“The drink–alongside David and the Duomo–became one of Florence’s farthest-reaching icons.”
“(The Tarot Garden), with sculptures inspired by the esoteric tarot cards, opened its gates. In their gigantic forms of kaleidoscopically-embellished reinforced concrete, the High Priestess, the Hierophant, the Sun, the Moon, the Hermit, the Devil, and the rest of the Major Arcana were unleashed; representatives of the human consciousness were reigning over the Maremma land.”
“The name literally translates to ‘cuddles’–fitting, considering these comforting balls of fried dough can snuggle their way into everyone’s hearts.”
There are many ways to experience Italy, but some are better than others. The key to getting to know the country at its best is to look beyond the comfortable and the predictable. Get lost! Get to know the locals. And one of the easiest and most rewarding ways is through an immersive, off-the-beaten-path experience. […]
In Italy, there are as many unofficial languages as there are regions. Every city, every small town, and most neighborhoods have their own phrases, hand gestures, and different meanings for common Italian words. Although these differences exist, it’s relatively easy for a native Italian speaker to navigate their way across the country… But there is […]
To the uninitiated, there’s nothing to do in Florence. And, to be fair, it really does seem to be true: bars close at 2 AM, city-center clubs are overflowing with 19-year-old exchange students, and the range of music styles you can find is certainly more limited than that of more cosmopolitan cities. DJ and local […]
“As I get closer to one of the paintings, hanging in the living room, I see how Lorenzo’s canvases can only be fully understood in real life. The surface of each work is a miniature landscape meticulously cared for, like the hills we were driving through some hours ago.”
“Rome is an exuberant, chaotic beauty, a city built on millennia of layers of garbage; Milan is handsome and sprawling and tame, a little square. Florence is just right.”
“Local life is bustling and bright, and the island somehow contains within its 23.8 km squared everything you might ever need.”
“I don’t think you can call it a sport. It’s a brawl, a battle. You have rules, but sometimes those rules aren’t respected.”
Florence–city of art and culture that it is–is unsurprisingly the birthplace of many works of great literature. But, as any avid reader will tell you, books are so much more than the words that lie between their covers. Literature is about opening minds, creating experiences, and forging relationships, whether that be through getting to know […]
“…joining a convent was often a creative solution, rather than a hindrance, for women like Nelli, whose status as a nun enabled her to pursue fine art when women were all but banned from the profession.”
IN COLLABORATION WITH LUISAVIAROMA
Florence is Renaissance art, Medici Palazzos, and the scent of steak and leather wafting through the air. But it’s also crumbling sidewalks, overtourism, and a whole lot of supercazzole. Love it or hate it, this is Florence:
“It’s no coincidence that this feels like one of the most purely Florentine nooks of the city center.”
“Tuscan bread may look like bread, it may even smell like bread, but it is not, dear readers, bread as you and I have come to know and love it. Take a bite, and you’ll detect a distinct note of, well, nothing, with just a hint of cardboard.”
