“The most beautiful Roman vestige is undoubtedly the Pantheon. This temple has suffered so little, it appears to us, as it must have appeared to ancient Romans during those times. ” Stendhal, Roman Walks. One of the most famous and best preserved monuments of the capital is the Pantheon. The read more
Many of the Tuscan hill towns were divided into “contrade” or neighborhoods which competed against each other in annual town games – none better known than the Siena’s world famous Palio. Siena is divided into 17 Contrade: Aquila (eagle), Bruco (caterpillar), Chiocciola (snail), Civetta (little owl), Drago (dragon), Giraffa (giraffe), read more
Piazza della Repubblica has (almost) always been the center of life for Florence and its citizens. To one side, is the “Colonna dell’Abbondanza” or “Column of Abundance” that once marked where the cardo and decumanus maximi (the main north-south, and east-west roads of a city) crossed. This was the geographical read more
Carrara marble is world famous, mention the name and immediately one thinks of Michelangelo’s Il David or Pietà; but not everyone realizes that just outside of Florence is a small cave, which might not be as famous as Carrara, but has still given birth to famous stoneworks. Just below Fiesole, read more
Domenico Bigordi, born in Florence in 1449, was the first of five children. The nickname “Ghirlandaio” came from his father’s art as a goldsmith. In fact, his father was a famous jeweler excelled for his silver garlands that young Florentine noblewomen wore to adorn their headdresses. Ghirlandaio worked primarily in read more
When in 1559 Cosimo I de’ Medici organized a contest to design the first public fountain in Florence, he hoped to give the city splendor with a new David, hopefully this time without republican messages. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go as planned. An artist named Ammannati won the contest with read more
The city of Florence satisfies many curiosities, but it also holds many mysteries that we have not been able to unravel yet. The Basilica of San Lorenzo is a church that was very dear to the ‘de Medici family, so dear that they chose it as burial place. Inside the read more
For us Florentine citizens, “Palazzo Vecchio” is that magnificent palace that we admire, photograph but we maybe don’t know in detail. Probably, going inside and understanding it requires many days of accurate study, but sometimes a first step, even an in-depth reading, can stimulate our curiosity. Without dwelling upon the read more
« Nor ample less nor larger they appear’d Than, in Saint John’s fair dome of me beloved, Those framed to hold the pure baptismal streams» (Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, Inferno XIX) Florence is appreciated and studied all around the world: its monuments, its art and beauty that lie under every read more
Recently, underground rooms and corridors were discovered below the Basilica of San Lorenzo. They probably belonged to an ancient city that remained hidden through centuries. On the walls, there are drawings and maps of all the buildings that belong to the San Lorenzo complex, the Medici Chapels and Laurentian Library read more