Florence On Line

Inside the old city walls of Florence (well, what used to be the walls and is now the viale or large avenue circling the city), driving is limited to registered vehicles (city residents) except for a small area around the train station (Santa Maria Novella). Florentines call this the ZTL, or "Zona Traffico Limitato". It is important to know this to avoid receiving HUGE traffic tickets by driving your car into the center of Florence. On the map below (click it for a larger version), you can see the ZTL entry points (red and blue "T"s) and the various zones by letter (which correspond to where residents can park). You can drive into the center with a rental car if you are staying at a hotel, but the hotel must let the traffic police know your license plates, etc. And if you do drive in, make sure to use one of the blue "T" spots, not the red - even with a residents permit to enter, you can't enter at the red "T" signs (I now know - it was an expensive lesson).

So remember - if you are just coming to Florence as stop on a day trip, or you are staying at a self catering apartment (i.e. not a hotel), you can not legally drive into (most of) the center, although personally we have heard stories of people doing so and not getting tickets, if you do the fines are steep and they are getting better and better at finding you and making sure you pay. In any case, this is something to be aware of and be careful of! Study the map closely and you will see there are a few ins and outs (Sundays are open, as are nights from 7:30 PM to 7:30 AM, but not in the summer, etc.). Lastly, the light blue shaded streets are "zona pedonale" or pedestrian zones, and you shouldn't be driving on them at all!

For a memorable stay in an historic Florentine palace, Palazzo Uguccioni offers five vacation rental suites in Piazza della Signoria. All the apartments are on the top floor of the palace, thus avoiding the noise of the busy piazza and affording breathtaking views of the Palazzo Vecchio, Duomo, Bargello and Badia Fiorentina.

Palazzo Uguccioni is not a hotel or a tourist rental agency, but is a Florentine family who has restored part of a prominent building. From the website:

The palazzo itself has a famous Renaissance facade, dating back to 1550. Although the architect is believed to be Mariotto di Zanobi Folfi, the design is often attributed to Raphael. You can't get more historic than that...

www.palazzouguccioni.it
palazzouguccioni@gmail.com

For centuries, March 25th was "Florence's January 1st", the beginning of the New Year. The date was traditionally used in liturgical calendars and thus spilling over to "civic" use placing the Annunciation as the first day of the year.

According to oral tradition and the medieval manifest the Golden Legend, the first written account of the lives of the Saints by the Genovese Bishop Jacopo da Voragine, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary her chosen role as the Mother of Jesus on Friday, March 25th at noon (nine months before Christmas day) while Mary was piously reading the Book of Isaiah that prophesizes the conception of Jesus, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

This important liturgical feast day then acted for many centuries as the beginning of the New Year, however by the sixteenth century even the Church was striving to gain a better understanding of the tropical calendar and the seasons for the "placement" of Easter. It was Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 who was driven to update the calendar to create a "universal" placement of Easter which was not celebrated on the same date by all Christian communities and approved the calendar as we know it today.

Luisa Via Roma is one of the hippest boutiques in Florence, if not in all of Italy. It is really a destination not to be missed if you are into high fashion, up and coming designers, and want to be seen in the trendiest and latest that the Italian fashion world has to offer.

The store was recently completely renovated, and features large touch screen monitors where you choose items from the shop and then have them brought to you in a private dressing room. They also have a suite available for VIPs, and are very involved in the Florentine fashion shows, the throwing of fabulous parties, and all the other things that the beautiful people do.

LUISA VIA ROMA
Via Roma, 19/21r
50123 Florence (FI), Italy
Tel. +39 055 9064116
http://www.luisaviaroma.com/

You can reach many interesting cities from Florence in a day - even outside Tuscany. I finally made it to Milan (about 3 hours on the Eurostar train - 42 euro each way, 2nd class) for the first time a few weeks ago, and even though it was a rainy day I had a great time strolling around the center of the city.

Coming into Milan from Florence on the train you enter the city at the Stazione Centrale - an absolutely huge Fascist influenced piece of architecture that is currently (winter 2008/2009) being modernized. The cavernous interior spaces of this station are truly remarkable. The station is a little bit of a hike from the center so I took the underground (Linea 3) to Piazza Duomo. This can be a little tricky so make sure you read the signs closely - the line is called "Duomo" but from the train station you need to make sure you are heading in the direction of the Duomo (the terminus in that direction is San Donato) and not out into the suburbs.

One of our favorite all time places to eat in Florence is the Ristorante Boccadama. Located in Piazza Santa Croce, this is real Tuscan and other regional Italian food in a great setting, with prompt, efficient and friendly service. In season you can dine al fresco too. Lunch is amazing, and prices are very reasonable. Some of our favorites are the lasagna, pasta & fagioli soup, and spaghetti carbonara. Everything is home made from quality ingredients. At dinner the kitchen staff and menu change, and you will find some more refined cooking. Make sure to have one of their special desserts - either tiramisu or the pear and chocolate cake! Buon appetito -

Today, March 6th, marks the birth date of two gifted Florentine poets. One not necessarily recognized as a "poet" and the other not necessarily recognized as a "Florentine".

On March 6th, 1475 Michelangelo Buonarroti, master architect, painter and sculptor, was born. This characteristically creative yet introverted Pisces was also a gifted poet writing sonnets about his art, love and spirituality.

The poem, "Com'esser, donna, puo quel c'alcun vede..." written for his Platonic friend Vittoria Colonna speaks of the lasting quality of the works of art he "will" leave behind only after he, upon death, "will" turn to dust.

Never marrying, and without a direct heir, he willed a great deal of his possessions to his brother's son, his nephew, Lionardo. Today his nephew's modest palace, the Casa Buonarroti, can be visited with original works from his uncle, the master. The marble reliefs of the Madonna of the Steps and the Battle of the Centaurs are on display both completed when Michelangelo was a teenager.

A hard to find place, with an even harder to find website, enoteca Le volpi e l'uva is one of our favorite hidden gems of Florence. I guess the only thing that keeps this charming spot from not being completely overrun with tourists is the fact that it is tucked away a bit off the main tourism thoroughfare that runs from the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti.

It really isn't all that secret - you will find it in most guide books and on many websites and Top 10 lists - but somehow it seems to maintain its sense of a being an off the beaten path kind of place that only certain people have knowledge of.

This is a scan of a tourist map of Florence from what appears to be a turn of the century guide book. It may be from a Baedeker's guide.

Today is February 18th, an important date for the cultural legacy of this great city. 266 years ago, on February 18th, 1743 Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici died and left all the holdings of her dynastic family to the city of Florence.

Visitors today walk through the family palace and admire the masterpieces of Renaissance art thanks to a pact that Anna Maria Luisa signed in 1737 that ensured that these Medici monuments would be protected by the Florentine state.

As the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, her fate, like all young women of noble origin, was to be married off into a foreign family with potential for political alliances and economical gains. She was sent to Düsseldorf and her arranged marriage to Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine took place on June 5, 1691.