Gardens of Florence #10: giardini Villa Fabbricotti and Baden Powell, between decadence and bucolic solitude

Gardens of Florence #10: giardini Villa Fabbricotti and Baden Powell, between decadence and bucolic solitude

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In this less-traveled park, not especially projected to attract tourists, on a Saturday noon you will find a couple of people lying on the benches sunbathing, reading, drinking beer or walking dogs. The fact that it looks semi-abandoned gives it an attractive decadent appearance. Formerly the Fabbricotti villa and the park belonged to the Strozzi family.…

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Gardens of Florence #3: giardino Bardini, splendour in the grass

Gardens of Florence #3: giardino Bardini, splendour in the grass

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Florence reaches its climax in early April as wisteria flowers blossom at Giardino Bardini. This historic garden, built with fountains and statues in English and Baroque style, is placed on a steep hill of Oltrarno. Its open green space was made public after restoration in 2007. Best to explore it is — possibly with someone loved — at eight in the morning, when just gardeners are around. Further wonders include the Belvedere, Giardino Boboli or the hike up to Costa San Giorgio and Porta San Giorgio, before pleasantly walking down to Porta San Niccolò along the trace of the old city wall.

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Gardens of Florence #14: Giardino Villa La Pietra

Gardens of Florence #14: Giardino Villa La Pietra

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Villa La Pietra is currently the headquarters of New York University (NYU) in Italy. Its garden is by far my favourite private garden in Florence and it is one of the most renowned in Italy. Built by the Acton Family between 1908 and the beginning of the Second World War, its design is very much inspired by the real Renaissance gardens of Florence, though it also contains elements of the many gardening trends and styles popular since then.…

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The synagogue of Florence, example of Jewish architecture for worship

The synagogue of Florence, example of Jewish architecture for worship

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Considered one of the best examples of Jewish architecture for worship, the Florentine synagogue, located in the heart of nineteenth-century Florence, is not only a building in which to profess one’s faith, but also a social and cultural centre. The temple was designed by the Piedmontese architect Marco Treves and opened in 1882. Today is still a place of prayer, but also of meeting and memory. The synagogue also houses the Jewish Museum of the Community of Florence, where great importance is given to the remembrance of the Holocaust and to the persecutions and sacrifices of the Florentine Jewish community. This building descends stylistically from the architectural eclecticism of the 19th century. The Moorish style predominates in conjunction with some Romanesque winks, typical of the Florentine tradition. The external decorative elements, as well as all in the interior, use coloured Venetian tiles to shape geometric ornaments.
Synagogue of Florence -Via Luigi Carlo Farini 4

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Mimosa blosson on the International Women’s Day in Italy: la Festa della Donna

Mimosa blosson on the International Women’s Day in Italy: la Festa della Donna

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The 8th of March is the International Women’s Day or, as it’s more commonly called in Italy, la Festa della Donna, where the importance of women is celebrated by the giving and receiving of mimosa blossom.

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Carnival of Viareggio, magic and fantasy on the Tuscan coast

Carnival of Viareggio, magic and fantasy on the Tuscan coast

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—Have you ever been to Viareggio carnival? Is it worth it?
—It’s a little decadent … It makes me sad.»
—Interesting, you just convinced me, I’ll go!

Although not as popular as the Venetian, the Carnival of Viareggio is one of the most important and acclaimed in Italy. I am from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where the carnival is the most outstanding festivity. It is the first big celebration of the year. It involves a massive exhibition of colour, enthusiasm, and frenzy, and that is why, probably, it drives me to discover other facets and versions of the same event. It is said that “diversity is equal to cultural richness.”

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Museo Nazionale del Bargello: mecca of Renaissance sculptural art

Museo Nazionale del Bargello: mecca of Renaissance sculptural art

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Florence is not only beautiful on the outside; to rival its wonderful landscape and streets it also offers endless interior attractions. Since 1865, the Bargello National Museum has exhibited the most important collection of Renaissance sculpture in the world. The Medici gave the building in the sixteenth century to the bargello or head of the police, so he could use it as a prison. In fact, it was in its cortile, one of the most outstanding in the whole country, where executions took place. The site currently hosts works of Giambologna, Donatello, Benvenuto Cellini, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Brunelleschi and Michelangelo.
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13 examples of modern architecture in Florence

13 examples of modern architecture in Florence

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Florence is a myth. It is a place where scholars, inventors, artists, and genius have changed the world and invented it as we know it today. The legacy of Florence is modernity. More than a place, Florence makes the world aware of a time flow between ancient time, present and future, with no limits. The buildings described below show the city commitment to the architectural avant-garde, also known as Modern Style.…

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Villa Puccini in Torre del Lago: where Giacomo Puccini still feels alive

Villa Puccini in Torre del Lago: where Giacomo Puccini still feels alive

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Torre del Lago (Viareggio, province of Lucca) is known for being the gay mecca in the Tuscan coast, but most especially for Giacomo Puccini ́s villa. Attracted by its peaceful surroundings, such as the Lake di Massaciuccoli nearby, the composer bought it in 1898 and lived there until his death in 1924. The simplicity of the two-storey building is offset by inner eclecticism, with highlights as his piano room and the chapel where the master, his wife, son and daughter-in-law are buried. It is great to know that tragic characters such as Floria Tosca, Mimì or Madama Butterfly were given birth within these walls. The house-museum was inaugurated in 2012 and is managed by her granddaughter Simonetta Puccini. Since 1930, the Puccini Festival is celebrated near the lake in summer, with works of the composer represented in an outdoor stage.
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Trattoria Coco Lezzone: bistecca alla fiorentina for celebrities in Florence

Trattoria Coco Lezzone: bistecca alla fiorentina for celebrities in Florence

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The best way to discover authentic places is to get carried away by Florence’s vicoli, wandering around one finds the best chances merely turning in the next corner. This is what happened with the Trattoria Coco Lezzone and with most of the places featured on this blog. Toni has been working in this family run restaurant for ten years. “David Rockefeller was here in 2014 – He was 99 year old at that time. He ordered pasta with white truffle and bistecca alla fiorentina. He ate a lot! Likewise Prince Charles of England was here, in 1986, invited by the marquises of Frescobaldi, the restaurant was closed for them and all their retinue,” says Toni. The photos hanging on the walls show these and other celebrities. “Every time Pavarotti visited Florence, he came to the trattoria and had bistecca alla fiorentina,” which by the way is prepared in a centuries-old wood-fired oven. “Queen Beatriz of Holland ate pasta with white truffle and tiramisu. According to her, it was one of the best she had ever tasted.” Serving diners since 1800, this restaurant also follows the tradition of Tuscan cuisine, consisting in preparing typical Florentine dishes with fresh seasonal products. Lampredotto, bollito con salsa verde, spezzatino con verza, coniglio alla cacciatoria
Trattoria Coco Lezzone – Via del Parioncino 26R

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