Archive for 'Florence'

The city of Florence has made lots of efforts in recent years to ensure that it is more and more accessible to all, no matter their needs or requirements. This “Florence Without Barriers” initiative has put measures into place for those with limited mobility, the blind, and others with special requirements in order to make sure that any and everyone in your group can enjoy a vacation in Florence. If you or someone among your party falls into one of these groups, know that you can find a holiday rental in Florence and expect to be catered for. With that in mind, we have been listing some of the special services that you can avail of. Here are more of those initiatives....

3. Traversing the city with a wheelchair

As Florence is an old city with a beautiful but not consciously planned historic quarter for those who may have mobility issues, there may be some difficulties for those with reduced mobility. However, in order to deal with this reality and best navigate narrower sidewalks, uneven surfaces, and more, there has been a special App created to show the best routes through the city center, in order to avoid the architectonic barriers. Called Kimap, it can be downloaded on the Apple Store and Google Play.

If you or someone in your group has special requirements for travelling such as mobility issues or certain disabilities such as blindness, then Florence is one of the better destinations that you could choose for your vacation. The city has taken lots of different measures and put many different initiatives in place in order to serve as many visitors to the city as possible and ensure that you feel welcome and cared for no matter your needs. As their official website states, “The city...provides facilities and services for tourists with specific requirements, ranging from mobility aids, such as free wheelchair rental, to small and quiet electric vehicles, and large-scale tourist services.” So, if you want to make sure that everyone in your group can enjoy a pleasant trip, why not find a vacation rental in Florence? Here are some of the measures and initiatives that you can expect to find and make use of should you require them....

Italy is home to some incredible churches, to be sure, and if you're in Tuscany, in particular, you will find lots of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque gems. However, more modern beauties are less commonly found. Among them the Church of San Giovanni Battista or the Chiesa dell’Autostrada del Sole in Limite, in the municipality of Campi Bisenzio. Although formally named after John the Baptist, the latter name is a nickname meaning “The Motorway of the Sun Church” and was given due to the building's unusual location between the Autostrada del Sole and the A11 Firenze-Mare Highway, which was actually chosen to remember labourers who lost their lives while building the motorway. While it is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, those interested in design and architecture will find it intriguing. If you're an architecture nerd that has found a luxury villa in Florence, be sure to check this unusual gem out for yourself.

Recently, the Comune of Florence has published their "Experience Florence" digital brochure that makes for the ideal guide to the city. If you were considering a holiday in Tuscany, it really lays out all of the reasons why you need to find a vacation rental in Florence and make it your next holiday destination. A guide to Florence's museums, culture, events, food & wine, fashion, sport, and more using images, videos and slideshows, it is a handy starting-off point for planning your ideal trip to the birthplace of the Renaissance...

There is no shortage of palaces, gardens, and architectural gems in and around Florence, however, if you have found a luxury villa in Florence, you should make sure to set aside some time for a visit to Villa La Pietra, which combines all of the above. Set in the hills just outside Florence, it is one of the grandest villas in Florence, is surrounded by extensive gardens, filled with wonderful objects, and an extraordinary sight to behold.

Head into the hills around Florence – looking down upon the city, where the noble families of the area, like the Medici had their country estates in which to pull back from urban hustle and bustle and seek out rest and recuperation – and you will encounter a grand entrance and a long avenue lined by cypresses standing tall and proud. At the end of this driveway is a fifteenth-century villa and, arranged around it, 57 acres of olive groves, fruit trees, and incredible gardens.