Let's hear it for Franco Zeffirelli whose lavish directorial aesthetic matches his generosity (when he's not being cranky). Today, in a ceremony at Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, he presented the city with thousands of books, letters, documents, sketches and photos from his personal library.
A surprising choice, since back in 2008, while shopping around the collection to international cities, he had a very public beef with Florence, and even took out a full page ad in the city's paper that stated, "Florence will not have my artistic legacy." His main lament was that Florence's city hall wasn't lifting a finger to help him surmount bureaucratic obstacles.
The collection is housed at Galleria Rinaldo Carnielo in Piazza Savonarola. More photos can be found on a facebook page devoted to the Italian maestro.