Discovery Florence

Moving!!!

2009-05-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hi people!This blog was having some problems so I decided to move therehttp://discoverflorence.blogspot.com(just take off a "Y" from the url!)please update your bookmarks and kinks!

The Vespa and Piaggio Museum (Pontedera)

2009-03-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is a fantastic museum! It’s not so famous, but if you love Vespa, at least if you liked Vacanze Romane (the movie), you really have to see it, it also has free entrance!I’ve been there some weeks ago and it really amazed me… I still have an old Piaggio moped called “Grillo” and I’m quite sentimental about it, and the Vespas are so cool!The Vespa Museum is located in Pontedera, a small city

Florentine Tripe Recipe (Trippa alla Fiorentina)

2009-03-19T08:22:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favourite traditional dishes of Florence, the Florentine tripe (Trippa alla Fiorentina). It’s incredibly tasty, made with “poor” ingredients and it's a big part of the Tuscany popular and ancient tradional cusine.Ingredients:1 onion1 carrot1 stalk celeryextra-virgin olive oil3 pounds tripe, blanched and boiled1 pound canned peeled tomatoes.SaltPepperParmigiano cheeseUse only the

Best Vintage Shops in Florence

2009-03-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Here’s a list of the best vintage shops in Florence: here you can find clothing, jewellery, handbags, shoes and more, from the twenties to the eighties, and you can also find some incredible vintage masterpieces of the best Italian super-fashion griffes, as Gucci or Armani...Don't forget to hang around piazza Ciompi flea market too!Pitti Vintage – vintage clothing and accessoriesSdrucciolo dei

David LaChapelle Exhibition in Florence

2009-03-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

From February 28 2009 To May 06 2009 the Galleria Poggiali e Forconi in Florence will house an exhibition by David LaChapelle.After 10 years the world-famous photographer of celebrities David LaChapelle is back in Florence with a great free exhibition of his works.The David LaChapelle exhibition is divided into four main sections: Deluge, Recollections in America, Star System and Heaven to Hell.

Top 10 tips to save money in Florence

2009-03-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here is my top ten tips to save some euros when visiting Florence: it's quite an expensive city for Italian standards, so let's pay attention to our wallet!1 – save some money using the bus instead of taxi to move in Florence. Buy multiple tickets or “Carta Agile” to get 10 bus rides at the price of 8… and walk if you can, it’s free!2- if you’re gonna visit several museums buy inclusive and

Three good movies about Florence

2009-02-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

Here are three movies that I really like: all those films had been shot in Florence, and that’s the only thing that they have in common! Different genres, different years, different styles… but all those movies represent an atmosphere, an aspect of Florence, and put the spotlight on some of the million different sides that this wonderful city can offer to the observer.Hannibal (2001)Directed by

10 Ten Things I Can't Live Without in Florence

2009-02-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

1 . Pizza, bread and pastries at Pugi, the best bakery in Florence. You can find Pugi at:P.zza S. Marco 10Tel. 055 280981Via S. Gallo 62/RTel. 055 475975Viale De Amicis 49/RTel. 055 6696662 . Meat! Big bloody steaks, that’s the masterpiece of Florence, and I love it!3 . Celebrations for San Lorenzo day (saint Lawrence), June 24th. Huge fireworks and lots of people in the streets.4 . My bike.

Wedding in Florence

2009-02-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today it’s Valentine day so my post is dedicated to all the loving people of the world!A Romantic wedding in Florence is a dream, and a lot of people come from all over the world to get married here.There are several agencies that offer a complete wedding-planner service: you can get married in the suggestive Sala Rossa, the “red room” of the town-hall (Palazzo Vecchio), or in a church of any

Trippa and Lampredotto - Florence Street Food

2009-02-04T03:17:00.000-08:00

Trippa (tripe) and Lampredotto are two dishes that perfectly represent the Florence popular culinary traditions, eating them is an experience you can’t miss.Born from the street foods of artisans and workmen, tripe and lampredotto, have been an important part of the Florentine tradition for almost ten centuries. Florence and Tuscany are famous for the meat, that is an important part of

Top 10 things you can't miss in Florence

2009-02-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

When you have an holyday in Florence an entire year wouldn’t be enough to see all the beautiful thing of Florence.Here’s a Decalogue of the most important cultural and architectural issues that you can’t really miss in your trip to Florence: the most important museums, churches, and suggestive corners of the city.If you are well organized you can see all those things in about 4 intensive days.1-

Florence as it used to be - Firenze com'era

2009-01-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

I visited this museum during the European Heritage Day, a special day when all the museums are free for everyone.The museum is located beside the Convento of the Oblate, accommodated in a building with a beautiful garden and a cloister. We had free entrance but usually the ticket is really cheap, only 2,70 euros.The museum is on the ground floor of the building, and is made of two distinguished

Piazzale Michelangelo

2009-01-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

The Piazzale Michelangelo is surely one of the most beautiful places to visit in Florence Italy. Placed high on a green hillside overlooking the city, visitors can enjoy a breathtaking view of the whole city: you can spot the duomo, Palazzo Vecchio with its tower, Giotto’s bell-tower, the Arno river that flows and tear the city in two parts, with its bridges in sequence.Then turn around and look

The Duomo of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore

2009-01-19T14:05:00.001-08:00

The construction of the Duomo, the Cathedral also called Santa Maria del Fiore, was started by Arnolfo di Cambio on the 8th September 1296. It is the fourth longest church in the world (after Saint Peter in Rome, Saint Paul in London and the Cathedral in Milan). In some experts' opinion, Arnolfo's project was quite different from the present building, but the outside walls undoubtedly are the

Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence Dome

2009-01-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures of Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore) in a bright fresh morning of June 2008, just after a thick but quick rain, the air was clean and the sky was so bright... the big red silhouette of the dome was making a perfect contrast with the blue of the sky. I always think that Filippo Brunelleschi did a great job building this dome!

The Abbey of San Galgano and the (real) Sword in the Stone

2009-01-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

The abbey of Saint Galgano rises approximately 30 km from Siena, between the towns of Monticiano and Chiusdino, in a wild and unspoilt landscape, the sweet and charming Tuscany countryside.The Abbey of Saint Galgano was built between 1218 and 1268: it has represented throughout the centuries an important stop and point of reference in this corner of Tuscany for travellers, pilgrims and people of

Palazzo Pitti - Pitti Palace

2009-01-08T02:54:00.000-08:00

The gallery is second only to the Uffizi in importance, and is notable for the works of Rubens, Pietro da Cortona, Tiziano e Raffaello (Titian and Raphael).Begun in 1458 from an original design by Brunelleschi, the architecture was inspired by ancient Roman buildings. An enormous affair, it was built for Luca Pitti, a one time friend of the Medici who became jealous of their power and turned

The Uffizi Gallery

2008-12-31T15:27:00.000-08:00

This is probably the most famous museum in the world. Its collection of Primitive and Renaissance paintings comprises several universally acclaimed masterpieces of all time, including works by Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Fra Beato Angelico, Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaelo, Michelangelo and Caravaggio. The German, Dutch and Flemish masters are

Shopping in Florence

2008-12-31T14:32:00.000-08:00

I suggest you an interesting tour in the centre of Florence. Obviously it does not include everything the city has to offer, but is a good starting point for anyone wanting to explore one of the world's shopping capitals.For luxury shopping the place to start is Via Tornabuoni, one of the most elegant streets of the city, where you can find all the big shopping brands (Gucci, Prada, Cavalli,

Markets of Florence

2008-12-30T16:07:00.000-08:00

What about spending some time hanging around the stalls of a market to breathe the genuine atmosphere of a city?In Florence there are a lot of markets where you can buy almost everything; here is a list of the main markets, the ones that are strongly recommended if you’re planning to visit the city.Florence is famous for leather products, and sure for meat, cheese and food in general; you can

Palazzo Strozzi

2008-12-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Palazzo Strozzi has been built during a long time and various architects planned it: the result is an harmonic and perfect example of reinassance palace, the most regular, homogenous and symmetrical one, in a time which the symmetry and the regularity of shapes were very appreciated gifts. This palace was the house of the Strozzi family, an important dynasty of rich florentine bankers, who built

Tuscany Recipe: Summer Farro Salad - Emmer Salad

2008-12-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

A fresh tuscany recipe, perfect for summer, easy to prepare and still tasty the day after :-)This is the basic original recipe, but you can add other ingredients: peppers, olives, zucchine...Ingredients:500 gr of emmer (farro)500 gr of ripe red tomatoes2 onionsa bunch of basilextravirgin olive oilsaltpepperPreparation:Wash emmer, than put it in a big pan and fill with water. Add 2 spoons of salt

Tuscany Recipe: Panzanella

2008-12-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

This is a fresh, tasty, summer recipe: a bread salad, very easy to cook, and it can be prepared even a couple of days before is eaten ;-) Ingredients:400 g of day-old country bread (best one is tuscany unsalty bread)8 red, ripe tomatoes2 red onions1 cucumbera bunch of fresh basilextra-virgin olive oilred-wine vinegarsaltpepperPreparation:Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes, then place the cubes in a

Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure - Museum of Semiprecious Stones Factory

2008-11-21T01:51:00.000-08:00

The Museum is located in via degli Alfani, right behind the Accademia Museum (you'll easily recognize it from people waiting in line outside). In this museum there's never to wait in line, it's quite unknow to most people, but it sure deserve a visit.This museum collects some wonderful objects originally made in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a 400 years old handcraft laboratory, founded by

Outlets in Florence

2008-11-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some useful addresses for fashion outlets around Florence, where you can find the collections of the most famous italian stylists at reasonably cheap prices!Roberto Cavalli Outlet"It has begun its activity in July 2002, as a result of a greater demand for our collections. In these years we have found out that the choice of this opening has been appreciated, in particular from young