Marina Calamai Logo On a recent visit to Florence, I had a the good fortune to meet and spend some time with Marina Calamai, an artist in the truest sense of the Renaissance artist. She is a creator, a dreamer, someone who places follows her inspiration in numerous directions, always creating art in as many [...]
How do you influence, control or even manage a Grand Duke of Tuscany? Very carefully. Pierfrancesco Riccio (or da Riccio) was selected as the private secretary to Grand Duke Cosimo I of Tuscany. In the course of his tenure, one of the most important roles was the recommendation of, and support for, works of art [...]
His father was a tailor and, as was custom in many cases during the Renaissance, he took his father's labor as his name: Andrea del Sarto - Andrea of the tailor. Enormous talent built a phenomenal career for a man who died at the young age of 43, a victim of the plague. He was [...]
When I led my first small group tour seventeen years ago, we offered only one itinerary: an exploration of Venice and Tuscany. Our group stayed in a lovely villa nestled in the hills near the Tuscan city of Impruneta, just south of Florence. The villa proved a wonderful location for that tour, enhanced by the [...]
Harry Cochrane DECEMBER 4, 2019 NOTE: I wish to thank Harry Cochrane, staff writer for The Florentine English Newspaper in Florence, for the access to his article. Late October saw the official opening of the new Mercato delle Pulci, or flea market, in largo Annigoni. Nearly four years have passed since the stalls were moved [...]
Our small group tours of Veneto, Venice, and Tuscany provides guests with unforgettable encounters with the rich culture of these unique regions of Italy.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, I drive south out of Florence into the spectacular hills of the Val d'Orcia south of Siena. This area of Tuscany is sparse and wide; recently plowed fields the color of burnt umber undulate across a countryside of dreams. The quintessential vision of Tuscany unfolds before me. Cypress tree lined [...]
This exceptional tour will begin in Florence, Italy: the “Birthplace of the Renaissance”. For six days and nights, we will explore in and around Florence, including excursions to Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, as well as a full-day excursion visiting Renaissance masterpieces in the Tuscan countryside, all with expert local guides.
A fascinating new documentary about the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence, an orphanage established in the 15th Century, will be premiered in Florence on May 17, 2019. Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (white facade) and the Ospedale degli Innocenti Read an article about the orphans of the Renaissance, and this unique institution, on our [...]