In the narrow cobbled streets just off via del Corso winding through Dante’s Florence, there is an unassuming stone church tucked neatly into the facade of ancient buildings. It is the Chiesa di Santa Margherita dei Cerchi, dating back to 1032 and named for the 12th century Cerchi Family. Although the plaque below identifies it as…
Category: Florence
A Church with a View
Outside, the day was steamy and still, a typical late afternoon July day in Florence. But inside, ahhhh, inside the walls of San Miniato al Monte, which have stood watch over the Florentines since 1018 from one of the city’s highest points, inside was cool and subdued. We happened to wander in at 17:30, which,…
Can’t Resist a Libreria
In the Piazza del Duomo of Florence the main attraction is Santa Maria del Fiore, the city’s iconic red-domed cathedral. (If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the green and white marble of the church reflected in the shop window.) If you are a lover of books and the Italian language,…
A Historically Proud City
I keep expecting to tire of reading about Renaissance Florence, but thus far, that hasn’t happened. After writing my recent post on Renaissance reads, I was inspired to start the biography Leonardo: The Artist and the Man by Serge Bramly. Just a couple of chapters in, Bramly sets the stage of Florence at the time when…
Sunshine, Shadows, Lemon Trees, Medici
The peaceful garden of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, in the golden light of a perfect fall day in Florence. Five quick facts about the palazzo: 1. The palazzo was commissioned by Cosimo the Elder — founder of the Medici bank and the patriarch of the political dynasty — in 1444. 2. An early design by…
Florence’s Other Dome: The Basilica of San Lorenzo’s Medici Chapels
If this shot above were wider, then just a bit to the right you would see Florence’s iconic Duomo, capping the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Pictured here, however, a very similar-in-“miniature” dome graces the Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes), one of two structures comprising the Medici Chapels in the complex of the…
Cin Cin, Amici!
Cheers to you all, friends. I hope 2017 is off to a beautiful start! Cin cin a tutti, amici! Spero che 2017 (due mila diciasette) comincia bellissimo!
Favorite Snapshots Across the Years: The Florence Edition
Florence makes my heart beat fast. For reasons which I’ve never fully understood, I feel actual love for this city, cradle of the Renaissance. I can’t get enough of it when I’m there; I ache for it when I’m gone. When in Florence, I rise with the sun and wander the streets just for the…
Book Love, Italiano
Thankfully this bookshop in Florence was closed when Daughter and I stumbled upon it this summer, or I may have ended up facing the dilemma of carrying several fragile books back to the U.S. without being damaged en route! Although I would love a couple of these for my collection… This simple display marries two…
Snapshots from Florence: The Ponte Vecchio
Il Ponte Vecchio “Water under the bridge” is a common English saying. In Italian one would say acqua passata non macina più, literally translated as water gone no longer roils. Regardless the language, the water under this famous bridge is the river Arno, which it has spanned for centuries. The Ponte Vecchio is one of my…
Prayers & Piazzas 