This April issue is a tribute to Florence’s food—and, in particular, restaurant—scene. Il piatto piange is an Italian expression, literally, “the plate is crying”, meaning that ...
Children were cycling across the pietra serena slabs and locals were tucking into panini in piazza Santa Croce as I perched on a bench beneath Dante Alighieri’s stony stare. Ravenna-born ...
The Lithuanian community in Tuscany celebrates its fourth anniversary in portraits. Dovilė Bružaitė and Matteo Baldini met in piazza Santa Maria Novella in 2009. She, a tourist ...
It was the sunniest of Florentine mornings when I sat down in the vestry with Reverend Richard Easterling and his husband David Wohlgemuth. Richard is the new priest-in-charge of St. ...
Black Madonnas occupied every landing in the Elba Island hotel where I retreated last summer. Beautiful to behold, sacred and ageless, the transracial religious art in an isolated corner of ...
Standing on the piazzale Michelangelo on a painterly grey afternoon, I see an oxidized green dome not quite towering above the rest, just being “present”. I wonder about its construction, ...
Last Friday, I saw the stars again. In the pitch black of the Tuscan hills, the constellations studded the night sky. Overwhelmed, I couldn’t look away; months had passed since ...
This Christmas will be very different than usual: no showiness, none of the usual crowds, unfortunately no spending time together, which has always been traditional for the holidays. ...
All we really want this Christmas is the beginning of the end of the pandemic and a return to—or rather of—Florence. We miss our imperfect city’s pep, the myriad museums ...
Allyson Volpe and Laura Shadden chat about Lady Ripple and their principles of sustainability, circular prosperity and their work in support of the local community including their craftsmanship initiatives ...
Ragini Gupta has served as a US diplomat since 2002 with previous assignments in Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan and India, as well as serving as director of the Office of Broadcast ...
Last Sunday was a quintessential autumn day: turning leaves, the occasional red vine and fast-paced clouds releasing rainfall or revealing sunshine. I was in Poggibonsi, halfway between Florence and Siena, ...
Europe is suffering and Italy is rallying once more to protect its health and economy from a second uptick of the pandemic. As we head into a troubling winter, beauty ...
Draw strength from beauty. On Tuesday, I stood, masked, on Ponte alla Carraia for 10 minutes between appointments and drank in all of Florence’s perpetual possibilities. Horace coined carpe ...
A reminder of the Covid-19 rules in place in Florence and Tuscany.
BUY THE BOOK: theflr.net/rentaldiariesbook After an endless hunt for an affordable one-bedroom in Florence, Italy, ran her ragged, Mary Gray launched her “Rental Diaries” column on all things ...
An agreement has been signed to guarantee healthcare coverage for North American and Australian students in Tuscany.
“Soon There Will Be Flowers,” the June Issue of The Florentine will be out on June 4.
“When will I be able to come back to Florence?” is the question I’ve been asked time and time again. Not knowing how to reply sums up the uncertainty with which we are all faced.
I’ll go back to Wednesday, March 4. I was administering Cambridge exams in the small, beautiful Tuscan medieval towns of Monteriggioni and Colle di Val D’Elsa. Halfway through the first ...
The streets may be quiet, but people are still finding ways to unite in solidarity and get through quarantine with high spirits. Placehold Open Mic Night Florence ...
How you can help Italy during this time of unprecedented need
With March 8 a day dedicated to celebrating women, we herald the arrival of a new all-female artisans’ collective in Florence: FAF, an acronym for Female Artisans in Florence. ...
Four powerful keywords brandish the central message on the Lady Ripple website: Seek, Create, Inspire and Empower. Laura Shadden and Allyson Volpe, America-born friends, have lived in Tuscany ...