Short mentions of sights to see, shops to visit and places to stay.
One of the joys of living in Italy is not only the chance to visit places where Renaissance artists, poets, dukes and popes wandered the same hallways and alleys, but to visit locations where no less dramatic, but much more recent history took place. To Americans under 60 years of age World War II in […]
GUEST POST by HOLLY from ESCAPIO.COM Tuscany evokes images of rolling hills, sumptuous cuisine and breathtaking architecture. There is a wealth of compelling history to be discovered in the cities and countryside alike. Visitors can experience the luxury of living in historic palaces, castles and villas in unique Tuscan and Florentine hotels. No matter if
Just over a year ago, the Bardini Museum in Florence opened to the public again after long and accurate restoration work aimed at re-establishing the configuration that its founder, the antiquarian Stefano Bardini, had originally given the exhibition. Bardini trained as a painter and became famous as a restorer and art dealer. He created a
The Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) in the cloister of the Church of San Lorenzo is not a library where the visitor to Florence can hang out in comfy chairs, but it is one of the most important libraries in Florence – well worth a visit. The Laurentian was designed by Michelangelo and houses one
The Davanzati Palace Museum is finally – after over 15 years of restoration – open to the public and is well worth a visit. An added benefit is that the madding crowds of Florence haven’t found it – yet. The Palace, built by the Davizzi family around mid-14th century, was purchased in 1578 by the
Tuscan Traveler took a brief sojourn in Venice with a very short wish list. The first priority was to eat as much great seafood as possible. That done, the search was on for the glass menagerie that includes tiny hand-made mosquitoes. Bruno Amadi presides over a zoological garden of fragile plants, animals, fish, birds and
Through a small ally the grand Piazza del Duomo, about half way along the south side of the cathedral, there is a little square, Piazza del Capitolo, at one time known as Corte dei Visdomini for the noble family whose tower still stands near by. The Capitolo was (and is today) the Chapter of the
The Year of Astronomy was celebrated in 2009 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s invention of the telescope. It was also a special opportunity to see the Florence Biomedical Library and its collection of first edition books published by the scientist, including the volume that brought him before the Inquisition. The Biblioteca Biomedica is located
The most Anglo American-styled library in Florence, the Harold Acton Library, is owned and operated by the British Institute of Florence. Contained on 2 ½ book-lined floors, the library allows full access to the stacks and provides knowledgeable assistance to the collection and extensive archives. The full catalogue is computerized and is available online. The
Americans and Brits usually find visiting libraries in Italy both frustrating and dissatisfying. The stacks are not open, so no browsing. You usually have to deal with a surly civil servant who will tell you that you do not have the right paperwork, but even if you did have lending privileges, it will take at