YOUR FLORENCE EXPERIENCE

FINE ARTS AND
CULTURE ACADEMY

Caravaggio and the 20th century in Florence

From March 27 to July 20, Villa Bardini hosts the exhibition Caravaggio e il Novecento. Roberto Longhi, Anna Banti, which explores the relationships that the couple had with important artists and figures of the twentieth century. Roberto Longhi was one of the most important art historians in Italy and the...

Curious Florence: the Florentine New Year

Florence is a city that has always done things a little in its own way, as demonstrated by the fact that for 168 years it celebrated the New Year on a different day than the rest of Italy.The Florentine New Year is celebrated on 25 March, the date corresponding to...

Tuscan traditional dishes: Schiacciata alla Fiorentina

It is known that Tuscan cuisine is a “poor” cuisine made of simple ingredients, but very tasty nonetheless and much appreciated worldwide. The typical Tuscan dishes are linked to the rural tradition and the products that come from the countryside, most of them have a story to tell. The desserts...

Dante's statue in Piazza Santa Croce

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...

Stenterello: a Florentine Carnival mask

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...

The Hoax of the Invention of Glasses in Florence

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...

Dante and Beatrice

“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...

Casa Buonarroti: the museum house of Michelangelo

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...

Ancient techniques: Commesso Fiorentino

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...

The column of San Zanobi

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...

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