YOUR FLORENCE EXPERIENCE

FINE ARTS AND
CULTURE ACADEMY

Excursions out of Florence - La Grotta Braschi (The Braschi Cave)

Twenty minutes walking from the main square of Fiesole along via Giuseppe Verdi, after a while you enter the wood and reach the Grotta Braschi, the most spectacular stone quarry in the Parco della Pietra of Monte Céceri, a beautiful protected natural area, equipped with paths, benches and signs. The name derives...

The Gardens of Florence - Villa Strozzi

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...

Street Art in Florence - Tomorrow will be worse

This work belongs to a particular category of Street Art, close to Sticker Art. The image, certainly made with the help of a computer, is printed on adhesive paper then glued to the wall. The meaning is enigmatic and open to the most varied interpretations, the references, which certainly exist,...

5 Greek myths in Art

Admiring a work of art and understanding a work of art are two very different things. Of course, understanding art is not easy, but at least as far as the works of the past are concerned, it helps that the artists often used a few recurring themes. Knowing at least...

The “Acculata Stone”, a very creative punishment!

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...

Excursion out of Florence - The Burraie and the Madonna's Roses

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”?...

The Gardens of Florence - The Anconella Park

Mainly formed by a wood of beautiful white poplars, it extends for several kilometers on the left bank of the Arno, on the eastern city outskirts. Very popular, it offers beautiful views of the river, at that point continuously crossed by the rowing boats of the Municipal Rowing Club, based...

Street Art in Florence - Goofy greets you all

In these dark times of pandemic Goofy, the funniest Walt Disney character, loved by all children and adults, greets us with a large and high quality fresco: Goofy, Mickey Mouse’s faithful friend (actually, he is a dog). Goofy, in Italian Pippo, short for Filippo, is the opposite of the super-rational...

Leonardo da Vinci's wine was cloudy and hard to digest

An original letter from Leonardo da Vinci has come down to us, we try to give here a translation. It speaks of wine, the wine he himself produced in Fiesole:"From Milan to Zanobi Boni, my farm manager. 9 December 1515. The last four jars were not as expected and I...

Florentine Gothic masterpieces: Giotto's Bell tower

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...

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