The sixth edition of Florence Design Week starts off tomorrow, launching a five day experience that will turn the city into the hub of the main design-oriented cities in the world, as it will serve as the stage where Spain, Austria, The Netherland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, United States, China and Iceland will be performing the cultural exchange called Creative Cities. Florentines and visitors will literally run into the symbols of such exchange in the middle of the streets, where they will find for instance an Austrian pastry or an handmade Icelandic rug. The event will not only stress the importance of culture but also highlight sustainability, smart cities, eco-luxury and tourism design, being paired to Expo Tuscany at the 2015 Expo. The Florence Design Week will be an actual path across the city, hitting the most important places of Florence such as Le Murate.

This landmark will be hosting the “V4 Young Design & Spring Emotions” exhibit, aimed at promoting Central Europe’s culture and a cross-cultural dialogue, as suggested by the theme “Life Beyond Tourism”: featuring jewelry, ceramic and glass pieces, the exhibition will represent the point of view of eight under-35 designers coming from the four states of the Warsaw Pact. Le Murate will be also hosting “Design your Innsbruck!”, a design&architecture journey across the streets of Tyrol’s capital, raffling a free weekend at Innsbruck’s Adler Design Hotel. Palazzo Borghese will be the location of the event’s finissage as well as Creative Cities by Art Expertise Firenze, which will be the result of the work of a group of international artists. Beside the official path, designers and artists will be also hosted in many other locations belonging to the so called OFF circuit, which will hit both Gucci and Ferragamo museums, as well as many studios, shops and galleries. These are just a few of the many unmissable happenings of the FDW: for the full programme, check out the official website.

INFO: www.florencedesignweek.com

PHOTO COURTESY: Florence Design Week