Stepintoflorence with Lisa

30/08/2024

Still very present unfortunately 😣

I posted this 5 years ago... it's still going on...
Beware!
This is the scam... The tourist walks along looking upwards, admiring the architectural and artistic beauties of the centre of Florence. He doesn't look where he puts his feet. This is when the scam is triggered: these con artists, with rubbish prints in hand and without being noticed, place their posters on the ground right in front of the unsuspecting tourist who, without realising it, steps on them. Then comes the demand for money for having ruined "that work of art", put on the ground to be sold at a high price. This is how the print scam, happening all over the centre of Florence, particularly in busy thoroughfares, works. What they are doing is illegal but they can be very aggressive!

22/08/2024

Stepintoflorence stepping into the beauty about living in Italy is that the country is fairly small, driving north to south takes about 10/11 hrs.. traffic permitting and if you are lucky enough to live in everything is fairly close by… either you are heading north or south… the archeological park of Pompey is few hrs away, even closer if you travel by train … and Pompei is always a surprise.. a journey that takes you back to the eruption of 79 d.c. it surprise me everything the level of organization and efficiency that the city had back in those days… and what to say about the love and attention for details and decorations.. truly amazing! It might be a little too warm in full summer, but definitely something you shouldn’t miss…

11/08/2024

So happy the Specola museum reopened! It always fascinates me and is the perfect place also for families and kids where they can see another side of the love for collecting that Characterized the Medici dynasty. It is a fairly large museums that spread from mineral collections to taxidermy, wax anatomical models and still life painting.. in particular these are some of the most spectacular fruits and veggies that were really grown in the gardens of Florence! Next time make sure to put the Specola museum or your list! Andiamo!

03/08/2024

I have a passion for Majolica, I am addicted… as much as I am addicted to Palazzo Davanzati in … every time I have a minute I always like to poke my head inside.. I walk trough the fresco decorated rooms among original majolica and fabrics, medieval stories and much more… have you visited palazzo Davanzati yet??? Andiamo!

05/07/2024

Better be safe than sorry my friends …

WARNING:
Pickpockets are in every city of the world and Florence is not immune, especially as the busy tourist season arrives. The police are on special alert, but you should be too!
This pair specialised in robbing tourists in the historic centre but on Sunday they were caught in the act and arrested by the municipal police. They are a couple of pickpockets - the man 44 years old, the woman 34, both Romanian citizens - residing in a town in the province of Arezzo.
It happened last Sunday, when a US tourist was pickpocketed on vacation in Florence. The woman stopped with her husband and other members of the party to admire the Vasari Corridor from the Uffizi square. The two pickpockets approached the tourist: the woman covered the victim's bag with a jacket while the man tried to steal its contents.
But it happened right under the eyes of three agents of the anti-crime department, engaged in a targeted service against pickpocketing in Florence. The thieves were caught before they managed to carry out the theft.
The tourist, who had not realised anything was going on, after a quick inventory, confirmed that nothing was missing. The thieves were then arrested. The two were already known to the police and the man had previously been banned from returning to the Municipality of Florence.
Cameras revealed that the two operated mainly between Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria, and in the Uffizi area.
So, be on the look-out!

15/06/2024

In Livorno there are lots of hidden gems tucked away from the most popular touristic destinations… here today a Quick Look over a place I deeply love… Villa Mimbelli is a beautiful villa commissioned by Francesco Mimbelli, a merchant of Greeks origins and his wife Enrichetta Rodocanacchi. The Villa was designed by the architect Vincenzo Micheli and builds between 1865 and 1875. Damaged during the bombing in 1944 today houses a very particular museum dedicated to the local painter Giovanni Fattori and the Macchiaioli movement that originated from his style. And you, have you ever being to Livorno?? Andiamo! stepping into

11/06/2024

There is a little treasure tuck away in a small square as you walk down borgo SS. apostoli. The square’s name is piazza del Limbo. The limbo was a “special” place in purgatory for young children that would die before being baptized… in fact in the little square used to be a cemetery just for those children. The church construction presumably dates back to the XI century and even if it was damaged during the flood of 1996 still has exquisite works of hard… you can always find it open.. don’t forget to poke your head inside.. and find the 3 famouse fragments of stones… I will tell you the story next time… so stay tuned!

11/06/2024

I love Puccini ….

Musica Maestro!

Vi aspettiamo giovedì 13 giugno nella basilica di Santa Croce alle ore 21 in compagnia di Giacomo Puccini, per un grande concerto in occasione del centenario della morte del celebre compositore.

Guidati dal maestro Giuseppe Lanzetta, l’ Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina , insieme a Corale Santa Cecilia di Empoli e Corale Santa Cecilia di Borgo San Lorenzo, eseguiranno la “Messa di Gloria” per tenore baritono e orchestra, una delle rare composizioni sacre di Puccini.

Il concerto è organizzato dall’Opera di Santa Croce in collaborazione con l’Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina.

Ingresso libero fino a esaurimento posti con prenotazione obbligatoria: https://ticket.santacroceopera.it/eventi/messa-di-gloria-di-giacomo-puccini/

🌎 🌍 🌏

Music Maestro!

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 13 June in the Basilica of Santa Croce at 9pm in the company of Giacomo Puccini, for a great concert on the occasion of the centenary of the death of the famous composer.

Led by maestro Giuseppe Lanzetta, the Fiorentina Chamber Orchestra, together with Corale Santa Cecilia di Empoli and Corale Santa Cecilia di Borgo San Lorenzo, will perform the "Messa di Gloria" for baritone tenor and orchestra, one of Puccini's rare sacred compositions.

The concert is organized by the Opera di Santa Croce in collaboration with the Florentine Chamber Orchestra.

Free admission subject to availability, reservations required: https://ticket.santacroceopera.it/eventi/messa-di-gloria-di-giacomo-puccini/

31/05/2024

Evviva!!! Can’t wait to see it soon!!!

A Firenze sono terminati i restauri sugli affreschi della Ca****la Brancacci, cominciato nel 2021. La Ca****la è adesso di nuovo visitabile.

27/05/2024

Sometimes I feel like we never learn from our mistakes …

25/05/2024

More di Gelso su Gelso : the importance of the mulberry tree in Tuscany dates back to the Middle Ages when the first industry in the main republics such as Florence, Siena and Lucca was determined by silk and wool production. In Florence in 1423 the gold of the silk producers promoted a law where the Florentine’s farmers were requested to plant 5 gelso trees every year until they reached 50 in total in order to provide enough food for the silk worms. In the second half of the 1700’s under the grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of the Hapsburg Lorraine family requested that mulberry trees were planted along public roads. Today the local production of silk have ended by new generations are trying to bring back this unique product where it’s known to reach its best quality..

15/04/2024

Open day!!! Chi viene a trovarci?

31/03/2024

La bellezza per me è in questa foto e’ su 2 livelli : 1) in primo piano per una ragione, perché a firenze c’è il mio posto del cuore dove si creano persino copie di tazzine ormai perdute… ma 2) la bellezza più vera e per me più speciale e’ quella che vedete sullo sfondo. Perché lui è Chico Paggio uno dei 3 moschettieri di Cer Amica Montughi che riesce con le sue splendide mani e grandezza di cuore a ricreare decorazioni uniche e tradizionali.

29/03/2024

Easter is around the corner! Are in you going to be in Florence? 🐣🐣🐣😜

Events will be held around Florence on Good Friday and Easter Sunday on March 31, in addition to English speaking church services

11/03/2024

The marriage that lead to death.
When a pregnant Joanna of Austria died at age 32 after falling from the stairs of Palazzo Vecchio Francesco was now free to married his Bianca. Her husband also died in ambiguous circumstances… what a coincident… now they were both widows …

Duke Francesco de' Medici and Bianca Cappello's marriage in 1578 was celebrated with great pomp, partially intended to help establish her in Florentine society.

This festival book records the many celebrations organized, including an elaborate pageant in the courtyard of the Pitti palace, where wildly extravagant tableaux were performed… but cardinal Ferdinando, younger brother of Francesco, never agreed to this marriage…and Bianca knew it.

To try to make peace between the two brothers a hunting gathering was arrange in the family villa of Poggio a Caiano on October 8th, 1587. They all loved hunting very much. In the evening dinner was served and they all played games together.. but during the night the Duke was awaken by high fever, and terrible stomachache.. all the remedies he tried don’t work…he passed away on October 19th after suffering terribly.

Bianca, who stayed at his bed side for the entire time looked very pale and very tired. She was also now experiencing the same symptoms of her beloved Francesco. She passed away eleven hours after.. the official autopsy stayed that no poisoning occurred… but the mystery is still there after over 500 years… maybe arsenic? Others say malaria… what we know if that the body of Francesco was brought back to Florence and buried in the family chapel in the church of San Lorenzo.. but what about Bianca’s body?

Cardinal Ferdinando was quite clear about it… his words were “ do whatever you wish with her, I just don’t want her among us”… and as today we are still searching for the resting place of Bianca Cappello… but what happen next? Stay tuned!

29/02/2024

Bianca Cappello: la bella veneziana.

When Bianca was born, Venus, goddess of Love and beauty was defiantly present. She was known as one of the most beautiful girls in Venice. Blond hair, beautiful eyes, lips perfectly designed.

Her stepmother though kept her locked in the palazzo, as she was meant to become a nun. The windows of the Cappello palace were facing the same canal as the Salviati bank palace. The Salviati were famous Florentine bankers and merchants. Piero Buonaventuri was just a simple employee but he played a bigger role in the eyes of Bianca. Bianca was looking for adventurous life, against everything and everybody.

The result was that Piero Buonaventuri has seduced an underage girl and got her pregnant. A girl from a noble Venetian family. He was neither noble nor rich. They had to run away. They fled to Florence with a rewards of 1000 ducats, dead or alive.

They married as soon as arrived in the city. They were now both Florentine citizens and Firenze won’t send them to be judged by another state. The Duke Cosimo I delegated Francesco to resolve this issue.

When Francesco saw Bianca for the first time he was captivated by her beauty. And Piero had noticed it. He decided to take advantage from this situation… and Bianca saw the possibility to be loved by a real prince, not a fake one.

But on December 16th, 1565 arrived in Florence Joanna of Austria, now wife of Francesco I. And Joanna was neither beautiful nor intelligent… and as soon as the wedding celebrations were over, Francesco ran to Bianca, proving eternal love for her with gifts and properties…and in the early hours of Agustin 27th, 1572, when it was still pitch dark outside, Piero was seeing leaving the palazzo of a Florentine widow.. the revenge of her family found him in Santo Spirito square, when’re he was killed with a sword blow..

Bianca was now a widow .. that could dream of a second marriage…

22/02/2024

Giovanna e Bianca. The two Grand duchesses of Francesco I.

The mother of Grand Duke Francesco I, “ la Bella Eleonora di Toledo” died before receiving the title of Grand duchess, that’s why the first “official” one was Joanna of Austria, the youngest daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand I and the wife chosen for Francesco I.

They married on December 18th, 1565. For the occasion the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio was redecorated with images of Austrian cities to make her feel less homesick.. but for the rest she was never really welcomed into the cities .. also because between 1567 and 1575 she gave birth to 6 daughters to but no male heir and this was the cause, together with the presence of Bianca Cappello, of more contrast with her husband.

She was never respected. She never felt at home in Florence . Her first son, named Filippo, celebrated with great joy by the whole court, died as an infant and the presence of Bianca Cappello was growing stronger and stronger … the poor Joanna died on April 11, 1578.

Heavily pregnant with her eight child, she fell from the stairs in Palazzo Vecchio. She gave birth few hours after the accident to a premature it who died immediately.

She passed away the day after.. opening the path to new marriage and to a new Grand Duchess … stay tuned!

15/02/2024

Francesco I. The Alchemist.

Francesco was the first son of Eleonora and Cosimo, so he was the chosen one to succeed to his father when Cosimo died in 1574 even if Cosimo abdicated in favor of Francesco already in 1564 due to his poor health condition..

Francesco always did what his father wanted him to do.. married the woman his father chose for him, took over the family responsibilities but without putting too much passion into it… he had only two passions in his life and both of them led him to his death: alchemy and Bianca Cappello.

Francesco was more for the art, the science, less for the politic. He was a scientist himself, an alchemist, a great patron for the arts, commissioned the construction of the wonderful “tribuna” in the Uffizi in 1581, brought mesmerizing objects into the family collection: paintings, antique statues, scientific instruments, exotics and local objects … a very versatile collection.

Behind his death there is still today a mystery.. most probably poisoned by his brother, the cardinal Ferdiando… curious to know why? Here is what happened…

09/02/2024

La Bella Eleonora. A powerful woman behind a powerful man.

Eleonora di Toledo, daughter of the powerful vice king of Napoli, Pedro de Toledo, arrived at the port of Livorno on the 22 of June, 1539. She was 17 years old.

The marriage with Duke Cosimo I was arranged following specific alliances between the Spanish crown and the Medici dynasty. But even if this marriage was politically arranged in few months turned to be a marriage of love. A perfect match.

Eleonora was smart, very well educated and was able to take care of her husband deals while he was away. She shared with Cosimo the love for art, the passion for hunting and fishing. The passion for the sacred and the profane.

But both Palazzo Medici and the Palazzo della Signoria were not the right home for her royal family. They looked too much like fortresses. Also Cosimo suffered very badly of gout, so Eleonora tough that maybe a garden and fresh air could help her husband’s health issue.

She purchased the abandoned Palazzo Pitti and she managed to unify a very large green area behind giving birth to the mesmerizing Boboli garden.

Eleonora and Cosimo had 11 children in 14 years. But unfortunately many of them died at quite a young age. But two of her sons became grand dukes. Francesco and Ferdinando.

She died in 1562, but still today she is consider one of the two most important and influential woman in Florence… what happened after her? Stay tuned! Andiamo!

01/02/2024

Cosimo I. The man, the ruler, the Grand Duke.

Fase n.2 - the side branch that made history. With the death of Duke Alessandro I, in 1537, leaving no heir and with a serious e of very unfortunate death in the family, the Medici had yet another challenge to face.

Who will be succeeding to Alessandro I? Who will be the Duke? The answer is Cosimo I. But who was Cosimo? For the most influential people in Florence and because of his young age, 17 when he was elected, Cosimo was a “country boy” who grew up in the family villa in the country side, a hunter, a horse man.. easy to be maneuvered.

A simple young man with Medici blood running trough his veins… but the they misjudged him. Cosimo was the son of the great warlord Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Maria Salviati, nice of Lorenzo il Magnifico, belonging to the side branch of the dynasty.

He inherited the fighting spirit of his father and grandmother, Caterina Sforza. He sold the palazzo Medici to the Riccardi and moved into Palazzo della Signoria, which was the political center of the city.

The message was very clear: “ No more independence, no more republic. He was the only ruler. He used art as a great source of propaganda. He is the man who gave birth to the Uffizi, who “unified” Tuscany under one Gran Duchy ( with a lot of extra help 😅) and who married the beautiful Eleonora di Toledo, daughter of the vice kind of Napoli, in 1539.

A very powerful, smart woman with true royal blood running through her veins. A perfect match. Eleonora and Cosimo had 11 children in 14 years… but for the beautiful Eleonora, the Palazzo della Signoria, now known as “Palazzo Ducale” was too small, too much looking like a fortress… “she refused to raise her children in such a fortress looking palace”… she was looking for a garden… did you know what happen next? Andiamo!

29/01/2024

… Alessandro because of his dark skin and dark curly hair was known as “Il Moro” ( the moorish).
Behind his birth there is still today an aura of mystery. Rumors says he was the illegitimate son of the future pope Clement VII. But in the palazzo Medici was said to be the natural son of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, nephew of Lorenzo Il Magnifico.
And of course he was not the only natural child in the palazzo.

He was sent to Rome under the wing of the future pope Leone X. Thanks to his great political skills, the future pope made it possible for the Medici, in 1512, to come back to Florence after they were exiled in 1494.

Things went crumbling down in 1527, when a riot exiled again the Medici from Florence. They would come back only 3 years after, in 1530. The second Medici pope, Clemente VII, made peace with emperor Carlo V and with his military support was able to come back to Florence and to impose Alessandro and the ruler. The Duke of Florence in 1532.

To seal the deal Alessandro married the natural daughter of the emperor. He ruled as a tyrant, guided only by his vices. And his biggest vice, women, will be his end.

With the promise of a intimate encounter with Caterina Soderini, the woman he was currently infatuated with, the night of January 6th, 1537 Alessandro was murdered by his own cousin, Lorenzaccio, in the palazzo Medici in via Larga.

Finally putting the word “end” to an awful ruler. But what would happen next?

26/01/2024

Cosimo I or Alessandro I? Who was the first Duke of the Medici dynasty?
In piazza della Signoria, the political center of the town of Firenze is famous for the many statues that represent the glory of Cosimo I of the Medici dynasty and many at first site thinks that he was actually the first official ruler of the Medici. And even if I love Cosimo I have to say that actually, the very first official ruler of the Medici dynasty, when they came back after their exile, was Alessandro. Known as Alessandro I.
But was Alessandro and why he was the chosen one? … Stay tuned!

I am a passionate, fun and creative Tour guide, Wine lover, Art Addicted and much more. Come with m

18/01/2024

1494: The Exhile.
Savonarola, God & the 🔥 bonfire of vanities.

After Piero betrayed the Florentine and the Republic, the Medici family was forced to leave the city and the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola gave birth to a brand new republic where the only ruler was God.

Whenever I visit the convent of San Marco and I see the cell where Savonarola used to live, I always feel a bit uncomfortable. His sever look feels like he is still judging us and I always wonder how would I have reacted if I took part to any of his preaching in the Signoria Square.

Would I have followed him? Would I have burned my vanities into the main square? He was know as a great man of character, a man of God who had no middle terms in telling the Florentine to be ashamed, because they loved and followed vanities more that the preaching of God…he was very honest. He spoke the truth. To everybody. Nobility, clergymen, rulers … and he was followed by the locals so deeply that he gave birth to a republic where the only ruler was God.

And he went on until the 23rd of May, 1498, when the florentines got tired of following the preaching, the started missing they vanities…the Republic wanted to elect a new government and the church declared Savonarola an heretic.

The end of his work was the day he was sentenced to death, and burned alive as an heretic in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of of the crowed who first worshiped him.

I am always fascinated by the story of Girolamo Savonarola. Imagine that even him and Lorenzo De’ Medici were miles apart, Girolamo was the friar present to Lorenzo’s death bed. The one who gave him the “estrema unzione”.

Come to discover more of this story. Andiamo!

13/01/2024

Piero Il Fauto. From the Magnificent to the Fatuous.

“Keep away from the public eye”…”dress nicely but not too fancy”.. this were the great suggestions and mottos followed by the great Cosimo The Elder and his son and nephew… but Piero, the first son of Lorenzo Il Magnifico and Clarice Orsini did not learn anything from his amazing successors…unfortunately proved himself to be too arrogant and lacking of any political sensibility… but he was the first born so the one who succeeded to his father as “former ruler” of the Florentine Republic.

In more than one occasion proved himself to be unfit for this position. The historical challenge which put an end at his political carrier was the submission to the King of France, Carlo VIII, who moved war against the reign of Napoli and occupied during his descent trough Italy the fortresses of Sarzana, Sarzanella e Pietrasanta and free access to Florence which he conquered.

Piero had not choice but to leave with his wife and family. Savonarola was about to crest a republic where the only ruler will be God… but this another story…if you wish to know what happened to Piero the Unlucky one.. he was truly unlucky until the end of his life.. joined the army of Charles the VIII in hope to be back into Florence he was crossing the river Garigliano in 1503 when the wooden raft they were using sank and he he drowned.

He was first buried in the abbey of Montecassino where his brother was the abbot.. will be another Cosimo who will bring his body back to Florence and back to the church where all the Medici are still resting today... stay tuned!

I am a passionate, fun and creative Tour guide, Wine lover, Art Addicted and much more. Come with m

09/01/2024

Clarice Orsini: damnatio memorie.

If you are searching for portraits of Clarice Orsini, the wife chosen by Lucrezia Tornabuoni for her son Lorenzo Il Magnifico, you won’t find many, if not at all.

Is like after she had died, everybody in Florence wanted to cancel her existence. She was never welcomed, she was always the “foreigner”, the woman from Rome who took the best man in Florence.

Poor Clarice. She never really embraced the humanism, so loved by her husband. She never agreed to Agnolo Poliziano teaching her children about art, philosophy, Greek and Latin.
She preferred a religious upbringing, just like she had in Rome.

Lorenzo respected Clarice, but never really loved her. They were too far apart. But she was the link between the Medici and the papacy. Lucrezia chose wisely. Giovanni will be pope Leo X. But she died alone, escluded to the family villa in the Countryside.

Lorenzo wasn’t there. Neither was there for her funeral.. he was very ill in the province of siena … I wonder why though in Florence there are no information or portraits about Clarice .. is like Florence had convicted her to a damnatio memorie .. away from the eyes and away for the hearts.. like she was never in Florence …

21/12/2023

Lorenzo Il Magnifico

“Chi vuol esser lieto sia, del domani non v’è certezza…” this are for me the lines that mostly characterize the person of Lorenzo.

He was everything. A poet, a patron of the arts, a politician, a diplomat...not really handsome but definitely very charming…he was called “ The Magnificent”, and he was truly magnificent.

He grew up among philosophy, art, beauty.. mythological stories.. during his years ruling slightly “behind the curtains” of the Florentine republic Firenze flourished and so the Renaissance and his artists.

Survived the Pazzi conspiracy died in 1492… when America was discovered… but we will talk about this in a different story.. stay tuned..

19/12/2023

Lucrezia Tornabuoni

Lucrezia Tornabuoni is a woman of great class and very intelligent. She chose for her son Lorenzo, the future “Magnificent” a bride from outside Florence.

How could she dare? A true affront to the wealthy Florentine families. She is the woman that with this small manovre will open the way to the papacy to the Medici dynasty.

Cosimo the elder had conquered the European banking business, Lucrezia conquered the papacy. A true queen … even if without a throne.

14/12/2023

Piero the Gouty

Cosimo the Elder died in 1464. Nine year after Contessina will follow…now is the time for their son Piero to take over the family business..

Since he was a child he suffered of poor health that lead to his nickname. The gout often kept him in bed, that’s why his bedroom became his office and the Palazzo Medici in via Larga became the seat of political business in the republic of Florence.

Although not as brilliant a banker as his father, he was able to keep things running smoothly during his tenure.
He also continued the family's tradition of artistic patronage. He married Lucrezia Tornabuoni, “the queen without a throne”…The perfect mother for the future father of the Renaissance. …