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The Florentine
Useful resources about life in Florence, Italy, focusing on the international community.
Once, while out with his nonna, my son, who was just learning to talk, proudly identified the backside of a strange woman standing beside them: ‘Culo!’ My extended Italian family members were highly amused by my mother-in-law’s subsequent retelling of the episode. I, on
Culturally and historically, Italy does not have an overtly philanthropic nature, or perhaps it is fairer to say that, traditionally speaking, giving back to the community has not represented a mainstream mentality: while the important charity work of confraternities and the like have centuries of history, and Italy is at
Bob Nordvall, who, among other pursuits, wrote for The Florentine,passed away on January 2 in Pistoia, Italy. Especially appreciated for their caustic wit, Bob’s articles and conversations always featured a unique mix of insiders’ advice and expat perspective. Readers of his much-awaited newsletter ‘This
A feeling of togetherness and tranquillity pervades Palazzo Tornabuoni the moment you step inside off the busy thoroughfare of via degli Strozzi. I spoke with Riccardo Maccolini, who recently became the president of private residence Club Tornabuoni, returning home to Florence after a long spell working in fashion and retail
Christmas is the busiest time of year for choirs, and none more so than the Florence Gospel Choir, the first of its kind in Italy. It was co-founded more than 15 years ago by American musician Nehemiah H. Brown and Eusebio De Cristofaro. I went to meet Nehemiah Brown,
Let’s Work Artisans! Junior introduces children between 6 and 12 to the world of traditional artisanship while also teaching English in a fun and relaxed environment. A project by Osservatorio dei Mestieri d’Arte (OmA), an association of artisans and artists, Let’s Work Artisans!
Yes, the point of the study abroad experience is to immerse yourself in another culture. But for some American students and expats in Florence, keeping up to date with American ...
Are you going to Italy in order to work and live in the land of pizza, pasta and great coffee? If so, you are surely interested in the costs of living there. And while it is near impossible to give exact numbers, we’d like to at least try
A few streets over from Michelangelo’s former home, William Kelley and his wife, Susan, have settled in a beautiful flat with panoramic views of Florence. Since 2004, the American-born artist has made Florence a permanent base, first renting a studio on the Ponte Vecchio. When the space
The man dubbed by The New Yorker as the ‘Italian Ralph Lauren,’ Diego Della Valle has been a familiar face at the Artemio Franchi soccer stadium in Campo di Marte since he and his younger brother, Andrea, bought the ACF Fiorentina football club in 2002, rescuing it from
Birgitte Brøndsted fell in love with Italy when she visited for the first time at age 14. Later, she tried living in Paris and Madrid as well as her home city of Copenhagen, but Italy kept pulling her back for periods of both work and study. Eventually, it
Once upon a time, we talked about change across centuries, generations and decades. Of late, time has condensed, shrunk and undergone inverse exponentialism. Now we can actually talk about astounding changes to the face of Tuscan tourism in terms of months. In general terms, the ‘hardcore’ Tuscan
Although you may not have heard of him, you might already have come across his art. Every Friday, Patrik Lundell distributes his artworks for free in Florence’s historic centre, leaving his pieces, which are made from cardboard left out for recycling, on streets and buildings for passersby to
Sfavato: Bored to death, unmotivated, unenthusiastic. Example: ‘Icchè t’hai oggi? Ti vedo sfavato.’ (‘What’s wrong with you today? You look totally bored to death.’) Cimbardosa: A gossip, big mouth, windbag. ...
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 8, 2013: The Florentine has just released its Inferno Florence Guide app. Written by TF editors, the guide takes you through the places of Inferno, giving you historical and visitor information about the locations experienced by the book's protagonists to get to know Florence in depth. Download
Take a stroll along via de’ Mezzo, in the Sant’Ambrogio neighbourhood of Florence, and you’ll come across a glass-fronted studio. Welcome to Sara Amrhein’s creative space and boutique, lovingly ...
You know you’re about to meet somebody with creativity coursing through their veins when you encounter a dressmaker’s dummy perched on a pole and sporting a unique logo in a Florentine window space. Boston-born Emily Taranto-Kent has called Florence her home for the last
As Italy’s core empties out come August, with most Italians heading to the coast or abroad, many of us expats head back to our roots. Preparing for the trip home usually entails some gift buying, and while it is fairly easy to find wonderful presents for most recipients,
Nineteenth-century poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are among the most renowned expatriates to have lived in Florence and their home, Casa Guidi, stands across from the Palazzo Pitti. Today, one of its most luxurious flats is occupied by Victor John Barrett Caulfield, a distant relative of Elizabeth,
A progressive Jew who moved from the United States to Florence to be with her husband, Susanna Myers found nowhere to practice her faith upon her arrival. Along with three other American expats, she founded Shir Hadash, a nonprofit congregation of Progressive Judaism, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
If you are thinking about having children in Italy, you probably need to sit down in front of a Google spreadsheet and first start playing with some numbers. Among the obvious costs associated with children (adequate housing, food, clothes, toys, possibly private schooling) is the glaringly large figure that is
