Browsing AuthorPaco Neumann

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Paco Neumann

Paco Neumann is a journalist, photographer, proofreader, flâneur and perpetual amateur currently living in between Florence, Berlin, Paris and Tenerife. He´s been a regular contributor to fashion, art, trend and lifestyle magazines and worked for news, advertising and communication agencies
Encounters at Piazza della Repubblica
Moments & People

Encounters at Piazza della Repubblica

11 febrero, 2023 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

Lovers or partners? One of the most romantic scenes I’ve ever seen did not come from a Sex & the City episode, but from a real-life passage in Piazza della Repubblica. I am not sure what drew my attention then, as I’m normally pretty clueless. However, I recall the strength of that encounter most overwhelming: such unique energy at the embrace, their looks and the gestures … it all haunted me. Despite the entire sequence being intact in my memory, I just keep these two snapshots in my Mac’s drive. It happened on March 14, 2016, and there were no alliance rings on their fingers.…

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Before sunset in Florence
Outdoors

Before sunset in Florence

2 febrero, 2023 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

The sunsets take on greater symbolism when in the sea, a river or in the mountains. Such moment becomes certainly the excuse to visit any bridge in Florence, go to the Piazzale di Michelangelo or even to the Belvedere of Fiesole in order to contemplate a unique Tuscan dusk. I will never stop saying it: Florence is ideal to take a refreshing walk (both, for body and soul) at any time of the day or night. And maybe that’s what hooked me most about the city: the pleasure of walking, acting as an authentic flâneur, is not just a matter of stale romanticism or acting as decadent esthete. The English skies in the paintings of Joseph Mallord William Turner, the French ones in Paul Cézanne´s or by Pierre-Auguste Renoir´s or Van Gogh´s, have nothing to envy to those portrayed in the thousands of photographs that are taken every day, at that precise time, in Florence.
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Past and present of the «pensione» Annalena in Florence
Medici Traces

Past and present of the «pensione» Annalena in Florence

1 febrero, 2023 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

The story of Annalena (an orphan aristocrat adopted by Cosme de ‘Medici) and her palace is told in Niccolò Machiavelli´s Florentine Stories at the beginning of the 16th century. Her palace of Via Romana (a few steps from the Palazzo Pitti) was Cosme´s gift as she married Baldaccio di Bicci de ‘Medici. After Bicci´s murder, Annalena converted the building into a convent, to become later a casino, a luxury brothel, and finally, in 1919, a boarding house. Since then, it’s been the favourite of foreign travellers, musicians, poets, artists and actors, as Annalena displays through the furniture its splendid and decadent past. The Nobel Prize for literature Eugenio Montale used to stay here in the 30s; he shared «his room» with his lover when attending occasional meetings at the Crusca Academy in Florence. Prices depend on the season, so one double room with terrace could cost between 60 and 140 euros.
Hotel Annalena – Via Romana, 34, Florence, 50125, Italy
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Florentine landscapes and impressions
Outdoors

Florentine landscapes and impressions

26 enero, 2023 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

Some of my friends do not understand why I live in Florence, while others believe I tend to idealize it too much. The most surprised by my choice are Italians, including the Florentines themselves. To all, even me, the explanation resides within the words of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, as written in the foreword of Impresiones y paisajes (Impressions and landscapes, 1918): «We ought always to understand by pouring our soul over things, by seeing the spiritual where it does not exist, by shaping all with the charm of emotions. When in solitary places, it is vital to perceive the ancient souls that have passed through there; it is essential to be one and, at the same time, to be a thousand, in order to sense in all nuances. We must be both religious and profane. Indeed, to imagine the mysticism of a severe Gothic cathedral along with a wonder of pagan Greece. To see and feel all in eternity brings the reward of having no boundaries, no horizons.”…

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Palazzo Borghese, ‘maximalist’ events in Florence
Events & Entertainment

Palazzo Borghese, ‘maximalist’ events in Florence

8 enero, 2023 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

Do you wish to get married with style in Florence? The Palazzo Borghese will make your dreams come true. “More is more” is a dictum for this over elaborated palace with abundant ornamental details. Palazzo Borghese Aldobrandini history begins in the mid-15th century when the Salviati brothers decided to combine various buildings into a single one. But the mansion reached its peak of splendour at the end of the 16th century, when it was restored for the last time.
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Not a home but your home
Moments & People

Not a home but your home

4 enero, 2023 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

I am here a few months per year to please my voracious curiosity, searching meanwhile for some luck. The coexistence of different historic periods gives Florence a certain air of timelessness. Thus, I walk through these foreign streets as if my ancestors had left their trail in establishments and sidewalks; as if this is the home to which one always wishes to return. To my astonishment, I have discovered I feel at home in Florence. I especially sensed it through the intense joy, or rather euphoria, felt at the time of arrival. Also through the sadness, almost depression, lived at the moment of departure. Next comes the longing for the piercing song of the starlings and the tolling of the bells, as opposite to the exhausting sirens of police, ambulances and the squeaking rattle of the Berlin tram.…

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A ‘panino’ at La Prosciutteria …?
Wine & Food

A ‘panino’ at La Prosciutteria …?

31 diciembre, 2022 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

«Vero maiale! (Real pork!)» is the motto of this narrow but elongated place where cured hams hang from the ceiling and young and cheerful waiters cater in foreign languages to locals and travellers. La Prosciutteria is located in Via dei Neri 54r, one of the most vibrant streets of the historic centre (between Palazzo Vecchio and Santa Croce), with plenty of cafes, bars, restaurants, ice cream shops and stores. They provide with regional artisan products such as wines, oils and jams, as well as merchandising. Undoubtedly, the best is the Tuscan glass of house wine for only 2.5 euros, which accompanied by a panino with prosciutto, pecorino cheese and olive pâté costs 7 euros. Try to avoid lunch time (1-3pm) as it becomes too packed. In addition to panini they sell cheese and sausage on wood boards. Self-service basis.
More info
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Giulia Gianfranchi’s Florence
Moments & People

Giulia Gianfranchi’s Florence

29 diciembre, 2022 / By:
PHOTOS, ENGLISH & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

Firenze, Florence, Florenz, antica Florentia castrum romano del 59 a. C … Comunque tu la pronunci, lei evoca da sempre nel mio cuore un senso di libertà e scoperta da quando ero bambina. Appena potevo, scappavo da Milano e venivo qui, nella mia Toscana, a trovare mia zia Marta. Passavo giornate ad osservare compiaciuta i turisti mangiare di gusto, ad ascoltarli in tutti i loro strani linguaggi, gironzolavo per strada col naso all’insu … Infilandomi in ogni vicolo, meglio se più stretto, e nei negozietti di artigiani. Distratta da architetture, sculture, pitture …
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Uncommon museums of Florence #3: Museo di Casa Martelli
Art & Culture

Uncommon museums of Florence #3: Museo di Casa Martelli

27 diciembre, 2022 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

There is always an interesting spot to discover in Florence that keeps us away from the common repertoire, this is the case for the so-called Martelli’s House Museum. The Museo di Casa Martelli was a residential palace inhabited since the beginning of the 16th century by the bankers family Martelli. In 1986, Francesca Martelli, last family member living there, left the house to the Curia of Florence. In 1998, the Curia sold the palace to the Italian State and it became a museum in 2009. From that point on, the palace is a state civic museum that displays the remains of the Martelli family valuable art collection, as well as the house frescoes.…

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Todo Modo, the multidisciplinary bookstore of Florence
Fashion & Shops & Markets

Todo Modo, the multidisciplinary bookstore of Florence

17 noviembre, 2022 / By:
PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

For those who like to read, there are many types of establishments dedicated to book lovers: the traditional bookstores, the hypermarkets of books, and the contemporary multipurpose bookstores. This last type generally consists of a fusion of bookstore-café-restaurant-exhibition space-theater-concert hall in the same place. Perhaps using this multidisciplinary concept there is less risk that the business fails … Todo Modo is a Florentine independent bookstore with a selection of more than 15,000 books for sale, but it is also a café, a restaurant, and a show room, and a concert hall.
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