Episode 06: Florence & Fiesole: “I have drunk deep the wine of Firenze: I’ve warmed both hands before the fires of Botticelli and Michelangelo - Tea With Mussolini (film 1999)
Welcome to Episode #6: Florence and Fiesole, Tuscany and Chapter 4 of the book share............... In the Shadow of a Cypress: An Italian Adventure.
Florence is such a magnificent medieval city and has been charming people for centuries. I have been enamored myself visiting a number of times over the years and watching great films set in and around florence that have set the heart dreaming. In particular, Tea With Mussolini, and more recently A Room With A View are wonderful films that have touched on the Anglo-Italian connection to this city.
The Capital of Tuscany and the gateway to a hundred ways to enjoy Italy. Most people go to Florence when they first visit Italy and why not, the Renaissance Architecture, the history, the cuisine, the art and that magnificent Duomo at centre stage - the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Is it any wonder Brunelleschi came up with the plans to create that dome? At the time it was a test of endurance, what began in 1296 was completed in 1887. The cupola and the dome within was the biggest challenge since architecturally there was nothing like it that preceded this cathedral, in other words a feat of engineering genius.
Giotto’s magnificent campanile (bell tower), a wonderful walk of approximately 400 steps, or you could try Brunelleschi’s Dome for 484 steps, a great heart starter, the views are sublime over the red tiled roofs of the historic Tuscan City
My days were spent just wandering the city exploring and taking in the views from Fiesole, the place I chose to stay for a taste of both worlds. Fiesole is a little hill top town to the northeast of Florence approximately 5kms away and makes for a great little detour or day trip. You can catch the bus from Piazza San Marco in Florence. I believe it is bus No. 1 these days just on the edge of the Piazza on Via Camillo Cavour across from the Convento di S. Marco. Last time it was number 7 (when I visited in 2014), but please double check in the square itself, someone will send you in the right direction. Before you catch the bus don't forget to visit the San Marco Museum for the Fra Angelico paintings. This makes for a great stroll from Piazza del Duomo through one of my favourite piazzas, Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. You catch a wonderful glimpse of the del Duomo from there.
In the elegant Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
We recently went back to scan the views of Florence from this vantage point and had a lovely lunch at one of the cafes next to Piazza Mino . There are many famous gardens and villas in the hills you can visit if that is your thing. The walk up the hill to the church of San Francesco is a great stretch for the legs and a good heart starter.
You can also visit the Roman Amphitheatre and baths for a little soak in historic Italy, evidence is everywhere. Fiesole has Etruscan roots and is considered the wealthiest of provinces outside of the centre of Florence. I can understand why..... Medici Villas, Villa San Michele, I-Tatti and more. Just google it there are many beautiful places to visit. If you have time pop into the Convent of San Domenico in Fiesole to see another beautiful painting by Fra Angelico.
The magic of Fiesole / Michelle Johnston
Below is a photo I took after the Strozzi Museum visit, just one of those random moments where as a traveler you stop and wander into a beautiful entrance way and then find yourself marveling at another world.......
Shownotes:
“Tea With Mussolini: Film (1999) based on the Anglo-Italian semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli”. Set at the beginning of the second world war, tells the story of a young Italian boy’s experience and his English and American care takers who live in Florence.
A Room With A View: Film from 2007 Adapted from the book by E.M Forster (1908). Next is to watch the original Merchant Ivory Production from 1985.
The Queen Bee of Tuscany: The Redoubtable Janet Ross by Ben Downing, published in 2013. I listened to the audio I found on Audible.
The Castle in Tuscany: The Remarkable Life of Janet Ross by Sarah Benjamin, published in 2006.
A Tuscan Childhood by Kinta Beevor, published in 2000.
Song: ‘Glorybox’ by Portishead from the album Dummy released in 1994.
Quote: About mothers being the great “vacation-less class” from Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. A beloved book about women and their need for solitude and time away to reconnect and rediscover themselves. First published in 1955.
When in Firenze…..