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Wouldn’t it be fine to explore the inside of Brunelleschi’s Dome, the one that caps the Duomo of Florence? It’s simple to do. Well, once past the entrance exercise of ascending the 463 narrow steps that is. Ok, so you’ve been warned. No fair knocking the stars off the review because the narrow stairs were a pain. The whoosh of electric elevators we...

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I was a professional dancer in New York for 10 years. Back in 2018, I decided to do a solo trip to Italy and visit Venice, Florence, and Rome. On my first day in Florence, I met my now-boyfriend. We did long distance for a year, and then he came to live with me in New York. In January 2021, we decided to move back to Italy together. I remember when...

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If you’re visiting Tuscany you certainly won’t want to miss the important cities that are rich in history, where it seems that little has changed in the last 500 years and the Renaissance seems as alive today as it was then. Indeed, if you’re in Florence on June 24, you may feel like a time traveler as the city honors San Giovanni, the patron saint...

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Florence is often hailed as the birthplace of the Renaissance, and you might find yourself thinking that this style dominates the city’s buildings. However, if you take a moment to observe the structural and design elements, you’ll quickly notice a rich variety of architectural styles scattered throughout the city. In Florence, medieval architectur...

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Florence, called by many the cradle of the Renaissance, is home to many architectural masterpieces that embody the artistic and intellectual glory of that era. Among these treasures, one stands out as a symbol of beauty, craftsmanship, and spiritual significance: the Gates of Paradise. These magnificent bronze doors, located on the eastern facade o...

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Italy, a country renowned for its rich history and cultural heritage, is home to countless well-known landmarks and attractions. However, it also harbors a multitude of lesser-known gems, each with its own unique story. Let’s embark on a journey to uncover five such “secrets” hidden in plain sight in some of Italy’s most famous cities. Our first st...

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The largest exhibition of art from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Periods from a private art collection in Florence is heading to Miami this fall. Faith, Beauty, and Devotion: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Paintings is being organized by Federico Gandolfi Vannini, owner of Frascione Arte and his wife Daisy Diaz as the Cultural Director...

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Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella has endured the rise and fall of various kingdoms, two World Wars, every pandemic from the Black Death to Covid, and countless other historical catastrophes and changes.  There is probably no other brand that could find a more impressive testament to its popularity; but why exactly has Santa Mari...

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We are jet lagged and so everything carries a dream-like quality to it. The lush green countryside of Tuscany unfolds outside our car window on our first full day in Italy. Tuscany is breathtakingly beautiful and I’m happy that I agreed to spend our first full day here in the care of a private car and driver, bouncing from one Tuscan village to ano...

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The self portraits rooms at the uffizi galleries. Five hundred plus years of self-portraits and portraits of artists return to the gallery after a century: the new installation extends from fifteenth-century masters to the painters, sculptors, video artists, and comic book artists of today The Uffizi Galleries in Florence on Monday opened 12 new ro...

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