Posts Tagged ‘Tuscany’
How to watch the end of the Tuscan football season
You could hardly get further from the Tuscan cliche than a trip to the football. But if you’re planning to travel to Tuscany this spring, you’re unlikely to find a more authentic local experience than an afternoon at the calcio.
Read the rest at TravelEden.com.
Florence and Umbria accommodation openings
Right about now, with the northern hemisphere shivering, is a fine time to be making accommodation plans for a Tuscany trip in 2009. So, you might be interested to hear that a few new options have appeared just in time.
The brand-new, luxurious Town House Palazzo Vecchietti opened its doors in January, in a spot handy for the cafes of Piazza della Repubblica or the designer shops of Via de’ Tornabuoni. Giambologna renovated the palazzo in the 1580s; prices are as you’d expect for an inn with such a pedigree. (UPDATE: There’s more on the Vecchietti here.)
Seriously upscale visitors to Florence have another reason to be cheerful: the frescoed Renaissance Palazzo della Gherardesca has morphed into the Four Seasons Firenze after a lengthy restoration. It’s on Borgo Pinti, just a little outside the heart of the action.
For a quieter hotel experience, the Palazzo Seneca in Norcia (Umbria) has had a boutique-style revamp and now offers a wellness spa and fine local cuisine. Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict, is home to Umbria’s famous black truffle, and sits on the edge of the Monti Sibillini national park.
Finally, if you’re looking for a villa in Tuscany and have a decent budget to play with, the Conde Nast Traveler blog has some sound advice for places to begin your research online. Budget travellers, especially anyone banking in sterling, might want to re-check my Budget Guide to Tuscany that The Times ran last summer. You’ll find some fine accommodation alternatives.
When it comes to Tuscan lodging, you don’t have to be rich to book round here, but it sure helps.
Vasari’s Corridor reopens
From Wednesday 21st January through April, it will once again be possible to visit the Corridoio Vasariano. The “Vasarian Corridor” was designed by Renaissance man Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de’ Medici: Cosimo didn’t much like mixing with everyday folk when he was perusing his palazzi; Vasari built him a secret passageway so he didn’t have to. The Corridoio now hosts one of the world’s finest collections of artists’ self-portraits.
The Corridoio, which runs from the Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace in Oltrarno, including a clandestine crossing above the Ponte Vecchio, will be open twice daily for guided visits from Tuesday to Friday. Call 055/2654321 to book. Tickets are €10.50.
Mind the gap: Tuscan rail stations to avoid
Like much of Italy, Tuscany is well served by the state railway system (Ferrovie dello Stato). One of the tours in my new guidebook shows you how to see the best of it by rail in a week or so. But there are a few stations where you definitely don’t want to get off the train.
1 Pisa Centrale
Okay, that’s a little unfair… Pisa Centrale is the place to alight if you’re heading into central Pisa (and there’s much to recommend it). But if you’re planning a quick turismo tour of Piazza del Duomo—a.k.a. the Campo dei Miracoli—you’ll find yourselves with a long, hot walk to reach first base. Get off at Pisa San Rossore instead and you’re just a couple of minutes away.
2 Prato Centrale
Tuscany’s second city is a perfect day-trip from (or antidote to) Florence, but don’t get off at Prato Centrale for the sights clustered round the Duomo. Alight at Prato Porta al Serraglio station, and the Lippi frescoes, the Virgin’s Girdle and the rest of it are just a couple of minutes’ walk down Via Magnolfi.
3 Firenze Campo di Marte
Unless you’re heading to a Fiorentina game, there probably isn’t any reason for you to be at Florence’s suburban station. Almost everything to see in the city is accessible from Firenze Santa Maria Novella. If you find yourself at Campo di Marte (say, off the night train from Paris), take any of the short rail interconnections, or city buses 12 or 33 from the street outside.
4 Montepulciano
Tuscany’s highest hill-town supposedly lies “on” the Siena–Chiusi secondary rail line, but the station is nowhere near Montepulciano (about 6 miles away). There’s a local bus connection that theoretically hooks up with the train timetable, but, hey, this is Italy… If you’re heading to Montepulciano (and you should), take the Tra.In bus.
5 Siena
The Gothic city of Siena is another that you’re best visiting by bus, especially from Florence. Trains are regular, but long and slow, and sometimes require a change at Empoli. Then they dump you in Piazza Rosselli, 15 minutes by bus north of central Siena. Use the rapido bus operated jointly by Tra.In and SITA and alight at Piazza Gramsci, 5 minutes’ walk north of the Campo.
There are, though, plenty of Tuscan towns that are ideal for rail-tripping. Aside from Florence, obviously, Lucca and Viareggio have good connections combined with stations just a short walk from the action. Arrive at Arezzo and you’re just a short stroll downhill from the Piero della Francesca frescoes.
If you’re travelling by rail, remember to validate your ticket before boarding, by inserting it into the yellow machines marked “convalida” on every platform. Local trains are cheap: if you’re touring just in Tuscany for most of your trip, you won’t get value from a pre-paid rail pass. Ticket machines are (almost) idiot-proof, and trips are easily planned in advance on the superb Trenitalia website.
Enjoy.
UPDATE: My Bella Vita has more tips on hassle-free Italian rail travel.
Trip-planning feedback for Tuscany and Umbria
It’s always pleasing to hear that our book is filling the trip-planning holes we intended. Of course, it was very nice to be judged the Best Guidebook of 2008 by travel industry insiders. And it’s equally nice to be written about by a real family planning an actual trip to Tuscany this summer:
They [the With Your Family series] have … all of the family friendly travel information you require. They give star ratings for attractions plus recommended ages (and I’m impressed by the fact that they have suggestions right from babies through to teenagers). There are highlights and must-see attractions. There are accommodation options for families from ultra-expensive through to economical (for which they provide price guidelines not just $$$ or $). I love the special icons they have – find, moment, value, overrated and green. Plus they include reviews of playgrounds and parks which are very important to families!
That’s all true. There are some great books in the series. I’ve found Rhonda Carrier’s companion guides to Brittany and Normandy especially handy. For Frommer’s Tuscany and Umbria With Your Family, we considered every single one of those factors when researching and writing the book. Much of my (grown-up) research was then road-tested by unforgiving under-5s. It’s gratifying that family travellers are finding it a useful tool in planning a trip to Tuscany and Umbria. I’m always pleased to hear from readers. Your feedback can help make any future new edition, of this and my other books, even better. Thanks.
Bargello Treats for 2009
Visitors to Florence’s Bargello Museum in early 2009 can look forward to a couple of extra treats on top of the usual world-class permanent sculpture collection. Restoration work has finished on Donatello’s bronze David, the first free-standing nude since Roman times when it was completed sometime in the 1440s. It will take centre-stage alongside the sculptor’s other Bargello works, and earlier (1401) bronze panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, in the Salone del Quattrocento.
Meanwhile, April sees the opening of an important exhibition of works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, charting the links between his sculpture and the birth of Baroque portraiture. It follows a major Bernini exhibition at California’s Getty Center in 2008.
The Bargello Museum, housed inside a magnificent Gothic fortress on Via del Proconsolo, is worth €4 of your entrance money anytime. It’s one Florence stop I recommend highly in the new book, due out in May.
Dante’s “Inferno”, coming soon to an XBOX near you
Ever felt the urge to tackle the classic of Tuscan literature, the book that (partly) defined the Italian language? We do recommend it in the holiday reading section of our book. It’s a thoroughly modern tale of lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. But at three volumes, 1600+ pages in total, you’d better pack your toothbrush: Dante’s Divine Comedy is a long old ride.
There may, however, be a shortcut in 2009. Videogame publisher Electronic Arts have just announced Dante’s Inferno: the game, a third-person action adaptation of the first book of the Comedy. They’ve launched a short teaser trailer. According to Executive Producer Jonathan Knight:
The time is right for the world of interactive entertainment to adapt this literary masterpiece, and to re-introduce Dante to an audience who, until now, may have been unfamiliar with the remarkable details of this great work of art. It’s the perfect opportunity to fuse great game play with great story.
Variety report that EA are also hawking the game round the major film studios. Of course, I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on EA’s version sticking too close to the 14th-century original.
The book wins an award
It was announced this week that the book has been judged Best Guidebook 2008 at the ENIT Travel Writing Awards. Obviously, we’re chuffed to bits to have impressed the panel of Italian tourism experts, and to have beaten so many other fantastic new guidebooks. The new goal is for my next book, due out early next year, to win the 2009 prize.
To celebrate, time-permitting, more new material and updates on Tuscany will appear here soon. I promise.
More on the announcement here:
The winning Frommer’s title written by authors Donald Strachan and Stephen Keeling was singled out for the quality of its research, writing and opening up a new area in Italian tourism.
Taking You Back to Tuscany
Just back from Tuscany? Pining for the place? Not even a little? I know I am.
This website combines Google Maps and 360 degree panoramic photography to give you a real sense of being in 15 different spots across the region. There’s even a bit of Umbria – Perugia and Assisi – thrown in for good measure.
I especially love this internal panorama of the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, in Florence. The Romanesque basilica, just uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo (see the book, p. 61), is one of the few city spots you can find a bit of peace, even in high season. On p. 63 of the book we recommend a family Oltrarno walk, from the Giardino di Boboli, that’ll guide you all there.
Okay, so a bit of surfing doesn’t quite match basking under a Tuscan sun for yourself. But, from my desk in East London, it’s as close as I’m getting for now. Alas.
Florentine Genius Festival
If you’re planning to be in Florence over the next couple of weeks be sure to check this website for details of over 100 events taking place as part of the city’s Genio Fiorentino festival. The festival was attended by almost 400,000 visitors last year.
Genio Fiorentino runs from 15th to 25th May, opening tomorrow with a musical event celebrating Benvenuto Cellini, whose bronze Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa, pictured, graces the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria.
Other artistic highlights include an exhibition of drawings by Leonardo and Raphael inside the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (see the book, p. 56). The exhibition’s opening coincides with the festival ending, on 25th May.
The Genio sees the annual opening of the Corridoio Vasariano, a covered passageway that links the Ponte Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, crossing the Arno inside the Ponte Vecchio. See the book, p. 59, for more details.
Florence’s Istituto degli Innocenti is also hosting children’s workshops, the Bottega dei Ragazzi, throughout the Genio. Contact them direct for advice on what events best suit your child’s spoken Italian skills: local tel. 055 2478386 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm and 4–7pm),email labottegadeiragazzi@istitutodeglinnocenti.it.
Florence’s tourist office, local tel. 055 290832, will be able to direct you towards other events suited to visiting families. For comprehensive visitor information for Florence, see the book, p. 38–47.
