Piazza Santa Maria Novella

The areas around stations in Italy are often not the tidiest (or safest) parts of town and whilst you should keep your wits – and your wallet – about you in Florence’s Santa Maria Novella, the newly renovated piazza is a complete contrast to what many people expect. Exit from the station and go south and you enter the piazza along the side of the church. Here you can plant yourself in one of these cafes that have yet to display the ridiculous prices of their counterparts in piazze such as Signoria – where €20 for 2 cappuccini is not unheard of – and do some people watching.

The church can be entered from the north side of the Piazza and frequently there is a tiny queue here when the queue for the Duomo is very long indeed. Since the grass was added in 2010, the piazza is a much nicer place to sit out, especially in the evening. It now feels a more complete part of the city and demonstrates that although Florence was the central light of the Renaissance, the city continues to develop and adapt to the modern visitor.

Villa Demidoff and The Parco Mediceo di Pratolino

Piazza Santo Spirito Artisans’ Market

links for 2010-02-04

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  (tags: Florence Italy Tuscany travel travelblogs)

Deserted Florence At Dawn

The Golden Hour (thanks to Sanctuare Press for bringing that term to my attention): the time just after dawn or before sunset when the light is at its best. When you visit Florence, you will probably have many sunsets but how many dawns will you see? I know, I know, you are on holiday and getting up early is the last thing you probably want to do but it will be worth it. Firstly, the place is practically deserted. If you want Florence to yourself, this will be your best chance. You can get great photos around all of the landmarks with just you in them. This simply doesn’t happen any other time. Plus, you will really appreciate your cup of coffee after your dawn stroll. So, set your alarm clock just for one day and see Florence as it once was; you won’t regret it!

Christmas Shopping in Florence

An Autumn Walk South Of The Arno

Autumn in Florence is an enchanting time of year. September may be the month of change but it doesn’t start to get cold until October and even then, days around 20 degrees Celsius are not unheard of. So, what can you do in a city such as Florence when the leaves start to turn brown and sunbathing isn’t an option? One of the best things to do is go for a walk. The historic centre of Florence is a marvel but many tourists never venture far from the Ponte Vecchio and, as a result, they see what they expect to see but nothing more. As with many cities that are on a river, Florence’s Arno River provides a focal point and a good route to follow; you can’t really get lost!

For this video, I took one of my favourite routes, out of town in a Easterly direction, following the Northern bank of the River Arno as far as Ponte San Niccolo where I crossed the river. From there, the fitter tourist can choose to take the longer route up to Piazzale Michelangelo by Viale Michelangelo or, even better, take the old Via dell’Erta Canina. In the video, you can see the old cobbled road that rises above Florence – it’s steep, so you’ll need to be in shape – and from the top, you will have a great view of the Duomo in the South as well as San Miniato Al Monte in the East. If you continue along the road, you will pass the Paraguayan Consulate (of all things!) and eventually reach Viale Galileo where you can turn left and walk back down to the Piazzale.