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Modern Italian, like many other languages, originated from Latin.  After the Roman Empire fell, Classical Latin continued to be used for most writings.  A different version, Vulgar Latin, became more commonly spoken by the average person in parts of Italy and eventually led to Classical Italian. Latin continued to change over the centuries, creatin...

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It would be a shame to not explore the quaint beauty that surrounds Florence. There are many villages and hamlets set in the beautiful Tuscan landscape that make the perfect day trip. For a taste of the region’s borghi, countryside, medieval castles, bell towers and Renaissance palaces, and to revel in the classic Tuscan landscape of rows of olive...

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When you hear the name Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a few things spring to mind—and none of them are likely to involve Italian poet Dante Alighieri or opera. Of course there’s good reason for this, with Lecter’s exotic cooking ingredients superseding his gentler affectations. But even so, when author Thomas Harris first imagined how the character might mov...

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The donation of Carlo Del Bravo's collection to the Uffizi Gallery has been completed: the Florentine museum has therefore acquired a collection of 455 works, including paintings, drawings and sculptures, which cover a period ranging from the 17th century to the present day. The works include an extraordinary San Giovannino by Rosso Fiorentino and...

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Imagine 37 thousand tons above your head, 116 meters towards the sky, your eyes lost in admiration of the 700 figures in the 3.600 square meters of Vasari and Zuccari’s Last Judgement. A lantern brushes up against the sky, while your feet feel as if they were avidly climbing invisible steps, so much is the desire to touch that marvel, which seems t...

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Florence’s Cathedral, or Santa Maria del Fiore, is the world’s third largest church, after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. It is 153 meters long, 90 meters high, and 90 meters wide.  Designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, it was dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, the flower (‘fiore’) in question being a reference to the lily, symbol of the c...

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Probably the first thing people think about when Valentine's Day is mentioned is a loving couple, and Italy has the most famous couple of all, Romeo and Juliet. The city of the 'star crossed lovers', Verona, makes a romantic destination, but this most obvious of romantic places in Italy is actually rather disappointing. 'Juliet's house' (she never...

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The reputation of Dante Alighieri needs little burnishing: his Divine Comedy, tracing the poet’s journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, is widely regarded as one of the greatest works ever written. But more than 700 years after Dante was accused of corruption and condemned to be burned to death, his descendant is looking to clear his name. S...

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To join the event, tune in LIVE on-line, with organizers Advancing Women Artists and The Florentine, on Friday February 5th at 6.30pm in Italy; 12.30pm EST; 9.30am PST; 5.30pm in the UK. Please use this link: Restoration Conversations: The world's oldest drawing academy, Accademia delle Arti del Disegno or access directly through TF's Facebook and...

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The prophets, bishops and cherubs depicted in the 14th-century mosaics on the interior walls of Florence’s Baptistery are shining again, following a lengthy restoration that began in 2017 and is still ongoing.  The restoration is funded by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the institution created in 1296 by the Florentine Republic to manage the c...

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