Jean Baptiste Charpentier La tasse du chocolat, 1768 Kaffeehaus, 1774-74, Zenobio del Rosso (architect) commissioned by Grand duke Pietro Leopoldo II of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family Now that the weather is getting nicer a visit…. continue ›
Posts By: freyasflorence
Villa Gamberaia – A short bus ride from Florence
The list of places to visit never gets any shorter around here. Last week I visited, for the first time, the sublime Villa Gamberaia located in Settignano, one of the hill top towns that, like…. continue ›
Florence: Brac & Ora d’Aria
The bar at Brac with tables outside on the terrace I recently had lunch at Brac, located between the Uffizi gallery and Santa Croce in via dei Vagellai 18r. It was something I’d been putting…. continue ›
Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I… Giddy-up!
Giambologna, Equestrian monument of Cosimo I de’ Medici, 1587-94, bronze, piazza della Signoria Florence. There is only one bronze equestrian sculpture that has survived for us in the present day from antiquity. It is in the…. continue ›
Renaissance bronzes – How are they cast?
Mercury, Benvenuto Cellini, bronze 1550s, Bargello Museum, Florence During the renaissance, bronze sculptures cost a lot of money and few patrons could afford such expenditure in commissioning substantial bronze works for their private collections. Bronze…. continue ›
Chapel of the cardinal of Lusitania
Tucked off to one side in the San Miniato al monte church of the Benedictine monastery which overlooks Florence, there is an exquisite renaissance funerary chapel which was added into the fabric of the Romanesque…. continue ›
Michelangelo’s Funeral
Today in Florence, March 6, there will be a procession from the town hall to the Santa Croce Church in honour of the birth of Michelangelo Buonarroti who was born on this date in 1475….. continue ›
Hidden Chapel of the Painters
Artists in the renaissance didn’t have their own guild as what they did wasn’t a profession; it was considered a menial trade and was not an organised body in society. However, it was necessary that…. continue ›
The Map Room of Palazzo Vecchio – A True Gem
The medieval Palazzo Vecchio is a gem of a museum. There are so many interesting nooks and crannies and it spans the great Florentine period, from the republic in the medieval period to the dukedom…. continue ›
The Last Supper – Sant’Apollonia Convent
The Refectory room of the cloistered Benedictine nuns of Sant’Apollonia, Florence. The scene of the Last Supper with Christ and his disciples before the crucifixion is the most commonly found decoration in the refectories (eating…. continue ›