Florence Journal

Casa In Toscana, Real Estate in Chianti

If you are looking for Real Estate in Chianti and the rest of Tuscany, Casa In Toscana is the place to start. Realtor Nikolaus Barnewitz has been selling real estate here for more than 10 years and has all the expertise needed to help foreign buyers find their dream home in Tuscany (Italian, English, French, Spanish and German are all spoken). They also have a great staff that will help you with everything you could need in relocating to Italy. They also have started a blog with tips and insights on finding and buying a home in Tuscany.

Vasari Corridor Today

Even though we just secured our own tickets for November, a visiting friend with "connections" is getting us into the Vasari Corridor today at 10:00 AM. I will let you know how it went later today.

Pictures of the Vasari Corridor from today's visit are now posted on Florence-On-Line.

SITA Bus Station, Florence

The SITA bus station is just a couple of hundred meters from the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence (the main station), where you can check schedules and buy tickets. They have a website, but it is not working at the moment so I am not going to frustrate you by posting the broken link (they seemed to have changed their domain name and have some big mess going on - we will update this page when the situation changes). SITA buses run inter-city routes mostly to the south (think Chianti) and east of Florence - if you want to head to Siena and other towns on the way, then SITA is probably a good choice. They also have some tourist itineraries (like a visit to "The Mall"). Image below courtesy of Google Maps. Address: Via Santa Caterina da Siena, 17. Phone: 055 219 383

Here is a update - you can find the PDF schedule for the SITA bus lines here. For Florence to Siena you want (preferably, since it is the fastest) the CORSE RAPIDE / EXPRESS SERVICE.

Perugino's Crucifixion, Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi

File this one under hidden Florence (and there really are so few things in this category - everything to discover in this town has been). On Borgo Pinti you'll find the church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi - home to some exceptional works of art, including a crucifixion triptych by Perugino. The fresco is a staggering work of beauty and detail, and is in immaculate condition - but one of the best things about it is that you will most likely be visiting all by yourself, as you need to ask for admission (some guide books and websites say you need to make a small donation also, or that the space is actually closed - which I don't think is the case). The day we got to see it during the summer I just asked the priest who happened to be in the church. I had been in the church several times when there was no one around however - if this happens you will have to find someone or you are out of luck! Anyway - the father did hesitate at first and told us it was closed, but I must have looked pretty disappointed because a moment later he came up to us and said please go see it but there were only a few minutes to do so. You go down a staircase, then through a corridor which is basically under the church, and come up some steps into the chapter house where the fresco takes up the entire rear wall. Truly a great art experience - and a religious one too if you are Christian.

Note that the image below is not in full color - the columns and arches are not real but part of the painting:

(Frommer's website says the following: "Perugino Crucifixion, ring bell at no. 58 9-10am or enter through sacristy (knock at the last door on the right inside the church) at 5pm or 6:15pm")

Here is the location of the church:

View Larger Map

Piazza Duomo goes pedestrian only Sunday

I am a little fuzzy on the details - like the mention of no bikes! But this Sunday Piazza Duomo goes pedestrian only. It seems to be quite a big deal - but I wonder what everyone is going to do when they start to lay the tram tracks down (the tram is supposed to come along the north side of the Duomo and turn up Via dei Servi to Piazza San Marco)? Also it is definitely going to change several bus routes. There is a PDF file of the changes here. There will be a free concert Sunday evening in the Duomo as part of the celebration, and the Palazzo Vecchio will also be open until midnight. More details on the schedule of events here.

Tuscany Rent Direct

We just found a new website that is offering villa rentals in Tuscany without any commissions or fees - Tuscany Rent Direct. It is pretty useful for finding properties and has some nice built in tools, including locations on Google maps, and the ability to automatically translate your emails to the owners into their own language (so if you write in English and they might have a hard time understanding it, with a mouse click they can read it in Italian for example). They have a couple of hundred properties listed already and are adding more every day.

Visiting the Vasari Corridor

Excellent new tip just posted on Florence-On-Line on how to get reservations for the Vasari Corridor - until December 18th.

Duomo hours, news

This past weekend the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) had shorter than usual visiting hours - 1:30 to 3:30 PM. I was hoping to go in to see the Ucello painting of Sir John Hawkwood after reading about him in A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century .

They had a posted sheet on top of the regular hours with the shorter hours, and they also have some new (new to me anyway!) information about being able to visit the terraces, which sounds very cool. Hopefully this is something I will do myself soon. Anyway - see the images below for more details.

Betty Woodman at the Porcelain Museum

The following is part of the press release from the exhibition:

The refined and imaginative creations of Betty Woodman find an appropriate setting among the prestigious porcelain conserved in the Palazzina del Cavaliere, in showcases that have been specially designed to blend into the decor of the Museum (the exhibit is in the The Porcelain Museum at the Pitti Palace).

With their unpredictable shapes and the intensity and brilliance of the colours, the unusual Sèvres porcelain pieces created by this artist revolutionise the traditional concept of prized tableware, while preserving the consolidated class of the prestigious services beloved of the crowned heads.

A potter who has already made her name in New York, Betty Woodman periodically lives and works in her house in Antella, in the heart of the Florentine countryside, where she has had the chance to delve into the stratifications of Italian culture. In this way her expressive freedom enables her to renew the design of traditional forms, drawing upon the most diverse historical and geographical sources to bring forth a new, playful language of matter, unburdened by the tireless labour and study that nevertheless lies behind each individual piece.

As she herself puts it “I seek to make art that nods its appreciation towards the history of ceramics without attempting to imitate it”.

October 2nd, 2009 to February 15 2010
Hours Daily:
8.15 – 18.15 (up to 24 October)
8.15 – 17.15 (from 25 to 31 October)
8.15 – 16.15 (November, December, January, February)

Closed on the 1st and the last Monday of each month, New Year's Day and Christmas Day.

Hotels in Florence for Under $150

The NY Times just published a great list of bargain hotels for many cities - including Florence. Some of them have shared baths. Among the suggestions:

• Hotel Colomba 80 euros
• Residenza Proconsolo 85 euros
• Hotel Cestelli 80 euros
• Hotel Globus 76 euros
• Il Bargellino 85 euros
• Locanda Orchidea 50 euros
• Pensione Perseo 99 euros