Archive for 'Florence'

If you have found a luxury villa in Florence and are spending time in that beautiful city this holiday season, there is one activity that you must make time for: ice-skating, of course! What better way to take a break between shopping and days wandering galleries and museums than to have fun on the ice?

It is the perfect activity for groups of friends, couples and families and is something everyone can enjoy. Just bundle up warm, strap on your skates, fly or flounder around the rink a few times and then warm up with some delicious Italian coffee or hot chocolate afterwards.

Florence is also a perfectly picturesque setting to go skating and there are a few different options of places to choose from.

All over the world, people who celebrate Christmas do so with big meals that encourage the whole family to get together. In every country and culture, there are different traditions associated with the holiday and this is true of the food consumed as well. Tuscany, of course, has many traditional dishes that are served at Christmas.

One such dish, typical of Florence, is Tortellini al Brodo, which is comprised of tortellini served in a broth. This delicious dish is served as an early course and is presented with some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. It is best tried in Tuscany once you have found a luxury villa in Florence but we also have a recipe prepared so that you can try it at home first.

There is nothing else quite like a night at the ballet during the winter months. It is an absolutely lovely way to spend a cold evening: dressed elegantly but wrapped up warm, watching a stunning work of art unfold before your eyes, in a gorgeous and, probably, historic building and grabbing a drink and chatting with your party and other patrons during the interval.

Just find a luxury villa in Florence this winter and, between festive shopping trips, ice-skating, visits to Santa and coffee runs, squeeze in a night at the ballet.

It will be a memory that you will be able to treasure forever and is also sure to help get you in the mood for the holiday season!

There are many stunning buildings and other architectural gems in Florence and each has its own unique traits and histories that make them all the more interesting. One of the most striking and memorable in its comparatively simplistic theatrics, however, is the Laurentian Library.

Just browse our rentals and find the perfect luxury villa in Florence so that you can explore this amazing and stunning building for yourself.

Located on the first floor of Brunelleschi's cloister, you will find an entrance to the Laurentian Library, a library that is home to the most important and prestigious collection of antique books in all of Italy and one of the greatest scholarly legacies left behind the Medici family that is still in existence.

In our last article, we outlined the long and rich historical heritage of the city of Florence and how it has given the city a predisposition for both tourist attractions and tales of ghost sightings and spooky legends.

In fact, as we saw, some of these stories are right out in the open with key features from the tales being plainly visible on the streets such as the strange stone face on the side of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the permanently ajar window of the Palazzo Budini-Gattai.

There are, however, plenty of other buildings and spots all over the city that have creepy or ghostly pasts. Just read on to discover some more and then find a luxury villa in Florence so you can spend your next Hallowe'en exploring the murkier side of the city's history.