Next
to the entrance to the Basilica of Santa Croce, stands the monument to Dante Alighieri, made
in 1865 on the occasion of the celebrations for the six hundredth
anniversary of Dante, in the first year of Florence as Capital.
Enrico
Pazzi, a sculptor from Emilia, was called to make...
In Naples there is the famous
Pulcinella, in Venice there is Colombina and in Bergamo there are Arlecchino
and Brighella, but what about in Florence? We also have our traditional
carnival mask, he's called Stenterello, because of his puny and haggard appearance, of a man who seems to have, in fact, grown...
Many have been contending for the paternity of the invention of glasses since Roman times, and among these are Pisa and Florence, the eternal rivals. Even China has tried to claim the paternity of the invention of glasses, but Chinese chronicles report that it was the Jesuit missionaries who imported...
“Tanto gentile e tanto onesta parela donna mia quand’ella altrui saluta,ch’ogne lingua deven tremando mutae gli occhi no l’ardiscon di guardare.”(“So kind and so honest she looksmy woman, when she greets others,that every tongue becomes, shaking, mute,and eyes dare not look at her.”)Thus Dante Alighieri introduces us to his beloved...
On February 9, 1858, Michelangelo Buonarroti’s house,
located at number 70 of Via Ghibellina, became a museum.Since he was young, Michelangelo had dreamed of
creating a patrician house to leave as inheritance to his descendants, a dream
that he never managed to realize during his lifetime.It was his grandson, Michelangelo...
The Commesso
Fiorentino, or Florentine mosaic, is a decorative technique that is often
confused with the Roman mosaic from which it originates, and was used to create
paintings, decorate furniture such as tables and chests of drawers or for wall
coverings.The word “commesso”
derives from the Latin verb “committere”,
meaning...
On January 26th, in Florence we celebrate San Zanobi (Saint Zenobius) so you might see a garland of flowers at the base of the column in Piazza Duomo, aptly named the column of San Zanobi.
This column is located next to the Baptistery, but many people, including Florentines, walk past...
Dating back to primitive paintings and already
widely used in the Middle Ages, the sgraffito
technique was all the rage during the Renaissance, particularly in
Florence and Rome, going in parallele with the spread of grottesca decoration.The name derives from the pointed instrument used
for this technique, which was called...
The
annual date with men’s fashion returns from January 14 to 17 at the Fortezza Da
Basso with Pitti Uomo, the 107th edition, where the Fall/Winter 2025
collections of about 790 Italian and foreign brands will be presented.
The theme of this winter edition is FIRE, which represents the passion...
One
of the most typical desserts made in Tuscany - in Siena to be exact - is panforte.
A spicy and sweet cake that is consumed during the Christmas period along with
the well-known panettone. This dessert has very ancient origins, it is the
direct descendant of the pan melato,...
