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Life in Italy

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The Tuscan dream: responsibilities and obligations

  Is there anyone who hasn’t dreamt of being immersed in the nature of the Tuscan countryside or of being surrounded by art and history in one of Tuscany’s beautiful ...

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Maremma: an authentic experience

You make the almost three-hour drive from Florence south into country Tuscany because you’re looking for authenticity. It’s a cliché, I know. Travel writers have used the word to describe ...

COMMUNITY

A love letter to Italian bar food

Many years have passed since I last watched the beloved 1968 British musical Oliver!, but the prepubescent cherub voices of the movie’s orphan boys often ring out in my head. Every ...

ART + CULTURE

Colour theory in Florence

From Innocenti blue to Ponte Vecchio orpiment and louvre green, the city of Florence is a rainbow waiting to be discovered.

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Striking truffle gold in southern Tuscany

Ask around and the city folk of Florence will tell you the Maremma, in the region’s south, is rural and, let’s be honest, a little backwards. If you ask the ...

NEWS

The Florentine’s tribute to Jane Fortune

Reflections from Linda Falcone, Marco Badiani

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The four fashion types you’ll meet in Florence

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 ...

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The “fiaccherai” of Florence

"Fiaccherai" and animal rights activists saddle up for summer debates

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There’s no place like home: A less-popular take on small town Tuscany

Why four young Tuscans decided to buck the trend and make a go of it in their very small hometown.   Fresh out of university and very recently married, I ...

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Perks and pitfalls of small-town Tuscany

Moving to the Tuscan countryside is almost every foreigner’s dream, but is it really as idyllic as it sounds? I chatted to three generations of locals to find out. Buffet ...

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24 hours at Palazzo Tornabuoni

In the heart of aristocratic Florence, Palazzo Tornabuoni was built for one of the city’s most influential families at the height of the Tuscan Renaissance. Once home to the Medici, ...

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My Le Cure

With the announcement of piazza delle Cure’s redevelopment, I’ve been sorting through my memories as a former resident of Florence’s northern district. Unknown to tourists unwilling to venture past piazza ...

THINGS TO DO

How to plan your “settimana bianca”

Abetone, the Maremma and the Apuan Alps: these wintery Tuscan destinations are sure to satisfy your cravings for snow during a "settimana bianca".

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What makes Tuscan men so attractive?

Caught up in the romance of the holiday season, Elisa Scarton Detti hits the streets of Manciano in southern Tuscany to find out what makes Tuscan men so darn attractive. ...

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5 tips (and a few more) for your Tuscan wedding

First things first, congratulations! The question’s been asked, the prosecco’s been popped—and you’ve delivered the happy news of your nuptials to your nearest and dearest.  Eric Veroliemeulen, general manager of ...

COMMUNITY

Not the lady mayoress

If you want to be mayor in small-town Tuscany, you better stick to the status quo and, more importantly, you better not have a foreign-born wife. It may not have ...

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Going lycra: biking in Florence

If you are a keen-eyed early riser, you will have noticed a particular breed of Italians on the streets, setting off at dawn and back home for Sunday lunch, before ...

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Christmas with the family…and Easter too

A well-known Italian proverb clearly states “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi,” meaning that you should spend Christmas with your folks while you can choose whoever you want ...

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Feeding frenzy

Prologue When I was growing up in Mississippi, my mother hated how I would always tell people we lived “behind Shoney’s”. It was plain fact that the Nashville-based franchise, complete ...

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The ultimate question in a food-first country

When we were first married, my mother-in-law would call promptly every night as we were washing up the dinner dishes. “Pronto?” one of us would answer. “Cosa avete mangiato?” came ...

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Grocery shopping vs. the supermarket

When I arrived in Florence several years ago, I thought of myself as independent and headstrong. I was a graduate student and I was going to be living in Italy ...

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“The Young Pope”: post-truth and documented history

What “The Young Pope” does so well is that it offers a visceral whirlwind of intrigue, which unexpectedly turns notions of good and evil on its head.

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Memories of the 1966 Florence flood

While much has been accomplished to return the city and its incomparable treasures to their previous condition, many of the losses remain.

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Help Desk One

PERMESSO: the famous permesso di soggiorno, or permit to stay, which allows non-European Union citizens to legally stay in Italy. QUESTURA: the headquarters of the local Polizia di Stato, and ...

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