Within Florence

Spaghettini al pomodoro at Osteria-Ristorante Fratelli Briganti

22 septiembre, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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The Osteria-Ristorante Fratelli Briganti has been recently renovated, I do not know how it looked like before, but this is how it looks like now. Any case, in this family run restaurant the appearance is the least important, in fact, what matters is the exquisite service, and above all, the quality of the homemade dishes. According to my local confidant, it is a restaurant commonly visited by journalists and by theatre and cinema-goers, as it is open until late. Its atmosphere is very familiar; one feels like being at home. “In the past, Florence was full of places like this one, but they have been disappearing slowly… this has its positive and negative sides, as always”, she tells me. Nevertheless, beyond these nostalgic perceptions, the best dish in this restaurant is the spaghettini al pomodoro, one has to try them at least once in a lifetime!
Fratelli Briganti – Piazza Giovanbattista Giorgini 12/R, 50134 Florence
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Wine & Food

Warning! EUR150-500 fine for eating on the streets of Florence

19 septiembre, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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Florence wants to restore the decorum of the city taken off by tourism. Thus, Dario Nardella — mayor of Florence — has recently imposed a new city regulation, which daily from 12 to 3 p.m. and from 6 to 10 p.m. prohibits sitting down to eat on the sidewalks, in front of stores, and private homes in four historic central spots: Via dei Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano and Via della Ninna, all located within the Unesco zone. The fine will range from EUR150 up to EUR500 per «eater». The stores show already a summary of the mandate in Italian and English by a poster placed in the shop windows. Florence is one of the most visited Italian cities. This will be a future example for other cities affected by the same touristic symptom, if this municipal ordinance has positive results. The norm will be in force from September 4, 2018, until January 6, 2019.
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Art & Culture

‘Steve McCurry. Icons,’ photo exhibition at Villa Bardini

14 septiembre, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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On view until September 16, Villa Bardini presents a retrospective dedicated to the artist Steve McCurry (Darby, Pensilvania, 1950), one of the great masters of contemporary and documentary photography. Curated by Biba Giacchetti, the exhibition entitled Steve McCurry. Icons displays more than a hundred photographs featuring the best works of the North American photographer produced during his extensive career spanning over forty years. The exhibition takes visitors on a symbolic journey through countries like India, Afghanistan, Burma, Japan, Cuba or Brazil across the complex universe full of experiences and emotions carried in McCurry’s images.
Steve McCurry. Icons – Villa Bardini – Costa San Giorgio 2, Florence (admission: 10 EUR)
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Wine & Food

Cantinetta Antinori: Tuscan wines and culinary delights

10 septiembre, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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The art of making wine has its guild in Florence since the Middle Ages: “Dell’Arte dei Vinattieri,” in which Giovanni di Piero, the first member of the Antinori family, was registered in 1385. Following this tradition, in the Cantinetta Antinori, you can see the symbol of the craft guild. The Cantinetta is elegantly arranged in a room overlooking the central courtyard of the fifteenth-century Palazzo Antinori located in the historic city centre. The restaurant is open to the public for lunch and dinner. As a tradition, it is nowadays still possible to do the Antinori wines tasting — either by a bottle or by a glass —. The cuisine offers a selection of Tuscan specialties, which are prepared with products from the Antinori farms in Tuscany and Umbria. The menu is configured depending on the season, out of respect for the tradition of Tuscan cooking philosophy where every product from the land must be eaten during its natural season of matureness to taste all the splendor of its flavors entirely. For each dish, the personnel recommends the Antinori wine that suits the best.
Cantinetta Antinori – Piazza degli Antinori 3 – Florence
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Wine & Food

Focacce di funghi e gorgonzola and Bolgheri wine at Foccaccine Bondi

18 agosto, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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Although located in Via dell’Ariento, at the heart of the vibrant street market of San Lorenzo and next to the central market of Florence, Foccaccine Bondi is not typically crowded, so you don´t need to queue for its delicious focacce di funghi e gorgonzola (2.5 euros) with a glass of Bolgheri (3 euros). In Bondi there is always plenty of room to sit and astonishing decorative elements at which one could stare while lost in an unconscious state of introspection, to which I confess I surrender very often. Above all, I love its melancholic and nostalgic air of village tavern, which in Florence occurs (thank God), quite constantly. Such traditional interior, along with the decoration, looks as if the place was frozen in time. But the best is its senior and affectionate service.
Foccaccine Bondi – Via dell’Ariento 85R – Florence
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Within Tuscany

Giacomo Puccini Birthplace Museum in Lucca

25 julio, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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Picturing the birthplace museum of some illustrious personage leads to stage it just as it was before his decease: an unfinished glass of wine, half-readings on the bedside table, projects still incomplete on the desk … Unfortunately, this is far from reality. Converting original houses into modern museums frequently leads to the disappearance of the original essence. Puccini Museum was first opened in 1979, but closed in 2004 due to restoration of the rooms original design and the recovery of the walls decoration. The Giacomo Puccini Birthplace Museum reopened in 2011 and is today managed by the Giacomo Puccini Foundation.
Puccini Museum – Corte San Lorenzo 9 55100 Lucca
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Wine & Food

Florence from above at Se·sto: exclusive ‘aperitivo’ with a view

22 julio, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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As E. M. Forster famous novel A Room With A View, the Se·sto restaurant and bar unique location on the rooftop floor at the luxury hotel The Westin Excelsior in Florence provides a scenic view over the Arno River to the whole city and the surrounding hills. In the kitchen, Chef Matteo Lorenzini has created a menu based on innovative Italian cuisine with an international touch. The proposals for lunch or dinner are Mediterranean dishes made with fresh seasonal products accompanied by a great variety of wines. Se·sto also offers a wide range of cocktails served on the terrace, where you can also enjoy an exclusive Italian aperitivo while looking at the sunset. The selection of music ranges from nu jazz to lounge emphasizing the outstanding ambiance.
Se·sto, The Westin Excelsior, Piazza Ognissanti 171, daily aperitif from 7 to 9 p.m. (€ 21). Walk-in policy, reservations not accepted
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Wine & Food

Arty cocktails at Antico Caffè del Moro in Florence

7 junio, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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Some venues of Florence became my favourites thanks to dating local guys. The Art Bar – Caffè degli Artisti – Antico Caffè del Moro is one of them. I believe locals are always the key to entering everyday life, anywhere. And, although those dates rarely succeeded, fortunately the places still endure. Despite usually crowded, it´s worth a visit just at Antico´s happy hour (6-9 p.m.), with fruit cocktails at 7 euros (10 euros after 9 p.m.). Customers range from American college students with their last generation iPhones, to gentlemen from the neighbourhood and residents in their early forties. Founded in 1926, it consists of a small room with ten round tables with candles, and the service (especially the girls) is charming. The buts? Cocktails sometimes look like fruit salads and the preparation of drinks takes its time.
Via del Moro 4 50123 Florence FI – open every day from 6:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. (Friday and Saturday until 2 p.m.)
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Art & Culture

Pontormo at Palazzo Pitti: from drawing to painting

5 junio, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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The exhibition Incontri miracolosi: Pontormo dal disegno alla pittura (Miraculous Encounters: Pontormo from drawing to painting) presents a series of works of outstanding importance, most of which are here displayed for the first time together. Thirty years after it was last here, the return visit to Florence of the Halberdier (1494- 1557) is the perfect occasion for an exhibition dedicated to Pontormo. This magnificent portrait by Pontormo, acquired by the Getty Museum of Los Angeles in 1989 for the then record-breaking sum of $32.5 million, now finds itself back in its home town of Florence. It’s the centre piece of the exhibition curated by Bruce Edelstein, which is now on show in the Sala delle Nicchie in Palazzo Pitti until 29th July 2018. Displayed along with the Halberdier, there is also the Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap, among other master pieces.
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Moments & People

Betty Long’s Florence

28 mayo, 2018 / By: Paco Neumann

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Bye for now, beautiful Florence. When in Florence, exceptional and majestic artworks created by humans wait for you in every corner. Its streets, always crowded with the bustle that comes with it, make Florence the perfect place for lonely travelers’ initiation where they will never feel alone. Where the coffee, although expensive, is exquisite. Where Michelangelo’s David and the Duomo share space with Dior and Chanel. The city welcomed and captivated me from the very beginning with its magic and, although the coin thrown at Il Porcellino insisted on predicting the opposite, I will always want to return to Florence. Thank you, Paco Neumann, for showing me your Florence, especially from the most outstanding balcony I have ever stepped on. Ci vediamo presto!
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