Introduction to Italy The tenth-largest country in Europe; Italy reaches into the central Mediterranean and includes the islands Sardinia and Sicily. Before Italy became a nation-state in 1861, the country was divided into city-states. Those political divisions may no longer exist but they are still present culturally. One will find a long-standing rivalry between Florence …
It is July and you are staying in Florence for a week. You rush from museum to cool museum to escape the suffocating heat. The open piazzas are the worst. By 2pm you give up and retreat to your air-conditioned hotel room, where you settle in with a book and occasionally look out the window …
It is just before noon on a bright and clear Wednesday afternoon, and I am on the hunt for a new street. Crossing Piazza della Repubblica with five potentials scrawled on an index card, I suddenly realize I need lunch—and fast. I have only so much time so I need a spot quick and delicious. …
It is a very ordinary street in Florence, via Sant’Agostino. Some may say it’s dirty, or even unpleasant. Graffiti is scrawled on nearly every wall, outdated posters look like they’ve been scratched at, and the stones on the street could use some repair. Cars and bikes roar past on their way from via Romana to …
As the skies darken in Italy in the first week of December, the holiday lights of Florence sparkle up the night. Draped over the city streets like curtains of candlelight, the lights create a strangely intimate impression. Every year, a large Christmas tree reigns in the center of town at the Piazza della Repubblica, and churches …
It’s one of the most dramatic stories in 15th-century Florence. In 1478, the Pazzi, a well-established Florentine banking family, with support from Pope Sixtus IV, the King of Naples, and the Archbishop of Pisa, and others, hatched a plot so daring as to almost appear ridiculous: to kill Giuliano and Lorenzo de’ Medici in …
During your stay in Florence, especially if you’re here during the hot summer months, you’re going to want to leave behind the hustle and bustle of the skinny streets and the overcrowded museums. Here are three day trips you can take to get some perspective and fresh air.
When deciding where to stay in Florence, whether you want luxury accommodations with around-the-clock room service or just a clean, quiet place to lay your head after walking all over this beautiful city, the city offers a wide range of hotel options. We’ve compiled a list of what we consider the best Florence hotles, …