Stepintoflorence with Lisa

06/11/2024

A Japanese artist in Pisa. When Hokusai meets Palazzo Blu. I do have a preference for Hokusai, especially for his views of the Mount Fuji and his great wave 🌊 Living in Japan in the second half of the 18th/ beginning of the 19th century Hokusai was the first artists in Japan to absorb and use modern perspective and new colors such as the “Prussian Blue” unknown in a Japan still locked in its traditions and just about to open to foreign influences and exportations. “Eclectic and disciplined at the same time, his life was dedicated to painting in all forms, always seeking perfection in every stroke” as describe in the exhibition, I highly suggest you a visit. Traveling through Japan in a Blu Palace, what else?

05/11/2024

gf.me/u/5s6bsw&attribution_id=sl:bed395fa-010c-4587-bbb8-eb0d78d89234 Perché mantenere in vita l’artigianto, insieme si può! keep our pottery school alive !!

04/11/2024

31/10/2024

https://gofund.me/80535160 I need some help… Would you?

29/10/2024

Ma che bontà!😋 yes, a real pleasure for your palate! If you really want to know and understand the difference between industrial produced pasta and the authentic dried pasta you cannot pass on a visit to one of the oldest pasta factory in tuscany! I buy all my pasta from them… because I believe in them, I stand by them, I love their passion and high quality pasta. They follow the whole process, front he wheat, the mill, the slow drying… once you try you cannot go back, easy to get addicted to it 😄 super yummy 😋

22/10/2024

I do love coffee ☕️ deeply indeed.. for us, Italians, I see it as a cuddle, “caffè” is a word that makes us stop for a secondo, drop whatever we were doing and chat for few minutes.. a good excuse to sit or stand for just a quick chat, a kiss, a hug. I could not thing about my day starting without caffè… if it come from the moka even better 😄 Buongiorno! 😃

18/10/2024

The only winery designed by architect Renzo Piano is a true gem hiding in one of the most spectacular areas in Tuscany, the very heart of the Maremma region… set among hills and Etruscan necropolis, Rocca di Frassinello was designed to recall a medieval fortress blending in the surrounding landscape , a concrete and terracotta brick safe guarding spectacular wines… you just need to taste them now… andiamo!

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..