Blogs from Tuscany, Italy, Europe - page 6

http://www.heygo.com 8th February - Palazzo Vecchio & Ponte Vecchio Another visit to Florence, this time we started our tour at Piazza Della Signoria an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio (Town Hall)and the gateway to the Uffizi Gallery. The last time I was here was back a few years ago and we sat with friends in the square and enjoyed strawberries and cream in the sunshine. The Town Hall is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany, overlooking the square with its copy of Michaelangelo’s David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia with its open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art. Another feature is the beautiful fountain of Neptune, the statue is also known as the Biancone (great white) on account of the brilliance of its marble. ... read more

http://www.heygo.com 5th February- Florence We started our virtual tour today in a place I recognised from all those years ago when I used to visit Florence on business. Although I remember the statue I remember just as much the market where I would often purchase a nice leather handbag or some beautiful gloves which I still gave today. Il Porcellino, as the Italians call him, means “the little pig”. However the bronze statue sitting at the side of the New Market (Mercato Nuovo) is really a wild boar, or cinghiale in Italian. He supposedly brings good luck when visitors rub his snout and put a coin in his mouth. If the water washes the coin from the pig’s mouth and it falls into the grate below, you will have good luck and you will be sure ... read more

La vecchia fortezza fu costruita nel 1468, presumibilmente su piani a cui collaborò anche Filippo Brunelleschi. In riva all’Arno nel XVI sec i fiorentini edificarono una roccaforte difensiva, la Fortezza Nuova. La costruzione voluta da Firenze e affidata ad Antonio e poi Giuliano da San Gallo si sviluppò come estensione del primo nucleo fortificato realizzato nel 1468. Ordinarono il ripristino e il potenziamento della piazza forte che fu dotata di una cinta di bastioni. La fortezza terminò il suo utilizzo per scopi militari dal XViii sec. Fu infine venduto dai Lorena a un armatore livornese, Domenico Scotto alla fine del 1700. La famiglia livornese Scottò construirono un corridoio coperto per passeggiate, iniziando la trasformazione in giardini. Il giardino pubblico fu realizzato nel XIX secolo all' interno della Cittadella Nuova. Oggi è un gran bel parco. NUOVE ... read more

I really enjoyed staying for 3 nights in Pisa, and after all the social life back in the hostel over Christmas and New Year, but also travel restrictions, it was great to get away from the city. It was also nice and necessary too to escape from my routine or what had become a non-existent or at best, a very loose routine with strong emotions regularly sending me off track, resulting from everyday interactions from my housemates in the hostel. My nervous system had become jarred but as soon as I saw the greenery of Tuscany from the train window my nervous system slowly went back to normal, after leaving the noise and flyovers of Genoa. I was returning to a place where nothing bad had happened to me, and for that reason, I was able ... read more

The old fortress was built in 1468, presumably on plans to which Filippo Brunelleschi also collaborated. On the banks of the Arno in the sixteenth century the Florentines built a defensive stronghold, the New Fortress. The construction commissioned by Florence and entrusted to Antonio and then Giuliano da San Gallo developed as an extension of the first fortified nucleus built in 1468. The fortress ended its use for military purposes from the seventeenth century. It was finally sold by the Lorena family to a Livorno shipowner, Domenico Scotto at the end of 1700. The Livorno family Scottò built a covered corridor for walks, starting its transformation into gardens. The public garden was built in the nineteenth century inside the New Citadel. Today it is a big park. REFERENCES ■Scotto family, Domenico Scotto, Livorno ■Wars between Pisa ... read more