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La Via del Tè: it’s tea time in Florence!
Fashion & Shops & Markets

La Via del Tè: it’s tea time in Florence!

14 julio, 2023 / By:
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During my daily walks around Oltrarno, I had always noticed this tearoom in Via Santo Spirito. It is undoubtedly the typical place that catches your attention and makes you stop until the curiosity is satisfied. La Via del Tè (The Way of Tea) was founded in 1961 by Alfredo Carrai who, fascinated by the world of tea, took the personal challenge of introducing the tea culture in Italy, by then almost unknown. La Via del Tè conceptual stores sell more than 250 products, including whole-leaf tea from China, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan and Africa; scented blends; fruit infusions; herbal teas and all La Via del Tè own brand products: from classic cans, single-dose filters in transparent cloth or cotton muslin, to gift boxes, along with a selection of teapots, cups and accessories brought to the stores from all over the world. La Via del Tè has two other branches in Florence: one in Piazza Ghiberti and the other in Via della Condotta. They not only serve tea in its exquisite rooms, but also sell teapots, ad hoc utensils and homemade pastries.
La Via del Tè – Via di Santo Spirito 11, 50125 Florence
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On the Road: a Florentine travel bookstore with added-value
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On the Road: a Florentine travel bookstore with added-value

12 julio, 2023 / By:
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On the Road is not only the title of the Beat Generation best-known novel. It is also a charming bookshop in Florence specialized in travel, the only one of its kind in the city. Opened in 2012, in this bookshop, the continents are classified by colors. “For me, Africa is red and not black – the color that anyone would associate with this continent,” says Martina. Martina owns the business. A bellissima donna italiana, kind, graceful, and refined who is, in fact, a simple woman bursting with life and sweetness. She is a great expert in travel literature and, no need to say, she is passionate about her job. But being a bookseller not only implies selling books: “It is exhausting.” There are many tasks hinter den Kulissen: select books, stay tuned for editorial novelties, accounting, expert advice, and affection. In addition to all these duties, Martina has time to organize book presentations with authors or workshops on photography and travel literature. On the Road not only sells guides but also novels focused on travels, maps, books on hiking and cycling routes, travel literature for children and last but not least, it gives priceless personalized attention.
On the Road – Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 32 A/R – 50134 Florence
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The experienced scissors of Matteo
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The experienced scissors of Matteo

3 enero, 2023 / By:
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In this barbershop, with its own seventies-style decoration, Matteo has been practicing hairdressing for almost half a century. He sometimes tells about his life and miracles while having your hair cut, some others he may just mutter some words, but Matteo is always affable and helpful. One gets lost in his tribulations and mental trivialities while being encountered with the sharp, clean, metallic sound of his scissors and the Italian music coming out of Radio Margherita in his transistor. With Matteo it is not necessary to worry about how your cut will be, as you are in good and experienced hands. In addition to hairdressing and the service as barbershop (haircut for 15 euros, beard cut for 10 euros), the place offers solarium, manicure, pedicure, facial and body treatments for men and women. Absolutely recommended!
Via dei Neri 26 / r
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Todo Modo, the multidisciplinary bookstore of Florence
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Todo Modo, the multidisciplinary bookstore of Florence

17 noviembre, 2022 / By:
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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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Brands made in Florence #4: Gianfranco Lotti
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Brands made in Florence #4: Gianfranco Lotti

13 enero, 2020 / By:
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Manufacturing bags, belts, wallets and accessories in leather since 1968 as a real brand, Gianfranco Lotti is deeply anchored in this Florentine heritage, keeping the memory to create modernity that lasts in the future. Gianfranco Lotti has been artfully crafting bags since the age of 14 (1957) perpetuating the art of crafting leather as he learned from his masters. The keylock is the symbol featured on Gianfranco Lotti’s bags and products and is a signature of all the collections. It casts back to an ancient emblem of the Medici family in Florence. The keylock materializes the immaterial link between the ancient art of craft, the respect of the heritage and the openness to the future.…

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Casa Musicale G. Ceccherini: the sound of music in the heart of Florence
Fashion & Shops & Markets

Casa Musicale G. Ceccherini: the sound of music in the heart of Florence

2 septiembre, 2019 / By:
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Julie Andrews sang in the movie how «the hills are alive with the sound of music». We could imagine this chant not in the Alps but at the Tuscan peaks instead: «I go to the hills when my heart is lonely, my heart will be blessed with the sound of music». At Casa Musicale G. Ceccherini, besides offering space for different courses, repair and rental of instruments, it is possible to buy a cello or a piano, an electric guitar or an amplifier, a solfeggio book or a violin string. I am not a regular of this unique music store in the heart of Florence, but from the cortile of my apartment — which overlooks one of its multiple rooms — I am amused by distinguishing how different piano students evolve every day. Naturally, this is sometimes a truthful delight; some others, just an ordeal.
Casa Musicale G. Ceccherini – Via de’ Ginori, 31R, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
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Donnini Cutlery or the survival of ancient crafts in Florence
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Donnini Cutlery or the survival of ancient crafts in Florence

7 mayo, 2018 / By:
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I love the combination right in the middle of Florence of modern shops and old handicraft ones with its tradition living through generations. Such trades grant the city vestiges of its medieval past as well as an air of genuine timelessness. For instance, Florentine artisan Leonardo Donnini´s masters sharpening: from knives to professional scissors or devices used to cut leather, which serve also as tools for other artisan colleagues in Florence. «I began working with my father in 1992, when I was still a teenager. Our bottega, shop and laboratory opened in 1930, and was in Via Gioberti. Since then, I have totally inherited my father’s trade, I have become one of the 11 Mastro Arrotini of Italy and I moved the store, Donnini Coltelleria, to Via G. Lanza 70. It is a pleasure for me to show my work and I would love to share my old craft with your readers.» The knife from the movie Hannibal was indeed manufactured in his shop.
Donnini Coltelleria, Via G. Lanza 70 – 50136 Florence…

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Where to buy alcohol in Florence after 9pm
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Where to buy alcohol in Florence after 9pm

5 mayo, 2018 / By:
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It truly stands as a nuisance: right in the XXI century, the «Dry Laws» of Florence prohibit the sale of alcohol from nine in the evening in the historic centre or Unesco area. Because of it, the queues in supermarkets at quarter to nine are almost hysterical, with everyone rushing to get a little bottle of something … I’m one of them! Besides, the control is increasingly tougher, so it requires persuasive caution in mini markets. For instance, at the supermarket in Piazza di San Lorenzo, alcohol is provided only when going to the charcuterie section. Once there, they force you to put it in a backpack or in an opaque bag. Another option is to buy a bottle of wine «to go» in any restaurant in the city. The price is usually higher, so drinking after 9pm in Florence has become a sort of luxury, only available to few. Besides, if you are post-adolescent or relatively young looking, don´t even try.

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Central Market of Florence: tradition and modernity in one
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Central Market of Florence: tradition and modernity in one

18 abril, 2018 / By:
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Following the European trend of remodelling old food markets with new food stalls, the first floor of the central market of San Lorenzo (called Mercato Centrale Firenze, MCF) opened in 2014 to commemorate the 140th anniversary of its iron and glass building, which also houses the traditional market of the city on the ground floor. MCF offers confectionery, fresh fish, fried foods and dressings, fruits and vegetables, meat and salamis, mozzarella di bufala, chocolate, cheeses, ice cream, fresh pasta, wines, lampredotto and sandwiches. With seating for 500 people, MCF revitalized an area, which had been previously half-deserted, by residents departing the city centre. All the dishes prepared in the MCF are made with raw ingredients sold in the same central market. Touristphobics shall abstain.
Open every day from ten in the morning to midnight
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Mrs. Macis in Borgo Pinti: «A small corner of Paris in Florence»
Fashion & Shops & Markets

Mrs. Macis in Borgo Pinti: «A small corner of Paris in Florence»

2 abril, 2018 / By:
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According to the friend who first recommended it, the atelier shop and lab of Carla Macis stands since 2005 as «a small Parisian corner in Florence.» Carla Macis, who once worked for Emilio Pucci, is the designer of the brand. She is the one in charge of the colourful feminine clothes of vintage appearance, overflowing with good humour and extroverted prints. «I do not create custom clothes, I make my own line in sizes S, M, L”, she tells me. “The process begins with the fabrics, as I was trained as a textile designer and not as a fashion designer, so I pay more attention to research of the materials. However, they result very feminine and tend to enhance the figure of the woman without being explicit or sexy.» Carla Macis gets her inspiration from the 50´s fashion and films. Her clothes have been defined as the «good humour dresses.» These are pieces for women of all ages, between 20 and 70 years old, with a great personality. «For those who, when they put on my clothes, wish to be recognized at the first glimpse.» Undoubtedly, Carla Macis is not afraid to mix. She feels a predilection for wool in all its forms; and creates accessories, too. No wonder she is even recommended by Lonely Planet.
Mrs. Macis – Borgo Pinti 38, 50121 Florence
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