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As the November 4th anniversary of the 1966 flood that devastated Florence approaches, it’s the perfect time to read Robert Clark’s Dark Water: Art Disaster and Redemption in Florence, which was just released in paperback. As Angela Leeper writes in her concise review in bookpage.com: “History and art criticism, with a dash of memoir thrown in, […]
“Il privilegio della lentezza” or “the luxury of going slowly” is the creed of the artisans at the Antico Setificio Fiorentino says director Sabine Pretsch. Seemingly untouched by time, workmanship characteristic of the Renaissance is central to this small Florentine silk fabric workshop. Any visitor will linger in this unhurried, magical place tucked deep inside
Only death or divorce will get you a spot in the coveted first row on an Italian beach. In a country where there is a socialistic equality in most things – health care, long lines at the post office, job security, good food – the beach is not one of them. In the U.S., if
“Viva Fiorenza” bellows the crowd of over two thousand, echoed by the roar of a cannon. The noble horsemen, clad in velvet, gold and leather, gallop on huge stallions into the sand-covered piazza. “Viva Fiorenza” and the cannon booms again, the sound bounces off the imposing marble facade of the Church of Santa Croce. Armored
Visitors to Florence this summer should keep an eye out for special events in special places. Update (9/11/09): Patti Smith came back to town this past week for her i. was in Florence tour – a tour limited to the city limits, including unannounced stops to sing on street corners and small piazzas. She spoke
The fish tank was back. The same week that the huge colorful aquarium was returned to its place in the waiting room of the UNM Cancer Center, Ellen Reavis left this world for a new adventure. Ellen didn’t know that in a life of both big and little causes, she was the victor in her
Between 10 and 11 o’clock on Easter Sunday morning, a tradition that has played out annually over the last 500 years will be celebrated in front of the Duomo in Florence. The Scoppio del Carro, or Explosion of the Cart, is a mixed pagan/religious ceremony. Marking both Easter and Spring, the successful ignition of the
Snow in Florence is rare. But it does frost the Duomo every few years for a day or two. While Tuscan Traveler was enjoying the sun on the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Chile in 2005, snow fell on Florence. Again in 2008, this time the sun, but not the warmth, was in Santa
The wine portals, buchette del vino, are unique to Florentine architecture. An observant visitor on a walk through Florence can find dozens of these small, once useful, doors. Those who have traveled to Rome, Venice, Milan, or even the small hill towns of Tuscany know that Florentine palaces built during the Renaissance were designed to resemble
Most people don’t know that modern clocks run on “French Time.” There is only one clock in the world that runs on “Italian Time” and it is in the Duomo in Florence. “Paolo made the colored sphere of the hours above the main door within the Church, with four heads, painted in fresco.” Giorgio Vasari,