Florence Journal

Organic food market today, Piazza Repubblica

This organic food market is going on in Piazza Repubblica today - until around 6:30 PM. Lots of wine, olive oil, vegetables, formaggio, salumi, fagioli, etc. Today only!

Chocolate Fair, Piazza Santa Croce

Officially the "Fiera del Cioccolato Artiginale" start this Thursday and ends on Sunday. From 10 am to 10 pm daily. I don't think this event needs much more of an introduction! (There are more details on the website if you need them, including a list of participants.)

Piazza Signoria Video

Here is a great video of Piazza Signoria:

Piazza della Signoria

Excellent new entry on Florence-On-Line on the Piazza della Signoria, with a great slide show too.

Piazza Santa Croce gets ready for the marathon

RAI was busy yesterday setting up their broadcast center for Sunday's Marathon:

Palazzo Medici

New post on Florence-On-Line today about the Palazzo Medici, with new photos too.

Santa Croce Market

Just posted a small report with a bunch of photos from a food market that was in Piazza Santa Croce over the weekend on Florence-On-Line.

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.

A High-Tech Hunt for Lost Art

Maurizio Seracini has been looking for "The Battle of Anghiari" for over 30 years. I really think something has to be behind the wall in the Palazzo Vecchio - Vasari doesn't seem like the kind of guy to destroy a Da Vinci - but at the same time, you would think that if the painting is really there he would have publicized it better.

“Leonardo would love to see how much science is being used to look for his most celebrated masterpiece,” Dr. Seracini said, gazing up at the wall where he hopes the painting can be found, and then retrieved intact. “I can imagine him being fascinated with all this high-tech gear we’re going to set up.”

Dr. Seracini was standing in the Palazzo Vecchio’s grand ceremonial chamber, the Hall of 500, which was the center of Renaissance politics when Leonardo and Michelangelo were commissioned to adorn it with murals of Florentine military victories. On this July day of 2009, it remained the political hub, as evidenced by the sudden appearance of Florence’s new mayor, Matteo Renzi, who was rushing from his office to a waiting car.

This story has also been making news for a long time - we wrote about it about a year and a half ago. Hopefully with the new mayor, who seems to favor the project, and the new technology, Seracini will finally find an answer.

This weekend in Florence

Sorry for posting these a little late! This weekend in Florence there is a fair in Piazza Santa Croce with mostly crafts and food, etc. from Germany and Austria. Good for a stroll and maybe some early Christmas shopping and lunch (bratwurst!).

Also this weekend is one of our favorite annual events, the "Fiera della Ceramica" in Piazza Santissima Annunziata. The association that runs the event has a website - http://www.artedellaceramica.net but I don't think they have anything about the fair on it (that is up to date)! Here is a posting we made from a couple of years ago with more details: Fiera della Ceramica. Anyway - two things to do this afternoon or Sunday - both free unless you decide to buy something!