St. Regis Winter Garden Bar, a 5 star inner garden in Florence

St. Regis Winter Garden Bar, a 5 star inner garden in Florence

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Florence, with its artistic wonders and cosmopolitan air, has become the universal dream of any traveller. The present and past essence of the Tuscan capital can be breathed in the atmosphere of historical The St. Regis Florence Hotel, which boasts a superior category in piazza Ognissanti since the mid-18th century. Placed in central Florence, at the former Palazzo Giuntini, the picturesque St. Regis Florence has been the favoured stop of experienced travellers for decades. Granted with the Gambero Rosso BAR D’ITALIA prize since 2015 and for four consecutive years, its Winter Garden Bar provides visitors with an exceptional and personalized experience. Gratify yourself with an aperitif, an afternoon tea or after dinner drink accompanied by live piano music and savour the creations arranged with fresh ingredients and masterfully prepared by Bar Manager Christian Pampo and his crew. Everyday, Bloody Mary from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., afternoon tea from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and champagne ritual from 7 to 8 p.m. Open to the public, welcoming and exquisite service.

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Le Murate, Florence cultural meeting point

Le Murate, Florence cultural meeting point

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The first and only time I was in Le Murate was in March 2015. It was a blind date and I fell in love with him. The relationship prospered, although soon after it became complicated and exploded. A thousand pieces of my heart flew through his room. I picked up a few and I took them with me, in case they were needed for the future … Today I return to Le Murate to reconcile with my past in this city. Because one really starts to belong to a city when the memories of a certain ‘past’ happened on that particular place ……

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Three-Sixty rooftop bar at Minerva Grand Hotel: panoramic aperitivo in Florence

Three-Sixty rooftop bar at Minerva Grand Hotel: panoramic aperitivo in Florence

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Located in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, this 4-star superior hotel-boutique has been recently renovated. Heading up to the sixth floor, one finds the Three-Sixty panoramic rooftop bar, with a peerless sight of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and the most representative buildings and historical monuments of Florence. One of its first guests was the American poet Longfellow, who stayed here while working on the translation of Dante´s Divine Comedy. The terrace of this historic hotel — it is said the oldest in Florence — includes a swimming pool (exclusive for hotel guests) and a bar where, during the high season – May to September – from 7:30 p.m. onwards, one can have the aperitivo for 20 euros and touch Florence’s sky with the fingers.
To reserve a table or the private terrace for an event on the panoramic terrace, contact booking@grandhotelminerva / +39 05527230
Minerva Grand Hotel – Three-Sixty -Piazza Santa Maria Novella 16, 50123 Florence …

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Palazzo Guadagni, aperitif deluxe in Florence

Palazzo Guadagni, aperitif deluxe in Florence

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Rooftop views are unparalleled in Florence, proof of it is the rooftop garden bar at the Hotel Palazzo Guadagni. This ancient palace in the Oltrarno area has a privileged view from the loggia, which turns the palazzo’s terrace garden bar into a marvellous setting for having a red wine or a cocktail in Florence. It is a novel space neither overly exploited nor well known in Florence yet, thus you can take an aperitif as a local and without the need of a previous reservation. The views, the atmosphere and the service are simply unique and it is the perfect spot to amaze dates and visitors.…

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

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

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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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Glamour and garbage disposal in Florence

Glamour and garbage disposal in Florence

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I think to myself quite a lot of nonsense every time I throw the garbage in Florence. Depending on where one resides, garbage disposal in Florence requires a walk of 200 or 300 meters to the nearest container. In other cities you can do so in pyjamas or in slippers, with tousled hair and bleary-eyed, but in Florence certain composure and sophistication is needed. You never know whom you could meet on such particularly long journey ……

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Gian Gastone de’ Medici, the last homosexual of the Medici dynasty

Gian Gastone de’ Medici, the last homosexual of the Medici dynasty

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The last sovereign ruler of the Medici dynasty, Gian Gastone (1671-1737), Grandson of Ferdinando II, reigned fourteen years – from 1723 to 1737. He was a lonely pubescent man who spent most of his time isolated in the Boboli Garden, concentrated in his studies on flowers and plants and his collection of dainty, delicate objects and things. It is said that because of his homosexuality, he was affected with a deep melancholy. He was the second in the hereditary line since the first soon of the Grand Duke was Ferdinando. When Ferdinando died without heirs in 1713, Gian Gastone inherited the throne. In 1697 and for alliances and dynasties reasons, Gian Gastone was forced to marry a German-Bohemian princess, Anna Maria Franziska. The matrimony was a calamity from the beginning due to the lack of comprehension combined with a high degree of repellency and depressed resignedness on part of Gian Gastone. The marriage had no children thus consequently the option of a Medici heir vanished.

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‘Heroes – Bowie by Sukita.’ Photo exhibition at Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

‘Heroes – Bowie by Sukita.’ Photo exhibition at Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

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The retrospective Heroes – Bowie by Sukita, curated by ONO Arte Contemporanea, features the pop icon David Bowie through the eyes and lens of the undisputed master of Japanese photography, Masayoshi Sukita. From March 30 to June 28, 2019, at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (via Cavour 3) the show presents 60 large-format photographs, including the iconic photos that illustrated the cover of the album HEROES, and photographs belonging to Sukita personal archive which document the friendship, that started in the 1970s, between the pop-rock legend and the photographer. With this exhibition, Florence pays tribute to Bowie and fuses, once again, the historical with the contemporary.

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In Memoriam | Franco Zeffirelli Museum, seven decades of treasures

In Memoriam | Franco Zeffirelli Museum, seven decades of treasures

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The career of Franco Zeffirelli as cinema director, designer and producer of operas, theatre, cinema and Italian television has been honoured since October 2017 with a museum in the city centre, where the old Court of Florence used to seat. «The venue houses seventy years of treasures collected and made alive,» says the director’s son, Pippo Zeffirelli, executive vice president of the foundation managing the artist’s legacy. The museum houses more than 250 masterpieces by Zeffirelli among sketches, drawings, paintings, costumes and even the planning of a great project that never took place: the film adaptation of The Divine Comedy. The exhibition, divided chronologically into prose narrative, theatre, opera and cinema, reflects upon the development of theatrical installations and film productions, through themes and authors, together with fixed images, exemplifying all the main stages of the artistic career of Zeffirelli.
Franco Zeffirelli died on June 15, 2019, at the age of 96.
More info

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Florence Cocktail Week 2019, fancy a drink?

Florence Cocktail Week 2019, fancy a drink?

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Following the success of previous editions, Florence Cocktail Week 2019 is back in May for a week dedicated to custom cocktails. The event, which runs from May 6 to 12, is promoted by Paola Mencarelli and Lorenzo Nigro and will feature masterclasses, roundtables, and tasting sessions at 30 cocktail lounges around town with notable bartenders such as Santa Rosa Bistrot, Mad: Souls & Spirits, Winter Garden Bar, La Menagère, and Rasputin.

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