Florence 2013 – Practical Notes for an Extended Stay
David and I arranged to spend a month in Florence, basically the month of October 2013. We rented a small one-bedroom apartment for our time in Florence. It could not have been more perfectly located, right on the south bank of the Arno and directly across from the Uffizi Gallery, and a block and a half east of the Ponte Vecchio. We were so centrally located that it was feasible to occasionally break up the day and have a simple bite at lunchtime back in the apartment.
The apartment allowed us to make breakfast each morning, stock up on lunch supplies (we usually made a simple lunch, cheese, crackers, fruit) to take with us and eat at some lovely setting, and to cook dinner approximately every other evening, which both helped defray expenses and give us the sense of really living in Florence. We had an excellent supermarket nearby, Sapori e Dintorni, which carried almost everything we needed (e.g., prepared dishes, wide cheese selection, fresh-baked breads, wine), which allowed us to easily stock up on what we needed.
To rent our apartment we worked through a small outfit in San Francisco that specializes in apartment rentals in mainly in Florence, but also in Rome and other Italian cities. It was listed in the magazine Conde Nast Traveler’s annual villa/apartment rental listing of best agencies to work with. What attracted us is that this outfits rentals are on the lower end of the price spectrum, but we were 100% satisfied. The name is Italy Perfect.
Neither David nor I had last visited Florence for over 40 years. Though we have been to Italy numerous times in the last 15 years, we resisted Florence. It was too obvious, too crowded, to “touristic.” But we finally decided that in this life, we had to go back once more, given that it is where so much great Western art resides. Having spent many years looking at art and learning a bit about it, we wanted to expose ourselves to the best of the best, and the period of the Italian Renaissance ranks, for me and really for both of us, as one of the finest, if not the finest flowering of Western art.
Our decision to spend time in Florence was the right one. The assemblage of art was the greatest concentration we have ever experienced anywhere. Not only do the major art museums hold fabulous collections, but virtually every church, chapel, and refectory holds one or more stupendously great items. Every moment in Florence pays off, artistically and architecturally speaking. But we discovered there were many other aspects to spending time in Florence that were very positive. Below are a few others that come immediately to mind:
· The residents were consistently friendly and helpful
· Traditional fine crafts (e.g., leatherwork, perfumes and much else) are superb
· The aesthetic and design sense is uniformly of the highest level, particularly in stores and shop windows
· Walking around the city, every street was filled with artistic, historical, and design surprises
· It was easy to find reasonable restaurants with excellent food
· Numerous gardens are not just beautiful in their own right, but with their setting on hillsides, the opportunities to gain memorable vistas over the city are countless
October was a lovely month to be in Florence. The days were uniformly comfortable and the nights generally were cool but not cold. When we did have rain, including some heavy thunderstorms, the usually came during the night or in the early morning, before we set out for the day. Most of October was still on daylight time, so we still had days of adequate length for carrying out a lot of touristic activities.
While undoubtedly the tourist crowds were not what they are in summer, October is still a very busy month, with many large tours, and popular museums such as the Accademia and the Uffizi quite busy.
But there are a few things to note about large numbers of tourists:
· The busiest times in the popular museums were from around 9:45 until lunch, and then again in mid-afternoon; by arriving when the major museums first open (8:15 a.m.) or around lunch time one gets a good hour’s respite before the large tour groups start coming through;
· Except for the most popular places (the major museums, the Duomo and the square around it, the Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria), a great deal of historic Florence was not terribly crowded, and in fact, we had most streets and sights mostly to ourselves, or at worst, shared with a few other serious visitors.
Here are a few practical suggestions:
· For an extended stay (our one-month sojourn fits within this definition) with a focus on the great art and architecture of Florence, we discovered, and used extensively, the Blue Guide: Florence, and found it superior to any other guide series we have used in terms of its completeness and the quality of its art-related commentaries. The guide is easy to use, authoritative, and is written in a way that you can find paintings and sculptures easily in all the churches and museums visited, something I have had a problem with using other guides. It is also superb for covering what you can see along specific sections of streets and interesting neighborhoods. Even its brief coverage of restaurants is to be recommended. In short, this Guide was indispensable for the kind of visit we had planned and I am grateful we discovered it.
· The other guidebook we used was the Rizzoli series, Florence in Detail: A Guide for the Expert Traveler. This only works as a supplement to a more comprehensive guide, but it does have a series of focused walks in several main areas, and for each walk, has one place it highlights that is relatively unknown.
· We also carried with us the small but heavy book Art and Architecture Florence, part of an extensive series (there are other volumes on Venice, Rome, and Tuscany) published by Könemann. This book served as a supplement to the guidebooks, because it is a very thorough compendium of all the great art and architecture of Florence. Each work covered includes fine color photographs with accompanying descriptive text.
· Without doubt learning about the Amici degli Uffizi (Friends of the Uffizi) membership option was a major factor in the success of our visit. By becoming a member via Amici degli Uffizi (valid for an entire calendar year), you receive a card that gives you 3 very important benefits:
1. Unlimited entry to the Uffizi Gallery
2. Complimentary entry at a number of other major state museums in Florence, including the Academia, the Bargello, the Pitti Palace and the Convent of San Marco, to name only the most important, along with the Boboli Gardens and the Gardens of the Villa Bardini.
3. With one’s membership card, you go to the head of the line for entry, and the lines can be very long (especially the line for those who do not have an pre-booked reservation.
The savings were enormous. We bought a family membership for 100€, at the time, $137, which gave each of us our own card. Consider that a single visit to the Uffizi, with pre-booking cost 15€ and we went 7 times. Then add in all the other locations covered by the card.
To apply, go to the Web site of the Amici degli Uffizi, and fill out the form online and pay, using a credit card. The membership card will be delivered to your Florence address. The Web site lists all the other museums and sites for which you have free entry with your membership card.
We found that the Oltrarno District where we were staying (Oltrarno means “other side of the Arno,” i.e., the other side from the heart of the historic center) was the best place for restaurants, wine bars and food shopping. It was a bit less congested, much more reasonably priced, and had a younger, hipper crowd. And it is still within the historic center and rich in important sights, such as the Pitti Palace, the Church of Santo Spirito, and the Brancacci Chapel.
Here is a list of some our favorite restaurants. Note that many simpler restaurants offer an excellent lunchtime fixed price special, consisting of a first course (e.g., pasta or risotto dish) and a second course (meat or fish main course). In a few cases, the fixed price includes the coperto (what is almost always an extra charge for bread), bottled water, and a glass of wine, making the lunch an exceptional value. Except where noted, all the restaurants and wine bars are on the south side of the Arno.
· Trattoria Cent’Ori, Via San Niccolò, 48r
Absolutely our best discovery. This restaurant is off the tourist route, in the San Niccolò neighborhood. It has a terrific daily lunch special, 10€, 7 days/week, a different menu each day, and the price includes bread, a glass of good wine, and bottled water. Beautiful homemade desert table. A real local hangout, family run, and excellent food. We ate here 3 times, something we rarely do.
· Trattoria Bordino, Via Stracciatella, 9r, parallel to Via dè Bardi, not far from the south end of the Ponte Vecchio
We ate here for dinner once, and once for lunch. A very popular simple restaurant near our apartment, always crowded. The lunch special is 7€ but that does not include bread, wine, or water. Good, reliable food. Lovely homemade desert table.
· Trattoria 4 Leone,Via de’ Vellutin1, 1r (Piazza della Passera)
Very popular, and a little more expensive, but still reasonable. Reservations are a good idea. Tables out in the piazza give you a great view of a classic Italian scene.
· Trattoria La Casalinga, Via dei Michelozzi, 9 (off Piazza Santo Spirito)
Very popular, and fills up early, even though it has many rooms. No outdoor tables. Excellent food at extremely reasonable prices.
· Borgo Antico (on Piazza Santo Spirito)
Popular wine bar/restaurant combo. Always lively, and the outdoor tables give one a great connection with the life of the piazza, a very popular destination for younger people.
· Trattoria Angiolino, Via Santo Spirito, 36r
Very good cooking, classic old-style Florentine restaurant. Looks just like one’s idea of a trattoria should look like. Reasonably priced, except for a little pricey coperto.
· Le Volpi e l’Uva Wine Bar, Piazza dei Rossi, 1 (close to the south end of the Ponte Vecchio)
A classic wine bar with a good selection of wines by the glass. Simple food accompaniments sufficient to make a light meal.
· Golden View Restaurant/Cocktail Bar, Via dè Bardi, 64/58r
If you go here between 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. (every night of the week), for the price of a glass of wine (admittedly priced at 10 - 12€ you can help yourself, as many times as you want, to a buffet of hot and cold antipasti, nicely prepared. Good for a light meal. Tables along the back end look right onto the Arno and across.
· Cantina del Gelato, Via dè Bardi, 31
Right around the corner from our apartment. A little hole in the wall, with several other locations around town. Absolutely the best, most-intensely flavored gelati we have ever eaten in Italy. Memorable!
· De Nerbone, Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo
This is in the historic center, right inside the main central market, near the Church of San Lorenzo. At lunch time, always a long line to get served (you are served at a counter and then find a table). Prices are rock bottom, but the food is excellent.
· Ristorante il Santo Graal, Via Romana 70r
This Oltrarno restaurant was our “splurge” towards the end of our visit. It offers traditional and “innovative” preparations and has an excellent wine list of fine Tuscan wines. A very enjoyable meal, but we could not spend like this every night! (The meal cost approximately $155, all inclusive for the two of us.
· Il Santino Gastronomia, Via Santo Spirito, 60r
This was both a wine bar and a brew pub. Its beers are almost entirely selected from microbreweries in Tuscany. Though we did not actually try this place, it looked quite wonderful, and was recommended in a New York Times travel piece on the Santo Spirito neighborhood.
There were a few very special shop experiences that deserve mention. One place we stumbled on walking to Piazza Santa Croce, is a large store (though you wouldn’t know it was large from its discrete entry) called AquaFlor Firenze (Borgo Santa Croce, 6), a perfume atelier of natural fragrances displayed in the most magically beautiful of settings. This is well worth a stop if you are anywhere near the Church of Santa Croce. The other very special experience was the Antico Setificio Fiorentino (Via Lorenzo Bartolini, 4, near the Church of San Frediano, Oltrarno). This is an ancient silk-weaving workshop that has been at its present location since 1786. One can see bolts of the finest woven silk imaginable. Customers include royalty worldwide and many of the greatest museums internationally. The manager was very kind and gave us a brief tour of the salesroom area. Once you exit the gate back onto the street (the Setificio, or silk-weaving workshop, is inside a complex ancient courtyard), there is a wonderful leatherworking shop, where one of the artisans kindly gave us a brief tour.
Another very satisfying “non-art” experience we had was attending a concert in the Teatro della Pergola, a gorgeous early 19th century concert hall. The theater has a full schedule of programs, so it should be possible to find something of interest going on during a stay.
While it is essentially impossible to mention all the special, out-of-the way places we had time to acquaint ourselves with, I will mention just a few of them, listed in no particular order:
· The Protestant or English Cemetery (a bit of a walk, but lovely, and where some important English and American artists are buried, such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Walter Savage Landor)
· The Church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi (totally unvisited and easily the most beautiful baroque church interior in Florence)
· Cenacolo of Sant’Apollonia (magnificent frescoes by Andrea del Castagno of The Last Supper, The Crucifixion, and The Deposition)
· Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria Carmine (the finest extant frescoes by Masolino and Masaccio)
· Opificio della Pietre Dure (Museum of Inlaid Semi-precious Stone; one of the elegant crafts for which Florence is renown is inlaid semi-precious stones, and here are some of the finest examples over the centuries of pieces made for the Medici’s; few visit the museum and it is free entry with the Amici degli Uffizi card)
· Palazzo Davanzati (a magnificently preserved example of a medieval private palazzo, furnished and with original painted walls simulating wallpaper; free entry for those with an Amici degli Uffizi membership card)
· Biblioteca Laurenziana (attached to the Church of San Lorenzo; this library and its vestibule were designed by Michelangelo and is as stunning as great Renaissance architecture gets; Michelangelo also designed the Medici Chapel in the New Sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo, which is also stunning)
· The Medici Chapel in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (frescoed by Bernardo Gozzoli, it is truly a stunning display of Renaissance glories in a tiny, tiny space)
· For the best examples of the interior architectural legacy of Brunelleschi, the Church of Santo Spirito (including the magnificent Sacristy), at the Church of Santa Croce, the Pazzi Chapel and the 2nd Cloister, and at the Church of San Lorenzo, the Old Sacristy
· Giardino Bardini (a lovely private garden with stunning views over Florence, entry on the Via de Bardi, free entry with the Amici degli Uffizi membership card)
· Church of San Miniato al Monte (perhaps the most beautiful church in all of Florence; for a very special experience, walk up the Erta Canina from the Porta San Miniato, and then down through the Porte Sante Cemetery, past the Church of San Salvatore al Monte, to the Piazzale Michelangelo for classic views over Florence and the surrounding countryside and finally wander back through the little visited San Niccolò neighborhood)
· The Church of Santi Apostoli (in a tiny piazza, not far from the Ponte Vecchio – dark and mysterious and very ancient in feel, with some beautiful carved tombs and tabernacles).
We spent one day going up to the nearby hilltown of Fiesole, which has a wealth of things to see, both at the Cathedral of San Romolo, several other churches, and the museum/outdoor Roman ruins complex. We also made a trip to the Certosa (Charterhouse) of Galluzo, on the outskirts of Florence. Both are easily reachable using Florence’s urban bus system.
We took a few side trips during our months stay. Very near to Florence were several of the great Medicean Villas and gardens. In one day we visited two villas within walking distance of each other, Villa di Castello (the spectacular gardens are open but not the villa) and the Villa della Petraia (both the gardens and the villa are open to the public). The gardens at both are utterly spectacular. These two villas can be reached using Florence’s urban bus sytem
Slightly further afield is the Villa of Poggio a Caiano, which is architecturally significant, contains some spectacular art, and is surrounded by beautiful, mainly natural (as against formal) gardens. It can be reached by a local intercity bus company. Most notable are the frescoes in the Grand Salon, most significantly, those of Pontorm and Andrea del Sarto.
The second largest city in Tuscany, after Florence, is Prato. Little visited, the historic center is well worth a day trip. The Duomo has an external pulpit designed by Michelozzo with panels by Donatello, and inside, most famously, a fresco cycle by Filippo Lippi. The Palazzo Pretorio, now the Museo Civico, has a fine collection of Renaissance masters. And there are several other architecturally significant buildings.
Finally, we did a day trip to Siena, which takes between 90 minutes and 2 hours each way. One day in Siena is completely inadequate, so we limited ourselves to the Duomo, and its associated Baptistery and the Museum of the Duomo. There is so much here, we spent almost all of our day trip here, except to have a drink, outdoors, in the Piazza del Campo, the famous main public space in Siena.