Freya's Florence Tours - Freya Middleton

20/03/2025

A FISH FEAST WITH A PUNCH
I am a fish fiend and one of my favourite fish dishes is Cacciucco, a speciality from Livorno, the largest port town in Tuscany (circa 1.5 hours from Florence by car).

Cacciucco is basically a fish stew using about 6-7 different types of fish and crustaceans cooked with tomatoes, garlic, chilli, sage and some red wine and served over thick slices of Tuscan bread (not fresh but from the days previous) which has been toasted and rubbed with garlic. The type of fish to expect are squid, cuttle fish, prawns, shrimps, mussels and different kinds of white fish typically used in stews. Red wine, not white wine, is the accompanying beverage to wash it down.

The etymology of this marvellous dish’s name is a bit of a mystery. Some say that it could derive from the Turkish word kacuk meaning little pieces, referring to the numerous chunks of different fish used, or it could be from the Spanish word cachuco, the name of a particular fish subsequently used as a generic name for fish in general. These two possible explanations, although seemingly unconnected, being from two widely differing cultures, are both perfectly plausible when we consider the history and geographical positioning of Livorno (the English name of the city is Leghorn, which I have always found has a ridiculous ring to it).

As many large port cities traditionally are a melting pot of cultures, so too was Livorno, but maybe even more so than others. With the silting of the port of Pisa, Livorno slightly further south, was created as the new port for the Duchy of Tuscany under the rule of the Medici family. Bernardo Buontalenti, the favourite architect and inventor for Grand Duke Francesco de Medici in the second half of the 1500’s, was commissioned to draw up plans for the new city and fortress.

The city was largely finished and launched as the active and important port city that it is still today, under Francesco’s successor and brother, Grand Duke Ferdinando de Medici, who, recognising the need to increase the Duchy’s revenue, made the port a 'porto franco', a duty free haven, as well as offering amnesty to all religious and ethnic groups and thus attracting persecuted groups and minorities such Jews, Huguenots, Armenians, Greeks, and later Moriscos (Muslims converted to Catholicism) as well as others, who, bringing their trade contacts and expertise, helped to fill the coffers of Tuscany and breathe some new life into the ever declining power of Tuscany on the European scene.

After devouring a Cacciucco, it’s time for a 'Ponce' to round of the meal in true local Livornese fashion. Ponce derives from the English word, Punch, and is similar, but with a slight Italian adaptation of the ingredients. English Punch is a mixture of tea, sugar, cinnamon, lemon and distilled alcohol (generally a base of rum or rice wine) and Ponce replaces the tea with coffee (obviously!!).

I went to the trattoria Il Sottomarino tel: 0586 887 025 in the centre of Livorno, . I hear that 'Antica Venezia', also in the centre of Livorno, does a very good Cacciucco as well, which I plan to try next time.

20/03/2025

At La Giostra (a jousting tournament) in 1475, held at the Piazza Santa Croce, Giuliano de Medici entered the lists bearing a banner on which was a picture of Simonetta as a helmeted Pallas Athene painted by Botticelli, beneath which was the French inscription La Sans Pareille – meaning “The unparalleled one.” From then on, Simonetta became known as the most beautiful woman in Florence.
Giuliano won the tournament and the affection of Simonetta, who was nominated “The Queen of Beauty” at that event. It is unknown, however, if they actually became lovers.
Unfortunately, the glorious life of Simonetta ended quickly. A year later, she died, presumably of tuberculosis, on the night of April 26–27, 1476.
She was 22 at the time of her death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonetta_Vespucci

20/03/2025

If you haven't yet visited the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Florence, you must add it to your list for next time... you'll be in for a treat!
The Gallery was established in 1860 on the second floor of Palazzo Pitti, in the rooms once occupied by the Medici's Palatine Library. The structure of the Gallery was first modified in 1918 and subsequently in 1972-79, when all the rooms were fully restored and decorated with furniture from the years in which the Gallery was founded.The Galleria d'Arte Moderna is a collection of works by Tuscan macchiaoli (Impressionsts) and other modern art in the princely Renaissance Pitti Palace
Modern art isn't what draws most people to the capital of the Renaissance, but the Pitti's collection includes some important works by the 19th-century Tuscan school of art known as the Macchiaioli, who painted a kind of Tuscan Impressionism, concerned with the macchie (marks of color on the canvas and the play of light on the eye).
Most of the scenes are of the countryside or peasants working, along with the requisite lot of portraits. Some of the movement's greatest talents are here, including Silvestro Lega, Telemaco Signorini, and Giovanni Fattori, the real genius of the group. Don't miss Fattori's two white oxen pulling a cart in The Tuscan Maremma!
http://www.reidsitaly.com/.../pitti-palace-modern-art.html

20/03/2025

Thursday, March 20 at 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
If you happen to be in Florence this month, don't miss the Spring Equinox at Santa Maria novella!
The façade of Santa Maria Novella has the peculiarity of being an "astronomical" façade, since on it are found ancient instruments installed by Egnazio Danti (1536-1586) between 1572 and 1575, the astronomical quadrant, the equinoctial armilla and two gnomonic holes that project the image of the sun on the floor of the basilica at the sun's edge.
On the occasion of the Spring Equinox we can finally see the passage of the Sun on the meridian lines created by Egnazio Danti.

Tickets Available at: https://www.smn.it/eventi/215512-equinozio-di-primavera/

20/03/2025

Where in Florence would you find my mate?

19/03/2025

Phew!
Florence was out of danger on Saturday due to the "decisive" role of a key floodgate that prevented the Arno river from bursting its banks after heavy rainfall, Italian authorities said.
About 250 people were evacuated from their homes on Friday after the equivalent of a month's worth of rain fell in six hours, flooding streets and swelling waterways across the Tuscany region.
"The flood peak of the Arno passed without any critical issues," Tuscany's president, Eugenio Giani, wrote on social media on Saturday.
A red weather alert remained in place in the Florence area until midday on Saturday, with parks, cemeteries, markets, museums and libraries all closed.
The Arno, which flows through Florence and Pisa, is prone to flooding in spring and fall.
Construction of the floodgate began after a devastating flood in 1949 but was not completed in time to avert devastating flooding in 1966, when over 100 people were killed.

https://www.thelocal.it/20250315/florence-averts-disaster-thanks-to-key-floodgate?cx_testId=2&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=1&cx_experienceId=EX4VJJTROQWO&cx_experienceActionId=showRecommendationsNRXMO99DIT7S12

19/03/2025

Leftover risotto is always put to good use in Italy...
It's shaped into a ball, stuffed with ragu, covered in bread crumbs and thrown in the deep fryer. It's called arancini and it's almost better than risotto.

19/03/2025

Easter is a spectacular time to be in Florence...
On Easter Sunday, 20th April, you can watch the flight of the Colombina and the Explosion of the Cart in front of the cathedral!
The ancient celebration originated during the First Crusade, called to liberate the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of infidels. Pazzino Pazzi, who according to legend was the first to climb the walls of the Holy City and to place the crusader banner, was rewarded by Godfrey of Bouillon with three stone flints of the Holy Sepulchre of Christ (we now know that the stones came from the nearby Mount Oliveto).
The three stones, were used to draw a spark of holy fire which was distributed, after being blessed, to families to rekindle their hearths. The "holy fire" was a sign of the Resurrection of Christ.
This Florentine tradition of the holy fire is ancient and most likely was developed by the church from the pagan ritual that saw the vestal virgins, priestesses of the goddess Vesta, keep the hearth of the State and private homes always alight.

19/03/2025

It's true!

19/03/2025

Happy Fathers' Day to all the Dads!

Fathers' day is celebrated today in Italy, on the Feast of Saint Joseph – the patron saint of family men, according to Catholic tradition.

Lent, the time of abstinence, couldn’t possibly mean that the Italians truly refrain from eating their delightful goodies for such a long period of time, no way! In the land of exceptions to the rule, there is of course the day given over to tasty frittelle or fritters, an indulgence eaten to celebrate the faithful guardian to the Holy Mary.

Joseph, most often relegated to the background in the family shots, is shown below in Ghirlandaio’s wonderful Adoration of the Shepherds a little despairingly, as he is worrying about where they will be next, which will determine what type of fritters they will be eating! Because of course the recipe changes depending on the region, and they can be either sweet or savoury.

Frittelle are little fried balls of rice dough, eaten in Tuscany, northern Lazio and some parts of Umbria. The ingredients are rice, milk, water, egg, rum, sultanas, sugar, a little grated orange peel or lemon, flour, salt and vanilla. After frying they are rolled in icing sugar. In Sicily, they are called crespeddi and are sweet, with a filling of ricotta and anchovies. In Campania (Naples is the capital) they eat zeppole shaped like a doughnut with no rice in the ingredients, but based on water, butter, yeast, flour and egg and they have a cream filling often topped with amarena cherry.

Father’s day originated at the beginning of the 1900’s in America and was, and still is in most countries, celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The Italians too began to celebrate it in June, however, it was then moved to coincide with Saint Joseph’s day (the same in Portugal and Spain). The Italians have been celebrating Saint Joseph’s day with the fritelle for centuries. The day dedicated to Joseph was officially established by Rome in 1479, and it coincided with the pagan ritual rites celebrating the end of winter. Big bonfires where built with the left over residue from the fields and hymns were sung to Saint Joseph, patron saint of carpenters, unborn children, immigrant workers, and of course fathers…. and all Tuscans would eat lots and lots of frittelle!
Pictured is St Joseph with the Infant Jesus (oil on Canvas by Guido Reni at The Hermitage, St. Petersburg)
An Italian painter of high-Baroque style, Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was born in Bologna and when he was just nine years old he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert.

19/03/2025

Amused by this...

19/03/2025

18/03/2025

Have you heard of Fettunta?
It's a slice of toasted bread with oil and is the classic snack of many Tuscan children. A thick bodied oil is sufficient to give the bread (has to be without salt, even though the rest of Italy disagrees) all the flavour it needs. Called the fettunta (literally "a greasy slice"), it consists of a slice of crispy toasted bread, rubbed with a clove of garlic and seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper and, of course, extra virgin olive oil.
The healthy snack of peasant origin has given (and continues to give) sustenance to entire generations.

18/03/2025

Have you noticed the fabulous door knockers on Florentine doors?
And did you know that door k***s made out of brass automatically disinfect themselves in about 8 hours through the oligodynamic effect?

18/03/2025

"...sovra candido vel cinta d’uliva
donna m’apparve, sotto verde manto
vestita di color di fiamma viva..."
(Purgatorio, Canto ###, 31-33)
"Olive crowned above a veil of white
Appeared to me a lady beneath a green mantle
dressed in the colour of living flame"
This is one of the verses that describe the first meeting between Dante and Beatrice in the Divine Comedy.
Dante, on top of the mountain of Purgatory, is watching a procession when, on the last chariot he sees a woman with a white veil on her head, an olive crown, a red dress and a green mantle.
These are the colours of the theological virtues: the red of Charity, the white of Faith and the green of Hope.
Looking closer Dante realizes that the woman is his own Beatrice whom he thought was lost forever.
Wanting to introduce her to Virgil, his guide up to then, he turns, only to find that Virgil has disappeared. Now Beatrice is his guide to Heaven. She represents the Virtues, who will now accompany Dante on the last stage of his journey.
Today you can find these verses along the Corso and this one is on the very building where the Portinari, or Beatrice's family of origin, once lived.

18/03/2025

This is a fascinating (though fairly expensive) place to visit...
Five hundred years after the death of Leonardo da Vinci, a silk mill is still using one of his designs as it shuttles some of the finest threads in the world across its looms.
Tucked away in the historic San Frediano neighbourhood in Florence, L'Antico Setificio Fiorentino was founded in 1786 and is one of the oldest silk workshops in Europe.
Its looms date back to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, but the jewel at its heart is a machine to unwind the reels of threads, which was designed by Renaissance genius Da Vinci, who died in 1519.
"It's a warping machine made in the late 17th century according to the maestro's original design, and we still make passementerie (tassels, cords, trimmings) today" using it, silk worker Beatrice Fazzini said.
The polymath's device is used to prepare the threads before they are placed on the loom, following a technique that has been closely guarded for centuries.
Golden chenille, damask and taffeta with floral or geometric motifs are among the fabrics made here and sold for between 200 euros ($226) and 1,500 euros ($1,700) per metre.
The workshop, which since 2010 has belonged to the family of Italian fashion designer Stefano Ricci, manufactures fabrics, lace and ribbons in styles and colours favoured by the historic House of Medici, the famed Italian banking family and political dynasty.
It was during the Medici's rise to power that silk manufacturing enjoyed a boom along the banks of the Arno River.
Fabrics produced by L'Antico Setificio Fiorentino can be found in places of grandeur both home and abroad, from Italy's palaces and the famous Uffizi Galleries in Florence, to the royal residence in Denmark and the Kremlin in Russia.
Pope Francis and opera singers Maria Callas and Andrea Bocelli have also worn garments created on its aged looms.
"It's a museum that is also a factory," said Briza Datti, interior designer and head of the commercial sector.
The hand looms move to the weaver's rhythm and bear "the imprint of the family to which they belonged in the past," she says.
The designs and fabrics produced down the ages are preserved in the workshop's historical archives, which can be visited by school children or tourists.
The 15 or so artisans that spend their days teasing threads say it is a privilege to produce precious fabrics in silk, linen and cotton once used by kings and emperors.
"I'm lucky to work here, surrounded by centuries-old looms, but it doesn't feel like a museum, just a special environment," says Simona Polimeni, who trained at the school of weaving and restoration in the Tuscan capital.
"Each fabric must be woven by the same person. The rhythm must always be the same, or you risk imperfections," the 26-year old says, as she crosses the warp and weft threads in an echo of age-old gestures.
No fewer than eight hours of work are needed to produce two metres of this fabric, worthy of the court of 15th century Italian statesman Lorenzo the Magnificent himself.
On one of the looms, 50-year old Silvana expertly shuttles shimmering colours, from mustard yellow to fuchsia and petrol blue.
The Brazilian, who came to Italy 30 years ago to work in the world-renowned textile industry in Tuscany, said she is proud to have such "a very creative job, in such an area of excellence".
Via Lorenzo Bartolini, 4, 50124 Firenze
By appointment only - Tel. +39 055 213861 - [email protected]
https://anticosetificiofiorentino.com/contacts/
https://www.thelocal.it/.../the-florence-silk-mill-still...

18/03/2025

Good morning Florence!

18/03/2025

WARNING:
March 18th-19th – National rail strike

Train passengers in Italy are expected to face delays and/or cancellations on March 18th and March 19th as staff at rail operators Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper, Trenord and Italo plan to take part in a 24-hour strike.
The walkout is set to start at 9pm on March 18th and end at 9pm on March 19th, affecting both regional and long-distance trains.
All involved rail operators will be required to provide a minimum level of service for passengers (this is generally made to coincide with peak travel hours).