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More than 1500 visitors at the 2015 Open Day of the Historical Archives of the European Union

Posted on 15 May 2015

OpenDayHAEU2015On Saturday 9 May, the Historical Archives of the European Union opened its doors to the Florentine population to celebrate Europe Day. More than 1,500 people enjoyed a sunny day packed with activities for children, music, art, food tasting and guided tours in the beautiful gardens and in the stunning premises of Villa Salviati.

The day started with Dieter Schlenker, Director of the Historical Archives of the European Union, reading a letter sent by the Italian President Sergio Mattarella to J.H.H. Weiler, President of the European University Institute, on the occasion of the Europe Day 2015.

Then, the Deputy Mayor of Florence, Cristina Giachi, delivered the greetings of the city of Florence, highlighting the academic excellence of the European University Institute and its important role in the Province of Florence.

This was followed by the award ceremony for the art competition on “Surveillance and Democracy in Europe”, one of the main topics of this year’s international conference “The State of the Union”.
Luigi Zangheri, President of the Academy of the Arts of Drawing of Florence, and Dieter Schlenker thanked the students of the Academies of Fine Arts of Florence and Carrara for participating.

“Whenever, wherever, you know I am a dog”, by Liu Jianliang, was proclaimed winner of the contest. Licia Bianchi, with “Noèsi”, and Gabriele Mosti, with “Cirri Eterea”, were also awarded with a Certificate of Merit. The fifteen models of the finalists of the art competition will be on display until 30 June 2015 in the gardens of Villa Salviati. The exhibition “Tema con variazioni”, which showcases the works of art of eleven Academy professors, can also be seen in the Grotto of the Villa until 15 June 2015.

Pianist Marco Vavolo performed the musical interlude “Europe Mon Amour” which consisted in a selection of National Anthems of the six founding Member States of the European Union.

Outside the Villa, there were circus activities organized by the Associazione di Circo en Piste such as juggling and trampolining, as well as the performances by the artist “Folletti Karacongioli”. Cookery workshops showed children the different ways of enjoying food from the different countries of the European Union. In the meantime, almost 800 visitors explored the rich architectural and natural heritage of Villa Salviati with the guided tours organized by Associazione Città Nascosta.

Following the end of these activities, the Mayor of Fiesole, Anna Ravoni introduced the concert of the “Novecento” traditional choir. The ensemble performed a concert based on a repertoire of traditional Italian songs.

The Open Day at Villa Salviati was followed by a concert by the Orchestra dei Ragazzi of the Fiesole School of Music at the Badia Fiesolana Church, which marked the end of the 2015 edition of “The State of the Union” and the Open Day at the EUI campus.

Pictures from the Open Day in the HAEU's Flickr album 

 

 

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