To get a proper sense of what Florence has to offer four days is what I’d suggest. To get away in a proper manner I need to change climate, language, culture and, perhaps most vitally, to change centuries. The secret, I find, is to surrender, to be transported in time, to sharpen my eyes, and train myself to look, look, and look again at all the detail and refinery. It’s so edifying and so reviving of my spirits. How life-affirming to appreciate the artistic skill of Florence’s forebears.
I like to stay in the city center overlooking the Ponte Trinita at Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni 1. It’s a 4-star hotel set on the top 3 floors of the former 13th-century Palazzo Gianfigliazzi. It has an old-fashioned wooden reception beyond its gorgeous mosaic-marbled floor. It’s perfectly situated overlooking the river and only one bridge along from Florence’s world-famous Ponte Vecchio. It’s on the same street as the Salvatore Ferragamo flagship store (complete with its own museum) along with many top Italian designer shops.
My room (one of 24 with rates starting from €255 a night) was both tastefully and traditionally furnished with classic cloth and damask motifs. My shutters opened onto swifts darting joyfully amongst the rooftops of the Santa Trinita Church. The terrace breakfast room and above it the ‘panoramic bar’, both look across to the hill of Bellosguardo and along the Arno river and its many bridges, its churches and cypress trees, and the monochrome terracotta roofs that dominate Florence’s skyline.
I like to start my trip with dinner in the Santa Croce district, at Boccanegra. My table was one of several that spilled out onto the street. It’s a member of Vetrina Toscana, a project that combines the region’s authentic and traditional production with care for the environment. With 180 seats it has three parts: an osteria, a pizzeria, and a traditional restaurant. Above the tiles and parquet flooring the walls have facsimiles of the Impressionists while upstairs there’s a romantic loggia and below an impressive ‘cantina’ (wine cellar). It’s a restaurant popular with the locals which is always a good sign.
For their specialist tours and expert advice I strongly endorse Destination Florence, the “official marketplace of the City”. They also sell the Firenze card, the official museum pass that spared me much queueing. When I find a church door open I go straight in (by the right-hand door) as they are often shut. All the museums and most of the churches offer some delight for the eye, some masterpieces of craftsmanship.
The hills are visible from the city center where the ‘duomo’ is still mercifully the tallest building with its dome towering 375 feet above. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. Its interior is vast and empty resonating its holy and hollow echo. Opposite is the baptistery. Just imagine baptizing your child beneath its gilded splendor. Images extend from the dome’s vastness like unfurling petals with their symmetry broken only by Christ from above to welcome the child reassuringly into his church with his all-enveloping, outstretched arms.
For a proper respite, on the 5th floor of the Baglioni Grand Hotel is B Roof. Such a romantic setting with ‘Florence under your feet’ (as is its mantra) and overlooking the ‘duomo’ (cathedral) and its ‘campanile’ (bell tower). There are divine pergolas with trellises and lilac ortensia flowers as well as Brunelleschi’s Terrace, a truly panoramic offering direct views of the architect’s stunning feat: the dome of the Duomo. The interior is traditional and, with ceiling-to-floor windows, it’s all about the light and the view. It serves Tuscan food with an international inflection and the restaurant has a strong emphasis on its ‘wellness menu with taste’.
Anyone trying to understand the greatness of European culture over the last five hundred years has to grasp the Tuscan journey of human confidence. From the fertile plains of Pisa and Siena to Florence herself the monastic medieval origins fashioned a revival in pride for Rome’s former glory. Yes, there were wars and bitter rivalries but Popes and powerful regional families, fortified by the fortunes of their banks, created an unparalleled patronage for artistic talent in this cradle of the Renaissance with her guilds, palazzos, and piazzas, libraries, villas, forts, cloisters, frescoes and Tuscan towers. I loved examining the pinched features of Michelangelo, the grace of Lippi, the sentimentality of Botticelli, and the serenity of Perugino.
What a joy to stay next at a former Palazzo: the brand-new Hotel La Gemma. It’s so conveniently located, tucked away down a cobbled side street, between the cathedral and the Palazzo Vecchio. It’s a perfect place to indulge after an afternoon’s shopping in the neighborhood. This 5-star boutique hotel is both sumptuous and chic, both plush and opulent. The foyer has black and white chequered marbled flooring, the walls are lined with black and white photographs, and beyond all shine gorgeous mirrored ceilings.
The hotel’s signature emerald and olive greens permeate throughout the thick carpets and velvet drapes. Here I was able to sit outside the entrance, enjoy an impressive massage at the Allure Spa, have a romantic dinner on the roof, and have breakfast in an open courtyard with palm leaves. Luca’s Restaurant is where chef Tommaso dreams up his creations with a confident menu strong on both pigeons and Jerusalem artichokes. My luxurious room (with rates starting from €475 a night) had wonderful wallpaper featuring palm fronds and was truly pampering.
When the morning chorus of church bells chime on the hour I can almost smell the frankincense in the air. When I sit lapping up the holy energy of the monastic cells in San Marco I imagine myself as a medieval monk cocooned and ascetic looking out at the stillness of the cloisters and their cypress trees. Likewise moving towards the altar through the columns within Santo Spirito is truly uplifting as I savor the silence with just me and a sacristan lighting a candle. A circular walk at night along the river and across a bridge before returning is so special. Teenagers safely sit on riverbanks while others precariously lean over with their ice creams. The streets also seem with opera singers: a truly superior form of busking.
A minute’s walk on from San Lorenzo is a restaurant within a concept store called La Ménagère. It’s uber-cool and popular with women at rest amongst books on design and gardens, a grand piano, kitchenware and glassware, and candlesticks and dried flowers for sale. Those being served in the outside ‘loggiata’ with its floral-patterned wall are the envy of those still waiting to be seated. So light and breezy is the food and vibe, fitting its menu mantra “Moi je jeue”. It’s a top spot for brunch for smoothies and centrifuges, smashed avocados, and salads. I love La Ménagère.
All books and brochures take you to the majority of the well-known sites and they have their rightful prominence. Tourists come for the Ponte Vecchio, Michelangelo’s David, and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. But it’s my own discoveries, denied to trailing tourists, that I cherish most. I love the pure and harmonious proportions of The Pazzi Chapel (in Santa Croce). Based on a simple geometric plan of the square and circle, this extraordinary early Renaissance masterpiece was built as the chapter house. Also, the Cloister of the Scalzo (near San Marco) houses the immaculate line, Andrea del Sarto. A small cocoon of Florentine grace and poise, of Florentine exquisite refinement.
When near the Ponte Vecchio I strongly recommend The Golden View Firenze. It’s south of the river on Via de’ Bardi, yards away and overlooking one way: the Ponte Vecchio, and the other: upstream with the hills and beyond. There’s an open kitchen, wines on display, a piano, and much contemporary art. I sat, away from the private romantic room, in the airy, spacious 2nd room with its own balcony and tucked into the delicious Tuscan pasta, steak, and dessert on offer.
All cities have their golden suburbs and nowhere more than Florence. Indeed they amount to a proper excursion such are the delights of Fiesole, a village fifteen minutes north. It is home to the famous San Michele hotel, a converted 15th-century convent, with stunning landscaped gardens. Also, Bellosguardo, a small collection of houses, is delightful in the south of the city. I have often stayed there and walked down through orchards and cypresses to the Porto Romano city gate. It’s where Galileo contemplated the stars and where to get a fabulous view of the entire city and beyond.
Slightly off the beat and narrow, as part of the elegant Sina Villa Medici hotel, is the wonderful new restaurant, Harry’s Bar The Garden. Hedged off from the road, overlooks the hotel’s swimming pool (unique in the city center) which is adorned with statues, roses, and urns and offers me a true oasis and escape. I sat spaciously to enjoy the freshest of bellinis (peach juice and prosecco) before choosing from a menu impressively strong in its veal options.
Time to go on a shopping spree! Florence abounds in leather, scent, and jewelry shops but, for even more specialist shopping, I recommend Ricceri Giuliano in Via dei Conti for ceramics and Fabio Innocenti in the Piazza dei Ciompi for antiques. Try Galleria d’Arte Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio on Lungarno Corsini for your very own sculpture or Occasioni Musicali on Via dell’Oriuolo for pop memorabilia and vintage rarities. And if you happen to be there for the last Sunday of the month go to Piazza Sant’ Ambrogio to rummage around for a bargain from its bric-a-brac market.
Here, on via dei Macci, the Sant’Ambrogio district is dominated by the Cibreo brand of 5 restaurants, comprising a café, trattoria, restaurant, private dining, and theatre club. They are set in everyday Florence, amongst the bustling commerce of the bric-a-brac and food markets. I experienced the delights of both Cibrèo Restaurant and Cibrèo Caffè. The helpings are generous and fairly priced from menus that follow the natural rhythm of the seasons using raw materials from farmers, breeders, and fishermen who all share the passions of the legendary Fabio Picchi. The restaurant’s interior felt homely and snug amongst old maps and red seats, yellow walls, and dark wood. Here for dinner, I always recommend the fish of the day and I was treated to I Giullari, Fabio’s special olive oil. Meanwhile the caffé, ‘the bon vivant’s favorite place’, is ideal for a light lunch. I loved my tomato gelée and my thinnest roast beef with turmeric, pepper, and carrot sauce.
As for things to notice about the city: when you’re by the Uffizi spot the secret corridor that crosses the river above the shops on the Ponte Vecchio. It was designed for Cosimo I to move unnoticed between his two palaces (Vecchio and Pitti). When in the Piazza della Signoria look up at the extraordinary revolving outdoor staircase right at the top of the Palazzo Vecchio, and spot the boats emanating from the rowing club under the Uffizi, or the ambulance service opposite the campanile. Go to a Gregoria chant in Latin at San Miniato at 5.30 pm. In all events, the best guidebooks for ensuring you don’t miss anything special are ‘Find and Discover Florence’ (published by Becocci) and Blue Guide to Florence (published by Somerset Books).
I must go back. Whenever but soon! So restorative and uplifting!
