Archive for 'Museums & Galleries'

People know Pisa best as home to the famous Leaning Tower but that is not all there is to this charming Tuscan city.

If you find yourself a luxury villa in Pisa, then these are just ten of the things you can expect from your trip:

1. The Leaning Tower of Pisa: Okay, okay, so I said that the Leaning Tower isn't all there is to Pisa. However, it would be remiss of me not to mention it at all. It's one of many great reasons to visit the city. It is iconic. And silly photos are a staple of being a tourist.

2. The Duomo: While you're in the area, the Duomo, next to which the Leaning Tower is located, is a must-see. Special tickets can be purchased to visit multiple sites in the Piazza dei Miracoli and the Duomo is one of the highlights. A truly stunning and richly ornamented building, it features dazzling interiors and will linger in your mind forever after viewing it.

If you are a da Vinci fan that is planning on finding a luxury villa in Florence this Autumn, be sure to pencil a visit to the Uffizi Gallery into your trip.

The Uffizi is to host the Codex Leicester in an exhibition, celebrating the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death, from the 29th of October 2018 to the 20th of January 2019, giving you plenty of time to plan a trip that will overlap with the show!

Called, “The Codex Leicester. Water, Nature’s Microscope”, it is to be curated by the Museo Galileo’s director Paolo Galluzzi and has been made possible due to a loan of the object by Bill Gates, who has been its owner since 1994.

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Tuscany is full of grand gardens and is full of excellent art collections but there are also several places that combine the two things. One of these makes for a perfect day out for those who find a vacation rental in Maremma, the Giardino di Daniel Spoerri. A lovely sculpture garden created by the Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri in the early 1990s, it was opened to the public in 1997 and is located in Seggiano, near Monte Amiata.

If you have found a vacation rental in Pistoia and are planning your trip in the area, you're likely compiling a list of things to see and do. One thing to pencil in is a visit to the Chiesa del Tau, or Church of del Tau.

This church was constructed around 1340 by Fra’ Giovanni Guidalotti, who then donated it to the canons of Sant’Antonio del Tau. It is a single nave building with a raised presbytery and a crypt below. It is most famous for the extraordinary Gothic fresco cycle that decorates the walls and vaulted ceilings of the interiors and the sculptures of Marino Marini that are on display on the premises.

Boasting some truly exceptional works of art, it is a must-see gem that one might not expect to yield such incredible cultural value.

Roberto Casamonti opened his first gallery forty years ago on the chic via Tornabuoni and there are now locations in seven in cities all around the globe. Having made his fortune in the art world, the 78 year-old has decided to give back to the world with art and purchased the piano nobile of the Renaissance Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni in order to display and open his truly extraordinary private art collection to the public. Opened on the 25th of March this year, this gallery is located just off piazza Santa Trinità and free to visit (with an appointment) until the 31st of May, with a fee thereafter.