Florence’s streets will soon be awash with a panoply of Pitti attendees. Their impeccably tailored, jubilant presence is par for the course each January and June, but with Pitti Immagine Uomo celebrating its 30th birthday this season, the volume of spectators and spectacles is set to balloon.

With the Tuscan capital submerged in a swirl of Pitti-goers—their sartorial flamboyancy dancing across monochromatic cobblestones—why does a scarcity of fashion titles continue to endure? For long-celebrated runway capitals and newcomer cities alike, there’s no doubting the print industry’s incessant flux. Take, for example, the dramatic demise and rapid re-genesis of New York’s Interview magazine, […]

While first-time travellers to the Tuscan capital may expect a city awash with colourfully clad locals, in reality most Florence dwellers don’t look as if they were plucked straight from a Benetton photoshoot. An innate desire to value function over form, accessorized with a penchant for neutral colour palettes, characterizes the locals’ clothing choices, adapted […]

Pici pasta and Sangiovese may have captivated global gourmands, but Tuscany’s lesser-known culinary offerings, crafted with home-grown, flora-filled ingredients, cater to even the sweetest of appetites.

A key part of "Heavenly Bodies" explores the influence of Catholicism on fashion over the years, and while this may, partly, manifest in the Met through jewel-encrusted crosses adorning racy dresses, the Church played a crucial role in the flourishing textile trade of Renaissance Florence.

The “wear whoever, whatever, whenever we want” mantras of 2018 could not be further removed from the clothes-curbing, classist ethos of early Renaissance Florence governments. “Sumptuary law”—legislation that, by its kindest definition, strived to restrain luxury and extravagance—began sweeping Europe in the late Middle Ages, making Italian landfall via Genoa in 1157. What Florence may […]

As Florentine tourist tracks go, the streets encircling the Accademia’s entrance are some of the city’s most congested. Constantly filled with art-frenzied visitors, all of whom are eager to get an eyeful of Michelangelo’s David, the surrounding shopfronts reflect the surge in multinational chains and corporations pervading Florence. Yet amid this contemporary chaos, one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it […]

For many a seasoned Florentine sojourner, artisans of little- or largely-known status are as crucial a part of the city’s fabric as its best-loved landmarks. From the long-frequented jewellery purveyors lining the Ponte Vecchio to the tucked-away cabinet makers in San Frediano, such high-calibre craftsmanship is integral to the Tuscan capital’s DNA.       […]

Little can be said on the subject of Michelangelo Buonarroti that has not already spawned centuries-long discussions and analyses. Michelangelo’s career inaugurated “the cult of personality” that elevated the role of artists to unprecedented grandeur, transcending age-old principles that previously veiled painters and sculptors in anonymity. This accomplishment was aided by the effusions of Giorgio […]

Comfortably nestled in the character-filled surroundings of their via della Dogana workshop, the extraordinary Vettori family are weaving a sonorous tale of their inceptive ties to violin making. “Our grandfather Dario was a violinist and guitar player, band director and player of wind instruments. He had the idea of making a violin by himself, so […]