An artful and inviting shop window in the picturesque Tuscan town of Pienza.
Tag: Travel
On the Fringe of Florence: The Stibbert Museum
About seven kilometers from the Piazza del Duomo but still in Florence proper is the Stibbert Museum, the stately home of Frederick Stibbert (1838-1906), a man born into wealth to an English father and Italian mother. Stibbert inherited the considerable family wealth at age 21 and began a lifelong passion of collecting military armory and costumes….
Evening in Rome
A passeggiata at sunset, and Rome never disappoints….
Four Shades of Ponte Santa Trinita
“If you know just one bridge in Florence, know the Ponte Vecchio. If you know two bridges in Florence, make the second the Ponte Santa Trinita.” — Florence for Free May 3, 2018 Crossing the Ponte Vecchio, as most visitors to Florence will likely do at some point, one cannot escape the graceful majesty of its neighbor,…
Study Abroad Italy: The Remaining Itinerary
Currently posting from northern Scotland, where the days are long, the air is unseasonably hot, and the golf is plentiful. A fantastic way to recalibrate between Italy and the U.S.! Following is a re-cap of our final weeks in Italy. Above: Scotland The last update was written mid-way through our stay in Sorrento, with a…
Update: Study Abroad Italy
Ciao a tutti! Before leaving for my long-planned “study abroad” adventure in Italy, I had every intention of sharing a daily photo here on the site, but being a student, tourist and traveler turned out to be a full-time job! Now that I’m on “summer break” (currently reporting from Sorrento), I have a little time…
Santa Margherita Ligure
The not-too-big, not-too-small seaport town of Santa Margherita Ligure, situated on the sparkling Mediterranean, has proven the ideal home base to start our Italian adventure. An easy two-hour drive from Milan and just 30 minutes from Genoa, Santa Margherita is connected to nearby towns including Camogli and Rapallo by ferries and a train station. The next town…
And So It Begins: Study Abroad 2018
It was nearly a decade ago when I realized that there would be a year that, if all went according to plan, Older and Younger Son would both be at university and Daughter, much younger by several years, would be in a somewhat transitional school year. I dreamed of a self-created “study abroad” program in…
Art History Appreciation
Art is much more powerful when it jumps from the pages of a book and you can enjoy it face to face. We found Masaccio’s masterpiece, The Holy Trinity, sitting quietly inside Florence’s Santa Maria Novella church, a peaceful and cool oasis from a crowded summer day in the city. This work is considered “one…
A Home for the Italian Language
On the outskirts of Florence sits Villa di Castello, country home of Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519-1574), Grand Duke of Tuscany. Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Primavera once adorned the walls of the villa, and Castello’s elaborate garden — renowned throughout Europe — influenced other famous gardens including Florence’s Boboli Gardens. Villa di Castello has seen…
Prayers & Piazzas 