In large cities, one of the greatest challenges posed to car owners is, of course, parking one’s beloved motorcar.
This is one of the top five questions I hear from our clients visiting Florence: “Will I easily find a place to park?” Continue Reading →
San Gimignano… A lovely Tuscan town famous for its 13 medieval “tower houses” – and which I invited you, in a previous article, to visit in the much quieter wintertime. But the “Manhattan of the Middle Ages”, as it is nicknamed, is also one of the best places in Italy to see… contemporary art!
At any time of the year, our Palazzo Ca’nova Borsato apartment offers a breathtaking view of the Serenissima’s Grand Canal. But during the world-famous Carnival, this view becomes nothing less than spellbinding. The above is a snapshot I took last year of the Venetian Rowing Association water parade, which I watched right from the Borsato apartment’s window.
Rumour has it that the great Tintoretto, born Jacopo Comin in 1518, and nicknamed Il Furioso for his phenomenal brushstroke energy, had written this inspirative motto on the walls of his studio: MICHELANGO’S DRAWING AND TITIAN’S COLOUR.
Every once in a while – and always when I’m embarking on a New Year – I feel the urge to gorge myself on a delicious cecina, a chickpea flatbread which is the typical street food of Liguria and Northern Tuscany.
I really love giving books as Christmas presents, especially books about Italian art, handicrafts, touring, food and wine. And there won’t be any exception to the rule this year, since I’ll be offering to three of my friends the beautiful “Woodworking : Traditional Craft for Modern Living”.
The authors of this book, Andrea Brugi and Samina Langholz, an Italo-Danish husband-and-wife duo, very nicely show how anyone, without the tools or expertise of an artisan, and by blending Tuscan elegance with the sleek lines of Scandinavian design, can turn bits of reclaimed wood into stools, egg cups, clothes racks, and what have you.
Exclusively crafted in their Maremma workshop, Andrea and Samina’s olive wood creations can be found on their website, in selected shops around the world, and on their Instagram.
You certainly are familiar with the sound of the harpsichord, and would probably recognize the instrument itself if you saw one. But have you ever seen how it is built?
Last week, I was walking across Castelmuzio, a lovely Tuscan village not far from Pienza, when I randomly peeped through the window of an artisan workspace, expecting to see leather bags, wrought iron or the like… Instead, I stumbled upon harpsichords in the making!
Bruce Kennedy has been building harpsichords for more than 40 years, in Switzerland, the Netherlands and now in Tuscany. He has also founded the Piccola Accademia di Montisi, which organizes a festival each summer, as well as master classes and harpsichord lessons all year round. Find more photos of Bruce’s skills on our Instagram page!
I did it, at long last! Wandering about the streets of Rome on Italy’s iconic motor scooter, the Vespa!
I had been dreaming of this since I had first seen, as a child, the 1953 romantic comedy film “Roman Holiday”, in which the beautiful woman I was lucky enough to call my godmother, Audrey Hepburn, drives through the Eternal City astride a silvery, fidgety Vespa.
When thinking of Italian art and architecture, most people see, in their mind’s eye, Roman ruins, Renaissance masterpieces and Baroque churches. And we may even wonder whether the bel paese, in this particular sphere, has ever made it into the Modern Age…
You have always wanted to attend Siena’s famous Palio, but never did because of the dense crowds and stifling heat that come with it when it takes place, in the heart of summer?
Well, here’s your chance of a lifetime: a Palio Straordinario, a unique “extraordinary” edition of the far-famed horse race, will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018, to commemorate the end of World War I.
