Piazza della Signoria in Florence

22 August 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Zolli/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Zolli/cc-by-sa-3.0

Piazza della Signoria is a w-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio. It is the main point of the origin and history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political focus of the city. It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists, located near Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo and gateway to Uffizi Gallery.   read more…

San Casciano in Val di Pesa in Tuscany

16 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Vignaccia76/cc-by-3.0

© Vignaccia76/cc-by-3.0

San Casciano in Val di Pesa is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 15 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of Florence. San Casciano in Val di Pesa borders the following municipalities; Greve in Chianti, Impruneta, Montespertoli, Scandicci and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa.   read more…

Mercato Centrale in Florence

25 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, Shopping Reading Time:  3 minutes

Mercato Centrale, built in 1874 by Giuseppe Mengoni © Txllxt TxllxT/cc-by-sa-4.0

Mercato Centrale, built in 1874 by Giuseppe Mengoni © Txllxt TxllxT/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Mercato Centrale (English: Central Market) in Florence is located between via dell’Ariento, via Sant’Antonino, via Panicale and Piazza del Mercato Centrale. It is one of the results from the time of risanamento, the period when Florence was the capital of Italy in the late nineteenth century. It was designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, an architect who also conceived the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.   read more…

Portrait: The diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, writer, playwright and poet Niccolò Machiavelli

22 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  31 minutes

Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi di Tito

Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi di Tito

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period. He has often been called the father of modern political science. For many years he was a senior official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned by Italian scholars. He was secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power. He wrote his best-known work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513, having been exiled from city affairs (Works by Niccolò Machiavelli).   read more…

The Uffizi in Florence

15 May 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Uffizi © Riccardo Speziari/cc-by-sa-3.0

Uffizi © Riccardo Speziari/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Uffizi Gallery is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.   read more…

Theme Week Tuscany – Montepulciano

28 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Montepulciano © Adrian Michael

Montepulciano © Adrian Michael

Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune in the province of Siena in southern Tuscany, in Italy. Montepulciano, with an elevation of 605 m, sits on a high limestone ridge. By car it is 13 km E of Pienza; 70 km SE of Siena, 124 km SE of Florence, and 186 km north of Rome.   read more…

Theme Week Tuscany – Arezzo

27 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Piazza Grande © LPLT

Piazza Grande © LPLT

Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000. Arezzo is set on a steep hill rising from the floodplain of the River Arno. In the upper part of the town are the cathedral, the town hall and the Medici Fortress (Fortezza Medicea), from which the main streets branch off towards the lower part as far as the gates. The upper part of the town maintains its medieval appearance despite the addition of later structures.   read more…

Theme Week Tuscany – Portoferraio on Elba

26 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Magrathea

© Magrathea

Portoferraio is a town and comune in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island’s largest city. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny hill surrounded on three sides by the sea.   read more…

Theme Week Tuscany – Viareggio

25 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

The Burlamacca canal © Sailko

The Burlamacca canal © Sailko

Viareggio is a city and comune located in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 64,000 it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city within the Province of Lucca.   read more…

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