Helen Farrell is editor-in-chief of The Florentine. She is also a freelance contributor to Decanter. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Instagram @helencfarrell.
There’s never been a better time to have a spa all to yourself. Here are five hotels with wellness facilities in central Florence. Hotel Palazzo Castri 1874 David’s taut torso hangs on the grey wall along the red-carpeted hallway leading back to the high-ceilinged junior suite that’s “home” for the night. […]
Start the new year with an adventure or two. Lori Anne Lo Presti tells The Florentine about how she moved to Florence and founded the ever-more popular group Ladies Adventures Florence, an all-women community who walk, relax and have fun together in the hills of Tuscany and beyond. Lori Anne Lo Presti, founder […]
Imagine two hours of operatic entertainment interspersed with humour in the comfort of your own home: that’s what Canadian creative genius Hershey Felder has achieved in his latest (and perhaps greatest) musical film to be shot entirely in Florence. Mozart and Figaro in Vienna begins with a dusty scene set in […]
Is the end of the pandemic too much to ask for in 2022? The WHO has gone on record stating that new-generation vaccines and healthcare equity (a mirage?) could put pay to the chaos. But let’s stick to our own stomping ground and look at what Florence and Tuscany have to offer in 2022. […]
January has traditionally always been a time of starting anew and thinking about the future. As I type this month’s letter, flurries of snow are falling from the whitest of skies and the Tuscan countryside looks bleak indeed. It’s more than a touch of pathetic fallacy, given the ominous “omicronness” at the start of 2022. […]
Christmas has come early as new restaurants open ahead of the holidays, other establishments do a doubling act and lovemark locales reopen. UNIQUE / La Ménagère If there were a prize for the sexiest locale in Florence, La Ménagère (via de’ Ginori 8R) would likely win it hands down… and in […]
In this indeterminate twilight zone of pandemic living, I was walking home one evening when realization suddenly dawned that the Christmas lights had been switched on. Bright, beautiful, joyful! Two days of remote work interspersed with an afternoon in the office meant I’d somehow missed seeing the illuminated baubles being hoisted into the sky down […]
An instant Sunday Times bestseller with stellar reviews in the New York Times and the Guardian, Still Life is the one of the most spellbinding reads about Florence in recent years. Sarah Winman speaks to The Florentine ahead of an author’s event at The British Institute on December 2. Ph. Patricia […]
Writers have been busy in recent months, especially the literati yearning for Florence or all those shuttered in medieval palazzos during the darkest days of these pandemic times. This autumn, indulge in one of these many Florence-inspired reads on your flight back to Peretola or ensconced in your armchair. It’s time to welcome back the […]
As the mercury heads south, our taste buds turn to Tuscan reds. Warming and generous, Sangiovese embraces like that favourite scarf around our shoulders. These wineries in Montalcino and Montepulciano serve considered local fare to accompany their top vino rosso. MONTALCINO / Fattoria dei Barbi Renowned worldwide for blue-label bottlings, present-day […]
