Month: August 2013

Visit the Great Cloister at Santa Maria Novella

August 30, 2013

This weekend take the wonderful opportunity to visit the Great Cloister of Santa Maria Novella, not normally open to the public. Home to the school of Marescialli and Brigadiers of the Carabinieri since 1920, and as such is closed to the public, the Grand Cloister has a magnificent cycle of frescoes with scenes from the…

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Renaissance Days in the Mugello

The tiny town of Scarperia in the Mugello heads back in time this weekend with its Renaissance fair! On Saturday, August 31, the Renaissance fair starts off at 6pm with everyone in period costume as the village hosts a market with stands of the many crafts of old, from candlemaking, book binding, blacksmiths, falcon masters…

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The Fiera del Cacio in Pienza

August 29, 2013

This week is an exciting week for Pienza and anyone visiting this small hilltop village in the middle of the Val d’Orcia: its Cacio week! The town is famous for the local product made in the area, the Pecorino di Pienza DOP, also casually just called “cacio”. This year, the event’s committee has started a…

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A View on a Teaching Farm

August 28, 2013

There are those who have an innate passion from the very start, then there are those who only discover it along the way; then there are those who need to go back to their roots and the land and those who just need to live with the rhythms of nature marked by the singing of…

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Enjoying Summer Evenings at Florence’s Museums

August 7, 2013

Botticelli’s Venus at the Uffizi This summer, you can enjoy art and culture and avoid some of the heat and crowds of the day if you go visit Florence’s museums in the evenings. The Polo Museale, is in fact, offering various opportunities for you to enjoy Florence’s magnificent museums just this summer at special hours….

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Hands Off, Literally!

August 6, 2013

Yesterday afternoon, an American tourist visiting the Opera del Duomo museum in Florence damaged, apparently by accident, the right hand of the statue of the Virgin in the Annunciation group made by Giovanni D’Ambrogio. Personnel from the museum intervened immediately and the tourist excused himself for the damage – the little finger cracked but did…

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