Tag Archives: Florence
City Views: A 360° Walking Tour Of Florence, Italy
Florence, Italian Firenze, is the capital of Firenze provincia (province) and Toscana (Tuscany) regione (region), central Italy. The city, located about 145 miles (230 km) northwest of Rome, is surrounded by gently rolling hills that are covered with villas and farms, vineyards, and orchards. Florence was founded as a Roman military colony about the 1st century BCE, and during its long history it has been a republic, a seat of the duchy of Tuscany, and a capital (1865–70) of Italy. During the 14th–16th century Florence achieved preeminence in commerce and finance, learning, and especially the arts.
The present glory of Florence is mainly its past. Indeed, its historic centre was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1982. The buildings there are works of art abounding in yet more works of art, and the splendours of the city are stamped with the personalities of the individuals who made them. The geniuses of Florence were backed by persons of towering wealth, and the city to this day gives testimony to their passions for religion, for art, for power, or for money. Among the most famous of the city’s cultural giants are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo, and its most-renowned rulers, generations of the Medici family.
Filmed in October 2022
Fall 2022 Views: A Walk Through Florence, Italy
Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell’Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”
Previews: The Florentine Magazine – July/Aug 2022
The Florentine July/August 2022
Love, Spritz + Gelato
My forearms are sticking to the desk as I type this month’s letter. It’s an irksome feeling that’s offset by last night’s joy of dancing wildly at a wedding and an afternoon dip in a kind friend’s swimming pool. Summer in Florence is an intoxicating mix of sweat, fun and gelato. While many of us escape to our countries of origin for as long as we can, there’s something undeniably alluring about these sun-streaked months in Tuscany. Just think back to movies such as Stealing Beauty and Under the Tuscan Sun before fast forwarding to recent Netflix films Toscana and Love & Gelato. Stereotypes aside—and there are far too many to mention in these productions (Netflix, we’re here if you fancy delving deeper into our city and region!)—summer in Florence never stops working its inexplicable magic. Yes, the wall of heat and buzz of mosquitoes may be draining during the day, but the night brings boundless pleasures, from movie nights by the Uffizi to exhibitions at just-reopened Forte di Belvedere, refreshing beers beside the Arno and brilliantly oddball cultural moments such as a wheat threshing festival in the hills (find out more about that gem on page 16).
Italian Culture: ‘Mitico – Follow The Art Path’ (2022)
For the 2022 season, Belmond has launched a partnership with internationally acclaimed art gallery – Galleria Continua – entitled MITICO, which celebrates the talents of four prominent artists, as they take the spotlight in some of Belmond’s captivating landmark gardens across Italy.
Evoking a feeling of inclusivity and community, MITICO embodies a new art philosophy: it is the reinterpretation of universal customs shared amongst different societies, such as cooking, painting, observing, and appreciating, and how these are consumed in their environments.
MITICO is a moment in time and history where cultures interact – ultimately it is a celebration of art de vivre. Deepening its long-standing connection to the arts, through MITICO, Galleria Continua and Belmond invite guests to see cultures through a different lens, tapping into each individual destination’s essence and beauty.
Preview: The Florentine Magazine – June 2022
Florentine Magazine, June 2022 – Sighing over Florence
There’s a garden on a hillside overlooking Florence where it feels like you’ve struck the pot of gold—and all the colours of the rainbow. This art park is the life’s work of Alice Esclapon de Villeneuve, who started to expand the family’s plot of land just off viale Michelangelo on the occasion of her daughter’s birth over 20 years ago. Finding the art park is something of a treasure hunt, however, hence the enlistment of bilingual guide Elena Fulceri for tours in Italian or English.
Historical Views: Ponte Vecchio In Florence, Italy
The Ponte Vecchio is one of the most iconic bridges in Florence, Italy. It is the oldest bridge in the city (Ponte Vecchio literally translates to “old bridge”), and one of the oldest segmental arch bridges in the world. Since the Middle Ages, the base of the Ponte Vecchio has consisted of three stone arches and two piers.
The stone structure was completed in 1345, and was built over the course of twelve years. It replaced an earlier wooden structure that collapsed in a flood in 1333. Originally, the buildings on the Ponte Vecchio housed apartments and workshops, as well as butcher shops. Later, the business premises were given to goldsmiths and silversmiths, who added several structural changes to the buildings, such as bay windows and balconies.
Reviews: ‘The Week In Art’
Donatello in Florence, the Biennale of Sydney and Eduardo Navarro’s seed installation.
This week, as the Palazzo Strozzi and Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence present a survey of Donatello, one of the greatest of all Italian Renaissance masters, we talk to Arturo Galansino, the Strozzi’s Director General, and Paola D’Agostino, Director of the Bargello museum, about the show. The Biennale of Sydney in Australia has just opened, with the theme of rīvus, meaning stream in Latin. José Roca, the Biennale’s artistic director, and Alessandro Pelizzon, co-founder of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, discuss the Biennale’s concept, bringing rivers and other “aqueous beings”, as Roca and his curatorial colleagues call them, into dialogue with artists, architects, designers, scientists, and communities. What does it mean if you grant rivers and other natural forms rights? And this episode’s Work of the Week also explores nature, ecology and the relationship between humans and natural phenomena. We speak to curator Bárbara Rodriguez Muñoz about The Photosynthetics, an installation by Eduardo Navarro in Rooted Beings, the latest exhibition at London’s Wellcome Collection.
Donatello: The Renaissance, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, 19 March-31 July. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, 2 September-8 January 2023. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will stage its variation of the exhibition in 2023
The Biennale of Sydney: Rīvus continues until 13 June. And José and Alessandro will take part in a panel discussion on 10 May titled Reclaiming Rivers’ Rights. Find out more at biennaleofsydney.art
Rooted Beings, Wellcome Collection, London, 24 March-29 August
Preview: The Florentine Magazine – February 2022
The Ultimate Travel Tour: Sardinia To Florence – Top 100 Places To Visit In Italy
Italy, a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s “David” and Brunelleschi’s Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.
0:00 – Intro 0:39 – Sardinia & Cala Goloritze 1:45 – Lake Como, Varenna, & Bellagio 2:43 – Italian Riviera & Cinque Terre 4:10 – Portofino & San Fruttuoso 4:54 – Venice 5:22 – Valdobbiadene 5:46 – Lake Garda & Monte Baldo 6:27 – Madonna Santuario 6:53 – Verona & Bologna 7:58 – Milan 8:40 – Lake Maggiore & Lake Lugano 9:31 – Aosta 9:45 – Cervinia 10:13 – Great St. Bernard Pass 10:42 – Stelvio Pass, Tirano, & Fellaria Glacier 11:44 – Piedmont Region 12:59 – Ponza & Chiaia di Luna 13:55 – Porto Flavia, Tavolara Island, & Cala Spinosa 14:57 – Dolomites & Seceda 15:32 – Alpe di Siusi & Sassolungo 16:14 – Gardena Pass & Val di Funes 16:50 – Lago di Braies & Passo Giau 17:30 – Cinque Torri & Lago Federa 18:05 – Vajolet Towers & Lago Sorapis 18:41 – Tre Cime di Lavaredo 19:20 – Rome & Vatican City 20:43 – Calcatta Vecchia 21:08 – Civita di Bagnoregio 21:35 – Naples & Pompeii 22:21 – Ischia & Procida 22:53 – Amalfi Coast & Fiordo di Furore 24:12 – Positano & Amalfi 25:20 – Atrani, Ravello, Praiano 27:18 – Capri 27:53 – Umbria & Perugia 28:32 – Spoleto & Assisi 29:18 – Spello & San Marino 30:21 – Vieste & Gargano National Park 30:46 – Tremiti Islands 31:26 – Puglia & Bari 31:45 – Polignano a Mare 32:15 – Alberobello & Matera 33:20 – Locorotondo & Martina Franca 33:50 – Taranto & Ostuni 34:40 – Calabria & Capo Vaticano 35:13 – Tropea & Scilla 35:58 – Gerace & Bova 36:44 – Sicily & Palermo 37:05 – Cefalu & Catania 37:40 – Taormina & Syracuse 38:36 – Valley of the Temples 39:14 – Aeolian Islands 39:30 – Lampedusa 39:54 – Tuscany & San Gimignano 41:09 – Siena & Monteriggioni 42:04 – Val d’Orcia & Pienza 42:45 – Montepulciano & Saturnia 43:58 – Pitilignano & Carrara 44:40 – Pisa 45:12 – Florence 46:26 – Outro
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