Florence is synonym to style both in its glorious past and today’s Italian fashion. Commerce and culture, art and science, industry and craft, this is a city where every aspect of humanity is represented in excellence. Known for the contribution of its citizens to the Arts and Sciences, Florence is a place that delights its visitors. This was the home of great personalities such as Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, Raphael, and the Medici family among others.

Arno View

Flea Market

Justice

Lungarno

Lungarno

Lungarno Oltrarno

Palazzo Pitti

Piazza de Ciompi

Santa Croce - Christmas Market

Santo Spirito Fountain

Signoria - Fountain

Signoria - Uffizi

Signoria Perseo

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Boutique Hotels in Florence

Grand Hotel Minerva Best Rate Guaranteed!

Luxury boutique hotel in Florence, completely restored to its grand splendour. Located on piazza Santa Maria Novella, Grand Hotel Minerva has a panoramic terrace offering unique views of Florence.

from 79 EUR (105 USD) »

UNA Hotel Poggio dei Medici Best Rate Guaranteed!

Elegant boutique hotels housed in a restored farmhouse. Located near the medieval village of Scarperia, not far from Firenze, UNA Hotel Poggio dei Medici offers access to an 18-hole golf course.

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Plaza Hotel Lucchesi Best Rate Guaranteed!

Four star classic luxury hotel, beautiful sample of Florentine style. Located in the center of Florece, just a few blocks south from the Palazzo della Signoria; Plaza Hotel Lucchesi offers comfortable rooms and full services. This hotel provides Free Wifi

from 96 EUR (126 USD) »

UNA Hotel Vittoria Best Rate Guaranteed!

from 80 EUR (105 USD) »

Hotel Londra Best Rate Guaranteed!

from 85 EUR (113 USD) »

My wife and I stayed at a charming boutique hotel, the Relais Villa Belpoggio in the Valdarno community of Loro Ciuffenna , perched on the slopes of the southern ridge of the Pratomagno.

Our first morning I had a delightful chat with the Villa’s manager Maria Ventrone, and I told her that I was eager to know more about the Valdarno.  Maria, a lively woman that is visibly enthusiastic about the surroundings, gave me extensive insights  about this attractive province.

The Village of Loro Ciuffenna dates back to pre-Roman times, when it was an Etruscan settlement.  Its appellation derives from the stream that runs through the town, the Ciuffenna, a name of obvious – to the scholar – Etruscan origins.   Most of the town’s heart is mediaeval in architecture, and one can still see the remains of a water-powered mill built prior to AD 1200. Relais Villa Belpoggio in Loro Ciuffenna is an ideal starting point to reach the famous cities of Tuscany or just roam through panoramic hillside roads.

What stroke me as a very fascinating story was that of the Balze of the Valdarno. Millions of years ago, in the Pliocene and Pleistocene periods, the Valdarno – or the Valley of the Arno River – was a large bowl formed by the movement of marine foundations subsequent to the development of the African and European continents. As in the case of Bryce Canyon in Utah, erosion has molded rare and interesting formations. Now, at the feet of the Chianti Mountains and the Pratomagno, bizarre, edgy pinnacles, the so called Balze or Calanchi, are still attracting numerous scholars and mystifying the unprepared onlooker.

“One of the most illustrious individuals who felt a tremendous attraction towards  the Balze was Leonardo da Vinci,” Maria explained to me. “Between 1502 and 1503 Leonardo was a military consultant for Duke Cesare Borgia – the notorious son of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI. He was commissioned by the Duke to map out the territory that Borgia had conquered for the papal state. Leonardo surveyed military fortifications, waterways and road networks, and thus became well acquainted with the topography of this area”.

Scholars have debated for centuries if the backgrounds of some of Leonardo’s painting were just a figment of his imagination or if they were real landscapes. Professor Carlo Starnazzi, a paleontologist at the University of Florence, and many others here in the Valdarno are convinced that some of those dreamy landscapes are in fact inspired by this region.

Take the most famous of the great Master’s paintings, the Mona Lisa, which was painted between 1503 and 1507, that is after Leonardo’s activity in the Arezzo region. The landscape in the background is illustrated by an odd cliffy land that resembles the Calanchi very much. Moreover, on the center-right end of the painting, more or less at the height of Mona Lisa’s shoulder, one can distinguish an arched bridge.

For many experts, this bridge is none other than the Buriano bridge Ponte Buriano, built in approximately 1277 and a marvel of engineering of its time.  The Buriano bridge, still open to traffic to this day, consists of seven distinctive arches and lies 6 km from the city of Arezzo: it is very reasonable to argue that Leonardo took careful notice of it while studying the area and placed it so gracefully in his masterpiece.

The Calanchi have also almost certainly inspired the background of Leonardo’s  Virgin of the Rocks. This holy scene, portrayed by the Master in two analogous paintings, one hosted at the Louvre in Paris (1483-1486 ) and one at the National Museum in London (1495-1508), is set in a hazy and hilly countryside. These cliffs are also very much like the spiky Balze of the Valdarno.

If all this wasn’t enough to convince you, observe da Vinci’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder (circa 1502), hosted in a private collection in New York.  Not only you will notice jagged rocks similar to the Balze in the background, but, this time on the left side of the painting, there lies the Buriano bridge again.

If a genius like Leonardo was so intrigued by the Valdarno to quote it in his works, shouldn’t we all better go to see it for ourselves? For some time, Italian authorities have been considering to make the Balze a protected area and promote tourism in this area. So far little has been done, and this fascinating Tuscan Monument Valley remains unknown to many.  But maybe it’s better like this: those who do visit the Valdarno will still witness an unspoiled and delightful site that may still retain some of the magic of Lenardo’s time.

An out-of-the-ordinary display of classic Fiat Topolino cars in Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence on Sunday March 21st 2010.

Is it possible to see the invisible? This was the attempt made by the surrealist artists of the early 20^th century and of which a collection is showcased at the fascinating Palazzo Strozzi in Florence from February 26 to July 18 2010.

Giorgio de Chirico is the protagonist of this exhibition, as it was the first artist to create images that do not represent reality, but interpret hidden meanings. the other artists that are featured in this exhibition have been influenced by this concept. The young artist de Chirico first became conscious of a new approach to seeing the world when visiting Florence at the age of 21: “On a clear autumn afternoon I was sitting on a bench in the middle of piazza Santa Croce […] I had the strange impression that I was looking at all these things for the first time, and the composition of my picture came to my mind’s eye [...] the moment is an enigma to me, for it is inexplicable”. This revelation —as De Chirico called it—inspires his artwork of the 1910s and 1920s. De Chirico’s painting introduced again into modern art a number of philosophical and intellectual qualities that had been absent for some time.

Magritte, famous for his men on a bowler hat, recalled that the first time he saw a painting by De Chirico he felt he could “see thought”. The art of Magritte shows simple everyday objects, yet those are so much under our eyes that we are not able to “see” them anymore. the artist then presents images where the representation and reality blend.

This exciting exhibition consists of paintings by De Chirico, Ernst, Magritte, Carrà, Morandi, Balthus, Nathan, Roy and Savino.  For more information please visit Palazzo Strozzi’s website.

Epoque Hotels showcases boutique hotels in Florence

EXHIBITION INFORMATION

OPENING HOURS

Daily 9.00 – 20.00

Thursday 9.00 – 23.00

Visitors admitted until one hour before exhibition closes

tel.+39 055 2645155

RESERVATIONS

Sigma CSC

From Monday to Friday 9.00-13.00/14.00-18.00

tel. +39 055 2469600 fax +39 055 244145

prenotazioni@cscsigma.it

EXHIBITION’S FACILITIES

Bookshop, Metaphysical Cafè (closed Monday), Agora/z Mandragora’s design e bookshop

Full disabled access.

Cosimo I de’Medici (The Grand Duke of Florence), did not like to walk among the people of his town. He asked the architect Giorgio Vasari to build a path that would allow him and the Royal family to move freely from their residence (Palazzo Pitti) to the government palace (Palazzo della Signoria). It is one of the most astonishing architectural masterpieces of the Renaissance. It is hidden between the city houses, for almost 1 mile. It is true magnificent can be admired right on the Ponte Vecchio.

This corridor is usually closed to the public, but now you can discover to walk in this corridor itself! You can take a guide tour from the period April throughout October.

You will get the chance to enjoy a 3 hours guided tour, starting with 1 ½ hour tour of the Uffizi Gallery. You do not have to wait in the long lines. A private walk along the Vasari corridor will take you back to the 16^th century. The corridor leads from the Uffizi, over the Ponte Vecchio, by the houses and even through a church, Santa Felicita, you will admire the interior from the private balcony of the Royal family, to end the path into the gardens of Palazzo Pitti.

You do not want to miss this special experience when you come to Florence. If you wish to make a reservation call (+39) 055 0123994 or visit http://www.uffizi.com

Frequency: Every Tuesdays and Fridays at 3.30 pm
Price: E 89.00 per person
Epoque Hotels represent five of hotels in Florence, click here to view which offers they have, two of the hotels are:

Grand Hotel Minerva                                                      Hotel Londra

Grand Hotel Minerva

Hotel Londra