MONUMENTS + MORE
Monuments + More
Loggia del Pesce
A long awaited new beginning
Joyous celebrations were held in Florence for several weeks before and after the wedding on December 18, 1565 of the legitimate heir of Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, Francesco de’ Medici to Johanna of Austria, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor …
Monuments + More
Hidden from view
Uncovering a Florentine secret: the Corsini gardens
Within its walls, Palazzo Corsini in via il Prato holds a garden of unmatched loveliness and tranquility. Breathtaking beauty leads you through lush green citrus trees, past imposing statues to finally lose yourself in a heavily shaded labyrinth. And the best …
Monuments + More
The aviator's bust
A daring young man and his flying machines
Official statistics showed that nearly 2 million passengers passed through Amerigo Vespucci Airport at Peretola during 2011, ranking it 42nd out of the 143 in the Airport Council International's classification of main European airports. With all of these people coming and …
Monuments + More
Hercules and the lion
The life-and-death struggle between man and beast
Situated on the right bank of the Arno river is one of the most elegant squares in Florence: piazza Ognissanti. It is home to two of the city’s finest hotels, the St. Regis and the Excelsior, and Palazzo Lenzi, now home …
Monuments + More
Le Murate
Behind closed walls
Within
walking distance or a short bus ride from the historic centre and covering the
entire block between via Ghibellina and via dell'Agnolo, just before viale
Giovine Italia, Le Murate is one of Florence's major architectural success
stories of the past 20 years. Based on …
Monuments + More
The facade of Santa Croce
And the man who paid the bill
Sometimes
our trains of thought can take us in unexpected directions. Recently, I was
contemplating what I would do at Christmas, now only a few weeks away. From
there, with my gift list already made out in my head, I began thinking about
the traditional …
Monuments + More
The statue of the Battle of Mentana
A cry for freedom
A
man in dishevelled military dress and gaiters, his outstretched right arm
pointing his revolver, ready to fire at the enemy as he struggles, with his
left arm, to support the fallen comrade in arms who, with his dying breaths, is
clinging to the company's …
Monuments + More
The column of San Zanobi
An overlooked tribute to Florence's first bishop
Known
to all in town simply as the ‘Duomo,' the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore,
with its neo-gothic façade in white, green and red marble, Brunelleschi's
amazing dome and Giotto's imposing bell tower, is probably the first place
visitors to Florence go. Just in …
Monuments + More
The Olive Tree of Peace
The massacre in via dei Georgofili
No sound like it had been heard in Florence since World War II. An hour after midnight on May 27, 1993, a massive explosion echoed throughout the city. A white Fiat Fiorino van, stolen from via della Scala the evening before …
Monuments + More
The statue of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
No other outdoor monument in the historic centre of Florence represents it neighbourhood as much as the statue of Ludovico di Giovanni de' Medici, known as Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, situated in piazza San Lorenzo. Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned the statue …
Monuments + More
The statue of Manfredo Fanti
A freedom fighter
Sunday lunch seemed as good a time as any to test one of my pet
theories: people will pass by monuments or statues for years without ever
really looking at them or knowing anything about them. Of the 12 of us sitting
around the …
Monuments + More
The statue of Girolamo Savonarola
The bonfire of his vanity
The brooding
statue of Girolamo Savonarola, the fire and brimstone monk burned at the stake
for heresy in front of Palazzo Vecchio on May 23, 1498, stands in the piazza
named after him not far from piazza Libert?. Looking at it, it is easy …
Monuments + More
The statue of Goldoni
Unmasked comedy
Debonnaire and elegantly dressed in knee breeches, coat and flowing cape, a tricorner hat in one hand and a book in the other, the bare-headed but smartly wigged statue of playwright, Carlo Goldoni looks down on Ponte alla Carraia and over …
Monuments + More
The Column of Abundance
From forum to piazza
Possibly no other monument in Florence is more widely used than the Column of Abundance in Piazza della Repubblica. Tired tourists and weary locals often sit on the steps surrounding the base of the monolith, where they can rest and watch …
Monuments + More
The Demidoff statue
From Russia, with love
Grieving
the sudden death in Florence in 1828 of their father, Count Nicholas
Demidoff, Tsar Alexander I's ambassador to the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany, brothers Paul and Anatole Demidoff commissioned Lorenzo
Bartolini to sculpt a memorial to him. It was to be placed in the
grounds …
1-15 | 16-20
Features
Articles
Community
Special Issues
The English-speaking news magazine in Florence
Thursday, May 23, 2013