On the 18th of February Florence celebrates a very special woman, the one to whom we owe the salvaging of our art heritage: Anna Maria Luisa dei Medici, also known as the Electress Palatine.
Anna Maria was the daughter of Cosimo III and Margherita Luisa d'Orleans. Theirs was a very...
Florence has changed its appearance
many times over the centuries, and a great number of buildings was lost due to
demolitions and renovations. This is the case of the Church of San Pier Maggiore, of which only traces of the arches of
the external portico of the church remain in...
Every city has its own ghosts, and Florence certainly could not be the exception. There are stories about sightings of spirits in the Tuscan capital, like the one of Palazzo Budini-Gattai or Ginevra degli Almieri. The story we're going to tell you today is about one of the most famous:...
The
fourth Saturday in September sees the Carro Matto (Crazy Cart) parade
through the streets of the historic center of Florence, a tradition that has
its roots in fourteenth-century Florence. At
the time, the wine mostly came from the Chianti area, now known all over the
world for the production...
Walking down the streets
of Florence you might have seen them: tiny arched shaped doors on the walls of
buildings in the city center. Many wonder what they are, even some florentines
don't know their history.
They are called "buchette
del vino" (litterally "wine holes"), closed with little
wooden doors...
The shooting stars visible to the naked eye on the night of San Lorenzo are called Perseids, as they come from the constellation of Perseus. They form
a meteor shower that the Earth passes through in the summer, during its orbit
around the sun. Visible from the end of July...
Have you ever heard a Florentine say: “San Giovanni non vuole inganni" (Saint John doesn't allow deceit)? This saying is often used in situations where someone has tried to trick somebody else and the other person found out, or they don't believe the lie told. Where does this saying come from?...
The Arno river has always been a faithful friend to the Florentines,
allowing the proliferation of numerous activities along its banks, exploiting
every resource it made available. In particular, a city with an intense
building activity like Florence, needed a great quantity of building material,
and it is precisely to...
Florence is a city that has always done things
a little in its own way, as demonstrated by the fact that for 168 years it
celebrated the New Year on a different day than the rest of Italy.
The Florentine New
Year is celebrated on 25 March, the date
corresponding...
On January 26th, in Florence we celebrate San Zanobi (Saint Zenobius) so you might see a garland of flowers at the base of the column in Piazza Duomo - if you ever even noticed the column in the first place.
Many people, including Florentines, pass by it every day not...
Autumn is a
bittersweet season. Not everyone appreciates the cooler air and the fiery
colors of the changing leaves, because that means the end of hot summer days
and the arrival of gray skies and rain.
From a culinary point of view though,
autumn agrees almost with everyone: pumpkins, chestnuts,...
The
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
has become one of the most famous churches in the world, especially thanks to
the amazing dome of which Filippo Brunelleschi endowed it with.
Not
everyone knows, however, that the symbolic building of Florence has a very
troubled history, which lasted almost 600...
August 3, 1944, Florence is
still occupied by the Nazis. It’s been almost a year, the Allies are
expected to send help any day now, and rumor has it that, knowing this, the Germans
want to destroy the Florentine bridges to cut off access routes.
On
July 30, everyone who...
On
June 24, Florence celebrates Saint John's Day, the patron saint of the
city.
The choice of St. John the Baptist as patron was made only after the conversion
of the city to Christianity, infact initially the patron saint of the city was
the god Mars, his statue had been...
In
via Maggio at n. 26, there is a very
particular building, recognizable by its beautiful facade entirely decorated with grotesques.
First documented architectural work of Bernardo
Buontalenti, the palace was commissioned
by Francesco I de’ Medici and built, between 1570 and 1574, upon an old
fifteenth-century building.
Francesco
I,...
June
in Florence is all about Calcio Storico (or Calcio in Costume), the main event of
the summer for the florentines.
Legend
has it that the game originated from the
roman Harpastum, an ancient sport
played by two teams who's goal was to get the ball - made of rags...
Florence
is a place full of history and stories, and sometimes, without even realizing
it, we find ourselves walking right upon them.
This might have happened in Piazza della
Signoria, where a large marble
plaque set in the paving of the square, right in front of the fountain of
Neptune,...
Quant’è bella giovinezza,
che si fugge tuttavia!
chi vuol esser lieto, sia:
di doman non c’è certezza.
"How
beautiful is youth, / though quickly it does flee! / be happy if you want to: /
for tomorrow may not come"
This is what Lorenzo
il Magnifico wrote in the opening...
During Carnevale each of us should let go and have some fun, no more diets, but rather, it is time to indulge in sweets! That's why there are so many pastry preparations related to this period. In particular, a dessert ever present at carnival in Tuscany are "Cenci" (rags), sweet...
Not
much is known about the origins of Ponte
Vecchio, one of the most famous bridges in Italy, as well as the oldest
bridge in Florence.
We
only know that at some point, the Romans
decided to build a bridge over the narrowest point of the Arno River within the...
Nothing
divides Italians more than the choice between Panettone and Pandoro,
the Christmas cakes par excellence.
Between
the two, Panettone is certainly the
one with the most ancient origins. In fact, we’re talking of a recipe that has
its roots in a tradition dating back to the times of the...
A
Christmas tradition that has Italian roots is that of the Nativity scene,
"Presepe" in Italian, a
display of objects and figures representing the birth of Jesus. The term “presepe” derives from the Latin “praesaepe”, meaning manger, trough, or
an enclosed area for sheep and goats.
The
baby Jesus, Mary...
November seems to be historically one of the rainiest and deadliest months of the year in Florence, as past events remind us. To be precise, November 4th appears to be a very unfortunate date. Every year, if it’s been raining heavily in the days before this date, we start thinking...
Florence is full of
mysteries and there is no shortage among them of stories about ghosts, witches
and devils. Here is an unbelievable story, perhaps the most famous one, and
what makes it so disturbing is that it is actually a true story, although
several versions exist today.
It is...
The Renaissance palace where the Odeon is located, now called Palazzo dello Strozzino, was a property
of the wealthy Strozzi family, this
was true for the majority of the buildings that surrounded Piazza Strozzi and
for those in the street that is now via Monalda. It does not come as...
Eating well in the summer can be difficult when the heat makes you want to give up cooking on the stove, but there is a traditional Tuscan dish that will solve this problem and will also stimulate the most refined palates, despite its simplicity: it’s Panzanella!
A fresh and substantial...
Red, black, brown, white and ochre were part of the color palette artists used in cave paintings. The first pigments, invented about 40,000 years ago, were a combination of soil, animal fat, burnt charcoal, and chalk, but since then, the number of colors available to the artists has continued to...
This time the title "Beyond
the Renaissance" should be interpreted as "Renaissance beyond itself", that is, at the top of its
idea of the world and of the rediscovery of classical culture. The facade of
Palazzo Rucellai, designed by Leon Battista Alberti and completed in 1465, is
celebrated as one...
The Manifattura Tabacchi: a district of 16
buildings on an area of 100,000 square meters, next to the Cascine Park. Pure
modernist rationalist architecture, designed by architects Giovanni Bartoli and
Pier Luigi Nervi in 1933, completed in 1940. According to modernist architectural
canons, the structure had to be functional to...
In Florence,
one of the most important places dedicated to Street Art is the underpass of
the Florence-Rome railway, which connects the center with Le Cure district. A kind of museum that is in continuous
transformation, worth a visit for lovers of murals who come to Florence.
Of the vast...
The "Scoppio del Carro" (Explosion of the Cart), is an event that takes place every year on Easter Sunday, and it dates back to the first Crusade.
Legend has it that the first to climb the Jerusalem walls was a Florentine named Pazzino, member of the noble Pazzi family. He...
In the period of Lent (Quaresima in italian), that is from Ash Wednesday until Holy Thursday, in all Florentine pastry shops we find Biscotti Quaresimali, Lenten biscuits: typical cocoa biscuits connected to the period of abstinence from animal-derived foods imposed by the Christian tradition, in respect of the days of...
A small square in the heart of the Santa
Croce district. It may appear ancient, but it was actually created in the
1930s, when it was decided to demolish the area, crammed with old buildings considered
unhealthy and degraded, in order to build a modern neighborhood. For these
urban interventions,...
San Donato a Novoli, the
dream of every urban planner: an area of 32 hectares to be structured for
public use, in the middle of one of the most densely populated town districts. Each place has its own
history, sometimes very long and interesting. In 1935 - 1939, the largest...
Not all cities have a "belly button", an exact
center marked by a column, but Florence does. It is the Column of Abundance in
Piazza della Repubblica. Florence was founded by the Romans in 59 BC and all
the surrounding land assigned to the veterans of Julius Caesar as a...
“Tanto gentile e tanto onesta parela donna mia quand’ella altrui saluta,ch’ogne lingua deven tremando mutae gli occhi no l’ardiscon di guardare.”(“So kind and so honest she looksmy woman, when she greets others,that every tongue becomes, shaking, mute,and eyes dare not look at her.”)Thus Dante Alighieri introduces us to his beloved...
Always reported among the curiosities of Florence are Ferdinand's bees, incrediblity hard to count. It is said that whoever manages to count them without touching or marking them, will be blessed with luck. Let's see what this is
all about. At the center of Piazza SS. Annunziata we find the...
Tuscany is a land of thermal baths, especially the south, because it was a land of volcanoes. One of the most spectacular thermal baths is in Bagno Vignoni, in the Municipality of San Quirico d’Orcia, one hour driving from Siena. A small village (30 resident inhabitants) along the Via Francigena, traveled...
The
restoration of the Church of San Giorgio dello Spirito Santo alla Costa - once again the seat of a neighborhood parish - financed by the Gianmaria
Buccellati Foundation under the direction of the Superintendence of Fine Arts
of Florence, has been completed.We are in Costa San Giorgio, one of...
After binge eating over Christmas it is already time to fill our stomachs again with new delicacies. It's the Carnival season! This means it is time for Schiacciata alla Fiorentina, Cenci and Frittelle di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph’s fritters)!Tuscan sweet rice fritters (frittelle di riso) are one of the most...
You might have noticed that lions are everywhere in Florence. Have you wondered why?
They are guarding Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia de Lanzi, they are on the weathervane on top of the Arnolfo Tower, they are represented in coat of arms, in paintings, and even the bases of lamplights...
The San Lorenzo Market or Central Market is famous all over the world and
frequented by anyone who visits Florence. Outside there are stalls for souvenirs,
clothing, items made with leather and fabrics, inside groceries on the ground floor,
restaurants and gastronomies on the first floor.The
building is also a...
Every company, every organization can’t do without a
logo, a symbol to be recognized immediately, placed on products, websites,
letterheads, documents, advertising, labels, wherever possible. It has
a strong evocative and commercial power and companies often invest heavily in
this graphic representation to which an important industrial design sector is...
“La Befana
vien di notte
con le
scarpe tutte rotte
con le toppe
alla sottana:
Viva, viva
la Befana!”
(“The Befana comes at night/with
shoes all broken/with patches on the petticoat:/Long live the Befana!")
Thus the
children sing in nursery rhymes describing the Befana. An old woman...
As fireplaces disappeared from the houses, the florentine,
and tuscan in general, tradition of the “Ceppo” (Christmas stump) has also
gradually been lost. The elders called the day of Christmas and Santo Stefano
"Ceppo" and "Ceppino", referring to this very tradition.
The Christmas stump had a profound meaning, of strength...
Far from the madding crowd! If you
are attending one of our courses, take a break and stroll at --- PIAZZA MASSIMO
D’AZEGLIO. It is a large green space practically in the historic center, its
history is interesting from an urban planning point of view. Before 1865 it was
an...
Woe to speak ill of Florence to a Florentine,
you could trigger a very heated discussion. Florentines have always been known
for their patriotic spirit, proud of their city and their origins. We can't
blame them after all, considering that in the past Florence has really played a
key role...
The villa and the large park were one of the private
residences of the Strozzi family, built in the mid-16th century by Giovan
Battista di Lorenzo Strozzi. The Strozzi were a family of bankers, perhaps the
richest of the time, long enemies of the Medici. Their palace in the center...
Right in the center of the Loggia del Porcellino, in the floor, there is a marble disk depicting a cart wheel.
It indicates the point where the "carroccio" (cart) was placed with
the insignia and flags of the Florentine Republic, where the army gathered in
case of war. But the...
Half
an hour by car or bus from Florence, above the Santa Brigida Village, you will
find the "Ring of the Burraie", a 16-kilometer equipped trakking
route through woods, meadows, rocks and beautiful landscapes. Along the path you
will meet many “burraie” in excellent condition. But what are the “burraie”?...
We very often talk about Brunelleschi's
spectacular Dome - an unrivaled architectural enterprise- the largest masonry
dome ever built to date. Sometimes, however, we forget the other architectural
masterpiece that sits right next to it: Giotto's
Bell Tower!
It was July 18, 1334 when Giotto began to lay the...
Until recently, the park of Villa
Fabbricotti was dominated by a wonderful example of a Lebanon Cedar, right
at the top of the hill. The trunk 8 meters wide, almost 25 meters high and 200
years old. For its beauty and monumentality it was chosen by the District
Council of...
In Naples there is the famous
Pulcinella, in Venice there is Colombina and in Bergamo there are Arlecchino
and Brighella; but even Florence has its traditional
carnival mask! It is called Stenterello, and owes its name to its puny and haggard appearance,
that of a man who seems to have,...
Florence also has its own Romeo and Juliet, but they are called Ippolito and Dianora (or Lionora).
The story is told in a novella
of the fifteenth century, Istorietta
amorosa fra Leonora de ’Bardi e Ippolito Buondelmonti, that most attribute
to the pen of Leon Battista Alberti.
It is about...
On the wall of Palazzo Vecchio, behind the statue of Hercules and Cacus
by Baccio Bandinelli, you will notice, if you look closely, the face of a man
engraved in stone.
According to the legend, Michelangelo Buonarroti himself is the author
of this artwork.
Michelangelo was an excellent artist, but...
A golden shield with five red balls, and
a blue one decorated with three golden lilies. You must have seen it everywhere
in Florence, since it is the Medici coat of arms.
The Medici blazon underwent inexplicable changes during
most of the fifteenth century, in particular in regards to the...
The
meter is an object that we all have at home, to which we do not give much
importance; often forgotten at the bottom of a drawer under the batteries and
the rolls of adhesive tape. We certainly cannot consider it a luxury item.
But
what if we told you...
The Fortezza
da Basso, or fortress of San Giovanni Battista, today the main Florentine
exhibition venue, has a long history, which began after the experience of the
siege of 1529.
At the time, Duke Alessandro de’ Medici
commissioned to the artists and architects Pier Francesco da Viterbo and
Antonio da...
Florence is well-stocked with oddities, just look
around while walking down the street to catch some of them. One of these, which
strikes the eye of the most attentive ones, is the balcony located in Borgo
Ognissanti, at number 12.
It certainly stands out: all the architectural elements that compose...
Do you have a day
off? Take a ride to --- THE WINDMILL OF MONTERIFRASSINE . Tuscany is not a
windy territory, if not on the coast and in some mountain areas. For this
reason, over the centuries the mills to grind wheat have been pushed by the
water of...
One
of the most typical desserts made in Tuscany - in Siena to be exact - is panforte.
A spicy and sweet cake that is consumed during the Christmas period along with
the well-known panettone. This dessert has very ancient origins, it is the
direct descendant of the pan melato,...
Ribollita, along with with the steak, is a symbol of Tuscan cuisine. A thick and
nutritious soup characterized by simple flavors and healthy ingredients,
perfect for cold winter days.
Already in the Middle Ages, it was the custom for the poorest families to
prepare a vegetable-based soup on Fridays, since...
The Bargello, today
a museum that houses one of the most important Renaissance collections of
sculptures in the world, as well as a vast collection dedicated to the applied
arts, was originally built as a residence of the Potestà in the 13th century. Subsequently
it housed the Otto di Guardia...
Daughter of Lorenzo di Piero de Medici, Duke of
Urbino, and nephew of Pope Leone X, Caterina de Medici could have only be
destined for great things.
Although she remained an orphan after her birth in 1519 and was placed in a
convent at the age of eight; thanks to...
Fiesole is the perfect destination
for a day trip from Florence, easily reached from the city center by bus or
car.
The city was formed in the
Hellenistic age (late 4th - early 3rd century BC), and became a typical Roman
city towards the second half of the 1st century....
This
year we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Cosimo I de Medici
(1519-1574), the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. Son of the condottiere Giovanni
de 'Medici, known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, and Maria Salviati, he became
lord of Florence when he was only 17, but was...
At the time of Dante, Piazza del Duomo was very different from how we know it today.
There was the Baptistery but there was no Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, which was built starting in 1296 on the foundations of the ancient church of Santa Reparata. Furthermore, on the...
The Fontana del Nettuno was finally inaugurated after a two-year restoration, generously funded by the Ferragamo fashion house.
In 1559 Cosimo I de Medici announced a competition to design the first public fountain in Florence, which thanks to the construction of a new aqueduct would bring water to the city...
Once upon a time, female blackbirds were white as snow, but during one particularly harsh winter their appearance changed forever.
January, was a cruel month, cold and unforgiving, especially towards the little animals that struggled to survive to see another spring. Food was scarce, and snowstorms were frequent and the...
Traditional Tuscan dishes never disappoint, always substantial, simple but tasty. They do not allow themselves to be corrupted by peculiar and refined ingredients, by embellishments and superfluous additions, they go straight to the point and above all to the taste!
Gnudi are one of the many dishes of our territory...
Palazzo Vecchio, with its high tower is one of the symbols of Florence, and the tower, which stands 95 meters high above the roofs of the city, is what marks the location of the ancient Palazzo della Signoria even from afar.
The tower of Arnolfo was built at the beginning...
Those who watched the tv show Medici, were left wondering about the real story of Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, the noblewoman considered to have been the muse of Sandro Botticelli. In the episodes of the tv series we see how Simonetta and Giuliano de Medici fall in love while posing as...
In Piazza Santissima Annunziata, the atmosphere is almost always very quiet, tourists tend to stay away from this part of the historic center, preferring the area of the nearby Academy of Fine Arts or the Duomo. It is precisely the scarce presence of people that gives this wide Florentine square...
Palazzo Pitti is certainly the largest palace in Florence, now home to priceless treasures, once home to the lords of the city, the Medici. We all know it as the residence of the Medici family, in fact, but its name reveals its true origins.
Luca Pitti, the archenemy of Cosimo...
The Santa Maria Novella Church is one of the most beautiful churches in Florence as well as one of the most important examples of Gothic architecture in Tuscany, and yet, it is too often neglected by tourists, drawn to more famous places of interest.
Do not make this mistake. You...
The Abbey of San Miniato al Monte has just celebrated a thousand years since its foundation!
The church was built in honor of St. Miniato, the first martyr of Florence. He was allegedly an Armenian prince who was passing through Florence around the year 250. After refusing to venerate the...
Brunelleschi's dome, with its red tiled roof and white contrasting marble ribs, is one of the most distinctive architectures of Florence. Admired and known for its exterior appearance, it is actually an architectural masterpiece that is equally astonishing when viewed from the inside. Brunelleschi had left the interior of the...
Little known in Florence is the Church of San Jacopo Sopr'Arno, a structure of ancient origin built in Romanesque style. Dating back to the X-XI century, it gave its name to the borough that was built around it, Borgo San Jacopo, in the Florentine Oltrarno.
Giovanni Villani, Florentine historian and...
It is known that Tuscan cuisine is a “poor” cuisine made of simple ingredients, but very tasty nonetheless and much appreciated worldwide. The typical Tuscan dishes are inked to the rural tradition and the products that come from the countryside, most of them have a story to tell.
The desserts...
What do we know about the story of the creation of Michelangelo’s David, one of the world’s greatest masterpieces?
As one could expect it all started with a piece of stone. A huge 5-meter-high block of marble stone that other artists had already attempted to sculpt before, giving up almost...
Again this year, the Rificolona festival will brighten the day of September 7th for many children, who will have fun building a colorful lantern and parading it through the city streets, while the more mischievous ones will arm themselves with blowguns to try and hit the delicate paper creations.
This...
THE LEGENDOnce upon a time in Florence, lived a Young man called Michele who dedicated his life to his work and to charity works he did around the neighborhood, he had such a good heart that people had started to call him “San Michele”.
He owned a stable and horses...
A short walk from piazza della Libertà, on a street named after the first Medici Pope, Leone X (famous for having excommunicated Martin Luther in 1521), stands a beautiful and unexpected architectural gem.
We're talking about the Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Christ and Saint Nicholas, know to...
With the arrival of summer it will be possible to access the Torre di San Niccolò, Torre della Zecca and Porta Romana, usually closed to the public, and now opening their doors to visitors on selected days.
The Torre di San Niccolò already reopened, as usual, on the occasion of...
Everyone knows the Mercato Nuovo (New Market) of Florence and the famous Loggia del Porcellino, built in 1547 by Giovanni Battista Tasso.
Here, just a few steps from Ponte Vecchio, in origin was held the trade of silk and precious objects, but over the years this changed. Infact, from the...
Say you've come to Florence attracted by the immense artistic, historical and cultural heritage of the town. Say you've already visited all the museums and churches and photographed all the beautiful panoramic views the city has to offer.
Now add to all this that summer is approaching, and you feel...
The Stibbert Museum is probably one of the most eccentric museums in Florence, this may have something to do with the fact that its founder was a rather excentric man himself.
Frederick Stibbert was born in 1838 in Florence from an italian mother and english father, but he was sent...
