everything possible for decrasing the phenomenon of the airbone pollution.

The mayor Domenici commented that he don’t looking forward the day of the courtroom for denfending himself from the “ridicolous and unfounded accusation”.

A 2006 study revealed that a decreasing of 40% of the smog levels, could save 129 lives a year in Florence.

Taiti Leonardo, Santoni Roberto

STUDY ABROAD!!!!

The key to a successful study abroad experience is being able to use your imagination.
You have to imagine that you aren't here for only six months or five weeks but the new city is your new home.
A good mode to prepare for study abroad is to listen to others who have been abroad before and what they wish they have done. When outland students arrive in Italy, they desire to involve in the Italian community, but becoming involved in the community is complicated because there is a new langauge and a new set of social customs. However, it's possible with a lot of imagination. Foreign students have to meet a group of outside of their campus and devote themself to their preferite activities and hobbies.
The Italians have a bad belief on American students because at first consider them as "loud, lewd, drunk American" so the experience of study abroad is an excellent opportunity to help refute this stereotype.
When you study abroad, everything is new and it is therefore the perfect opportunity to do something you've never done, to try something completely new.

Valentina Bacherini

RACING THROUGH MUGELLO

The International Mugello Racetrack is placed in the gorgerous hills of Tuscany, near the city of Scarperia.It is owned and operated by Ferrari, and it is also used as a testing facility for Ferrari’s Formula 1 team. The racetrack is long 5245 meters and, over the course of the year, it is opened for about 300 days, hosting various activities and events, expecilly motocycles and cars’ races. The Mugello circuit is one of the most safety in Europe, so there are no more than one fatality each season. However, what really makes the Mugello Racetrack so special is its location. It is often described as a valley for sports, but people are working to create a space that can host many events without being exclusive to racing: they hope that, although many visitators might think Florence is all Tuscany has to offer, people will understand that there is more.

BY GIULIA COVACCI

You win some, you lose some...

The dream of UEFA cup final, which could give Fiorentina the first European Cup, is nuanced in a moment on the evening of May 1st at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence.

The "Viola", although they deserved to win the game for the opportunities created and good game of the team, were exceeded on penalties 4-2 by Rengers Glasgow (in the first game(l'andata) the score had remained on 0-0).
So the Rengers will play the final with the Zenit St Petersburg, which has eliminated in the semifinals Bayern Monaco.
"The lads have shown they have a great spirit and this bitterness will pass...We deserved to get to the final, in two games we lacked a bit of luck",Cesare Prandelli, Fiorentina coach, told reporters.
But the season of Viola is not yet over: there is to defend the fourth place, which allows the passage into the Champions League in next football season, from attacks of AC Milan.
Concerning the semifinal with Rengers, the president of UEFA Michel Platini has praised the players of Fiorentina for their sportsmanship and the city of Florence for its hospitality.
Indeed, the Florentine club and the city of Florence have sold many tickets to Scottish guests, have provided food, entertainment and public viewing of the match available outside the Artemio Franchi stadium.

by Andrea Vagnoli and Mauro Paradisi

MAY IS FOR WINE LOVERS!!!

During May in Tuscany you can enjoy at two most delightful events: Alla Corte del Vino and Cantine Aperte.
In the Chianti hills, exactly in the garden of Villa Corsini, a lot of wineries show their best at "Alla Corte del Vino". This event offers a possibility to know anew labels of the best wineries of Tuscany. Besides, you can buy the wine you’ve just tasted: on entrance the visitors can indicate what and how much they would like to buy.

The other event is "Cantine Aperte": last year over four millions people visited the country’s wineries; they throw open their doors and showed facilities of production. For a great "Cantine Aperte" day in Tuscany organize a group of friends, download a list of open cellars and plane your trip. But for a safe trip back you must choose a driver who prefers viewing Tuscany more than drinking wine.
During Cantine Aperte if you need any help or if you find something worth, you can contact the journalist Marco Badiani at his email: m.badiani@theflorentine.net.

Sara Tassi

" Taxman tells all"

During the past days, italian citizens were able to see how much their friends and everyone else declared as taxable income. Tax office published the tax records of some 38 million italians for the 2005 fiscal year on its own official website.
Obviously, the site crashed down few hours later. Many people whined about "violation of privacy rules", but even after the suspension of the site, this information were circulating on the net via peer-to-peer. After this unusual occurence there were a lot of legal proceedings against the tax office. Consumer assiciation Codacons asker a compensation of 52€ for each italian whose tax declaration was made public.
the centre-left government said that this was sust a way to fight tax evasion, so common in our country. That was sust for "trasparency". How ever, politicians from centre-right accused Prodi of making a last vengeful move before leaving office.
Probably that was really a privacy violation, but in the end who had a right behaviour has nothing to fear of.........

Fabio Bartolozzi Mirko Risaliti

Diplomary, Italian style

Lisa Kaborycha's article takes cue from the personal relations among powerful people to analyze the exchange of letters between Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino and Cosimo I dè Medici, Duke of Tuscany.

The diplomacy that those man carried out is even utilize in the modern politics; gestures extremely friendly hide the great political activities to smooth differences, from that moment we had seen great political adverses exchange gift and kindness but often we don't know the exact words passed between them, while, from the Medici archives, a serie of letters comes out to clarify the real relation among those shrewdest politicians.

At first I wont remember who were Guidobaldo II and Cosimo I: they had many things is common, they were contemporary and became sovereign both very young after the violent died of their predecessors at the top of two bordered states they were at the world political center in a period caratterized by the Spanish occupation of Italy and by the Roman's Pope power, besides affronting the foreign affairs they must affront internal plotting; expecially in Florence many cityzen looked back nostalgically to their lost repubblic, one of them was Strozzi politically supported by the Duke of Urbino; also the Guidobaldo's home politics navigated in dangerous waters infact the citizens tried of taxes and constant war and the papacy had its eye on the state to repossess the territory.

On the letters wrote each other the two political men, over the discussions of banditism and appeals of justice their corrispondence is full of friendly gestures. They sent, each other , small and great gifts from cheeses to leons to rimedys for kidney stones.

There are many letters of congration on the marriages of those children, and births of grandchildren, but there are also many touching letters of condolences.

The Duke of Urbino takes frequent wrote relations with his mother-in-law, Caterina Cibo, who lived at the Florentine's court, telling her about military developments.

The Duke used his mother in law as his spokesman to Cosimo I, infact the two rivals never been on open personal conflict to not compromise the well-crafted alliance.

They worked behind to smooth their contrasts .

The gift, the loving letters were, and today are, gestures carefully orchestrated; since five centuries this way to diplomacy is still actual.