10 Ten Things I Can't Live Without in Florence

Monday, February 16, 2009

1 . Pizza, bread and pastries at Pugi, the best bakery in Florence. You can find Pugi at:

P.zza S. Marco 10
Tel. 055 280981

Via S. Gallo 62/R
Tel. 055 475975

Viale De Amicis 49/R
Tel. 055 669666

2 . 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. Forget your car in Florence, if you don’t want to waste time in traffic jams use bus, bikes or feet!

5 . Air conditioning. Summer in Florence is incredibly hot...

6. Shopping and hanging around in the city markets. My favourite one is Sant’Ambrogio: fruits and vegetables, meat, clothing, shoes, books, and more…

7 . Rock Bottom Records Shop. Here I buy food for my soul: a great selection of rock ‘n’ roll, beat, garage, punk, vinyl records, both new and second-hand, at reasonable prices.

8 . A compact umbrella, the one you can store in a bag. When it starts to rain, it could last forever :-(

9 . Sales! Fashion! Shopping! Sales in Florence are a jungle but I’m a beast!

10 . A cup of tea or a cappuccino with my friends at the Caffè La Loggia in via Pietrapiana.

Top 10 things you can't miss in Florence

Sunday, February 1, 2009

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- Uffizi museum – masterpieces of Botticelli, Giotto, Cimabue, Masaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello and many others.

2- Palazzo Pitti- it houses several minor collections in addition to those principal of the Medici family.

3- Piazzale Michelangelo – an incredibly beautiful panoramic view of Florence from the hillside, and a wonderful roman church nearby, San Miniato al Monte.

4- Market of San Lorenzo – the city market, with clothings, leather goods, typical food…

5- Galleria dell’Accademia and Michelangelo’s David… the masterpiece of Michelangelo, the statue of David, it’s here!

6- Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore – the cathedral of Florence, with the magnificent Brunelleschi dome.

7- Ponte Vecchio – how romantic! A bridge over the Arno river, sided with small ancient buildings which house traditional jewelery shops.

8- Oltrarno – a typical old neighbourhood with traditional shops, small hidden streets and beautiful fiorentine houses.

9- Santa Maria Novella church – a wonterful example of the early italian gothic style, that’s my favorite church!

10- Piazza della Signoria – probably the most famous view of Florence, with Palazzo Vecchio facing the square.