WHY LONDON

PALAZZO RICCARDI, AND THE RISE OF THE MEDICI – Part 6 EH’s Book

It is in the Ciompi rising of 1278, that social revolution in which all Florence seems for once to have been interested, that we catch really for the first time the name of Medici. In 1352, Salvestro de’ Medici—non già Salvestro ma Salvator mundi, Franco Sacchetti calls him—had led the Florentines against the Archbishop of [...]

Aulla

Aulla is the main commercial town in the area located at the A15 exit of the Parma-La Spezia motorway. Although not the prettiest of towns (the old town was destroyed by allied bombardments in the Second World War) it is being largely re-developed in modern Italian style. The town, which has a population of about [...]

Very Special Mountains

What you can see shinning brightly in the gullies on the steep slopes of the Apuan Alps is not necessarily snow, but probably the ravaneti, the screes of marble debris at the foot of the quarries that were already being worked in Roman times and were frequented by the great scupltors and architects who found [...]

History Of Italian Film

Italian movies started being produced at the beginning of the twentieth century. During the first ten years of the century, the first movie theatres were built in the larger cities and production companies were established. Many historical movies were produced. One of the firsts was La Presa di Roma, 20 settembre 1870 by Alberini and [...]

Tuscany’s Wines A Variety of Sangiovese

Nowhere in Italy do the wines so vividly reflect the countryside as in the central Italy region of Tuscany. The bold, full-bodied, mostly red wines are as hearty of the residents, the food, and the soul of this historic province. Chianti Perhaps, the best known of Tuscany’s wines, Chianti is a wine-growing zone as well [...]

Traveling in Florence with Children

A trip to Italy with children should take place in Tuscany. Florence is one of the highlights of any trip to Tuscany. It's possible to spend time in Florence, even with small children, as long as parents plan accordingly and keep their children's needs in mind on the trip

Or San Michele – Part 5 EH’s Book

Or San Michele, S. Michele in Orto, was till the middle of the thirteenth century a little church belonging, as it is said, to the Cistercians, who certainly claimed the patronage of it. About 1260, however, the Commune of Florence began to dispute this right with the Order, and at last pulled down the church, [...]

THE BAPTISTERY – THE DUOMO – THE CAMPANILE – THE OPERA DEL DUOMO – Part 4 EH’s book

On coming into the Piazza del Duomo, perhaps from the light and space of the Lung’ Arno or from the largeness of the Piazza della Signoria, one is apt to think of it as too small for the buildings which it holds, as wanting in a certain spaciousness such as the Piazza of St. Peter [...]

Florence – Ponte Vecchio – Part 2 EH’s book

Presently, in the afternoon, I shall follow Via Porta Rossa, with its old palaces of the Torrigiani (now, Hotel Porta Rossa), and the Davanzati into Mercato Nuovo, where, because it is Thursday, the whole place will be smothered with flowers and children, little laughing rascals as impudent as Lippo Lippi’s Angiolini, who play about the [...]

Pontremoli was an important stop on the pilgrim route

Where: Pontremoli, Italy, lies in the Apennine Mountains along the old Via Francigena (road to France) in northern Tuscany’s Lunigiana region. Why: Pontremoli was an important stop on the pilgrim route from Canterbury to Rome, and it retains its look from that time. Despite its well-preserved medieval streets and buildings, a photogenic castle, and intriguing [...]