There is life beyond the Arno
The inhabitants of Florence say that "it seems that tourists are afraid to cross to the other side of the river". Many do it through the Ponte Vecchio bridge, but when they reach the other end, they turn around, as if they were going to be bitten by something or charged to cross the border. Perhaps it is because they carry such a small map that the streets do not appear. We do it and we continue forward, not to know one of the most interesting and **authentic neighborhoods of the city: the Oltrarno (on the other side of the Arno river) **.
Its main monument is the Pitti Palace, belonging to the other great Florentine family, with its Galleria Palatina, and the beautiful Boboli Gardens ; its center, Piazza Santo Spirito, whose name is given by the church, Brunelleschi's last work, and in whose surroundings (Via de San Spirito and Borgo San Jacopo) are the tiny shops of designers, artisans or second hand, the antique dealers and the mercato dell'artigianato, which is held on the second Sunday of the month.
The Pitti Palace, epicenter of Oltarno
This is also a good place to go to dinner at restaurants that are out of the usual offer. Our favorite is iO Osteria Personale . Of course it is not the place if you are looking to eat some spaghetti to use or a capricious pizza. But yes, if what you want is to discover the typical recipes of the land, with the very innovative touch of its chef Nicolo Barreti , with experience in the kitchen in the universe of Martín Berasategui. In a modern setting, with exposed brick and blackboards, you can choose between two tasting menus: three courses and a dessert and five courses and a dessert, or a very short menu, divided into fish, meat and vegetable dishes that changes with the season. To have a drink you don't have to leave the area, you can do it in the La Dolce Vita pub, where you can have a cocktail and rub shoulders with Florentines.
The restaurant iO Osteria Personale
Beyond the classic and eternal Florentine museums, we offer you three options that deal with very different themes and are from very different periods. we start with the National Archaeological Museum of Florence , where what we like, above all, is its Egyptian collection, which ranges from prehistoric to Coptic times. In addition to trails, mummies, paintings and all kinds of statues have the trousseau of an Egyptian wet nurse of a pharaoh , our favorite piece.
To get a view of the Florentine Renaissance, "from the outside", you can stop by the Horn Museum . It is one of the best decorative arts museums in the world, made up of the private collection of British architect and historian Herbert P. Horne. It is a furnished house, pieces from the 12th-16th century in the Corsi Palace. His stellar works, those with which they show off their chests, are Giotto's Saint Stephen and Simone Martini's diptych. Although, again, we invite you to look at other curiosities of its side B, like the 16th century cradles in walnut wood that belonged to the Medici family or a chair to breastfeed children that was made especially for wet nurses.
The beautiful Boboli Gardens
If fashion is your thing, you should take a look at Ferragamo Museum . Basically brings together the life of the designer through his shoes : from his return to Italy in the 1930s, to his death in 1960. The impressive backgrounds, and among the pieces, in addition to documents, original advertisements or magazines, you can see the shoes worn by some stars from Hollywood.
To sleep, we return to one of our favorite hotels in the world: the Villa San Michele , by Orient Express, where you can escape from the tumult of the city and feel in the heart of Tuscany , in a classic and regal mansion, whose cover could have been designed by Michelangelo himself. It is 20 minutes from downtown, making a path between cypresses and fruit trees . Having breakfast on the private terrace of your room, or from the pool, you will have Bruneleschi's dome all to yourself, wrapped in the scent of jasmine and orange. Save some time to sign up for their cooking courses and learn to cook Florentine recipes.
The facade of the Hotel Villa San Michele
From there, a few kilometers away you can also get to Fiesole , a city with an Etruscan and classical past where A Room with a View was filmed, dealing with the grand tour of the Anglo-Saxons. There are not many who visit it. They they miss a Roman theater; a Romanesque church and the villa of Giovanni Medici , one of the first built by the family in the XV.
Fiesole: a room with a (good) view
If, on the other hand, you are interested in contemporary culture, you should go in two directions: The Leopolda , a former train station, converted into a versatile exhibition hall and the Strozzina (Piazza Strozzi), with a very complete program, where they offer guided tours and concerts.
La Leopolda, an old train station, converted into an exhibition hall
For your purchases, apart from the luxurious Via de Tornauboni , we offer you two addresses: the store of the beautiful handmade t-shirts by the designer of Swedish origin Jimi Roos , in Via della Mattonaia 60r. In the same street, there is the concept store ** Societé anonime ** (Via della Mattonaia 24).
The Jimi Roos Designer Store
Yes, it is true, both are in the center. Well, since you're there, look at the number on the map: You are very close to the Basilica of Santa Croce. Enters . And stare at the tomb of Michelangelo. After all, you are in Florence.
After all, you are in Florence.