Florence white night 2010, April 30th

We are all waiting for you here in Florence to spend a night...al night long. Stay at Hotel Mario's, here in the centre of Florence, close to the train station. With an easy walk you'll be everywhere, enjoy a very special night. Our contact is info@hotelmarios.com, we still have some available rooms.
This is the program :

Late night museum openings on April 30

The following museums will be open with extended hours:

Palazzo Vecchio open until 6am. With various events and performances.

Palazzo Strozzi open until 5am. Go see the very psychological exhibit on De Chirico under conditions of total exhaustion!

Biblioteca delle Oblate (Library and cafe’ space) open until 6am with various special events

Uffizi musuem open until Midnight.

Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Firenze
The university’s science museums are open from 20 to 1am. These include the following locations:

* Antropologia ed Etnologia (via del Proconsolo 12)
* Geologia e Paleontologia (via Giorgio La Pira 4)
* Mineralogia e Litologia (via Giorgio La Pira 4)
* Zoologia “La Specola” (via Romana 17)

Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Firenze Scienza
Open from 20.00 to 1am with FREE entrance to the exhibit
Firenze Scienza. Le collezioni, i luoghi e i personaggi dell’800.

Museo Bardini - open from 19 to 2am
2 guided visits (in italian and english) at 20,30 and 22,30

Fondazione Salvatore Romano – Piazza Santo Spirito 29
Open 21 to midnight (special opening, normally closed)
Every 20 minutes, free guided tours in Italian, English, and French!

Mostra dall’Artigianato – the artisans fair at the Fortezza da Basso is open with extra long hours through the night.
Some other creative arts projects

There are LOTS of interesting artistic projects happening the night of April 30th. This is just a sampling that I think will be particularly good quality and/or accessible to English speakers.

* Pecha Kucha Night: another evening of creative projects presented with 20 slides, similar to the one I attended last month. In ITALIAN.
* If you’re into comics, check out the notte bianca a fumetti at the Biblioteca delle Oblate, with a free gift to all who participate. Draw on a giant board along with artists or check out the exhibit of a comic made specially for this event.
* “Intrecci contemporanei” performance and installation art by some of the city’s leading contemporary art groups.
* Inauguration of exhibit of performance art by Michelangelo Consani and presentation of the prize Premio EX3 Toscana Contemporanea 2010 for Tuscan contemporary artists under 40 at EX3.
* In addition, music of all types in every corner of the city, some itinerant, some fixed… from classical to hip hop, get out and check it out!!

For more information see: www.insonniacreativa.it

Notte bianca a Firenze il 30 Aprile 2010

Una città in festa, tutta la notte, fino alle 6 o alle 7 del mattino. Uno spettacolo stupendo di gente, di strade piene,di musica e di arte. Il 30 Aprile a Firenze sarà la notte della libertà, dove tutti potranno trovare qualcosa adatto ai loro interessi ed esigenze.
Firenze non andrà a dormire, musica, musei, dj set, ristoranti in mezzo alle strade, questa sarà l'atmosfera particolare di questa edizione 2010. Questo il programma completo:

Alle 19 Lezione di Michel Maffesoli sulla Notte Bianca

Alle 18,30 Incontro con Alessandro D’Avenia presentazione del libro presso la libreria Edison

Dalle 14 fino alle 25 Spazio Arti e Mestieri. mostre e installazione

Dalle 19 fino alle 6 Graffiti di Luce a Firenze. Partenza da Piazza delle Cure, giro itinerante per la città alla scoperta dei graffiti

Il gusto del Teatro. Tour teatral-gastronomico fra antiche ricette della tradizione toscana e teatri.

Dalle 19 fino alle 6 Storie della Notte in tempo reale Sei esploratori, per tutta la notte in giro per la città, a catturare immagini e dati su quello che succede in giro, partenza dalla Sala D’Arme di Palazzo Vecchio

Dalle 19 alle 2 Notte bianca a San Niccolò un progetto rionale

Dalle 19 alle 23 Insonnia mistico/amorosa Polifonia sacra e profana medievale e rinascimentale al Museo Bardini

Dalle 19 alle 6 La notte bianca a 30 punti rossi in Via Palazzuolo e in Via San Paolino: 2 installazioni “trenta punti rossi”, e installazione fotografica interattiva dal titolo “bacio alla francese”.

Dynamo EX3 Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea di Firenze inaugura Dynamo, progetto di Michelangelo Consani, vincitore della prima edizione del Premio EX3 Toscana Contemporanea 2010

Dalle 19 alle 1 Carta Bianca alla Notte Bianca Piazza Ognissanti, la cultura francese attraverso cortometraggi proiettati sulla facciata di Palazzo Lenzi e concerti per pianoforte

Dalle 19 alle 23 Pecha Kucha NightSala Vetrate delle Murate.

Dalle 19 alle 24 Pecha Kucha NightIn Via del Sansovino 191, il festival della Pizza da Pizza Man

Dalle 19 Bandao – concerto itinerante di un gruppo di 40-50 percussionisti, partenza da Piazza Santa Croce

Dalle 19 Feltrinelli presentazione del nuovo album di “Il parto delle nuvole pesanti” e alle 22 incontro con Maurizio Maggiani

dalle 19 alle 6 Ultrarno Fast fest letteraria in varie zone dell’Oltrarno

Dalle 19 I Love disco Florence white night tour , tour itinerante con pullman a 2 piani con i DJ di I love disco

Illuminazione Totemica serata multietnica in Piazza Alberti

Dalle 19 alle 1 Cure indipendenti alla notte Bianca + DJ set, concerto di band indipendenti presso la pista di skate accanto allo stadio

Dalle 19 Esibizione itinerante della Sound Street Band. Esibizione itinerante di un gruppo di circa 15 musicisti (con strumenti a fiato e percussione) partenza da Piazza Pitti

Dalle 20 alle 3 TRAMbusto, Dj set, live music and performances sulla Tramvia, partenza dalla fermata di Viale Alamanni

Dalle 20 alle 5 Notte bianca all’Odeon blob di rai3 e Takashi Miike in anteprima nazionale

Dalle 20 alle 1 La Piazza degli Innocenti, concerto del Piccolo Coro del Melograno in Piazza Santissima Annunziata

Notte Bianca in Teatro, eventi al Teatro l’Affratellamento di Via G.P. Orsini

Dalle 20 alle 2 La ricetta del blu rappresentazione interattiva al Museo Bardini

Dalle 21 alle 24 Evocazioni medicee concerto di musica barocca dentro Palazzo Vecchio

White Sabba a Palazzo Strozzi

Dalle 21 alle 6 Notte bianca alla Casa della Cultra Pedonalizzazione di Viale Forlanini

Dalle 21 alle 23,30 Destinazione Luna Torre di San Niccolò, spettacolo di acrobazia aerea, mimo e danza

Dalle 21 alle 24 Notte di note concerto itinerante, dal Museo Bardini alla Biblioteca delle Oblate, passando da Palazzo Vecchio

Dalle 21 alle 6 Teatro la Pergola apertura straordinaria

Vienna Vegetable Orchestra in Piazza San Lorenzo

Concerto del quartetto dell’Orchestra da Camera del Maestro Lanzetta in Piazza Duomo

E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle, in Piazza del Grano, musica elettronica, danza contemporanea e visual arts

Dalle 21,30 La piazza, la storia e l’universo popolare, davanti alla Casa di Dante due spettacoli teatrali

Dalle 21,30 LOFT – performance coreografica performance coreografica poi serata di flamenco e aperitivo spagnolo

Dalle 22 alle 23,30“La musica nera nella notte bianca” – la black music del Gospel concerto Gospel alla loggia del Bigallo

Tango e Capoeira per la città e in piazza Tasso

Casa della Creatività apertura straordinaria

Puccini con apparati effimeri agli Uffizi

Puccini con apparati effimeri al Battistero

Alle 22 Scrittori in mutande Biblioteca delle Oblate,lettura-spettacolo divertita dal libro “Storia parecchio alternativa della letteratura italiana” di Antonella Landi

Alle 22 alle 2 Installazione Video interattiva, live vj mix Loggia dei Lanzi

Dalle 22 Notte bianca a Fumetti, incontro sui fumetti e mostra espositiva alla Biblioteca delle Oblate

Dalle 22 Intrecci contemporanei performances e installazioni alla loggia del porcellino

Dalle 22 alle 1 Palazzo Vecchio Music Box project/1_Bach dalle, concerto all’interno di una struttura di plexiglass,

Dalle 23,30 alle 3,25 “Camillocromo” La strada , concerto itinerante in quattro tappe, partenza da Piazza Poggi

Alle 24 “Le Notti Bianche” DOSTOEVSKIJ_SCHUMANN_CHOPIN Biblioteca delle Oblate,Reading musicato attorno alla notte bianca. Esecuzione dei Notturni di Chopin e dei Nachtstucke op. 23 di Schumann

Dalle 2 alle 6 U.A.N. Urban Center Bar, uno spazio chill out nel cuore di Firenze

Alle 5, Salone dei Cinquecento a Palazzo Vecchio, il monologo Volevo diventare pasticciere, al termine caffè e cornetto.

Insonnia Creativa Firenze



MUSEI, MOSTRE, ARTE durante la notte bianca

Palazzo Vecchio aperto fino alle 6. Oltre agli eventi si svolgeranno performances e attività a cura dell’Associazione Museo dei Ragazzi

Palazzo Strozzi apertura straordinaria fino alle 5- Gli eventi
De Chirico, Max Ernst, Magritte, Balthus. Uno sguardo nell’invisibile. Dalle 20.00 ingresso ridotto € 7,50

Biblioteca delle Oblate apertura fino alle 6 gli eventi
Animazione, food and wine event a cura della Cooperativa Archeologia.

Uffizi apertura straordinaria fino alle 24

Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Firenze Apertura straordinaria delle sezioni museali dalle 20 alle 1
Antropologia ed Etnologia (via del Proconsolo 12)
Geologia e Paleontologia (via Giorgio La Pira 4)
Mineralogia e Litologia (via Giorgio La Pira 4)
Zoologia “La Specola” (via Romana 17) con l’apertura della Mostra Cristalli (con biglietto ridotto)

Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Museo di Storia della Scienza Apertura straordinaria dalle 20.00 alle 1.00 delle sedi della mostra con ingresso gratuito
Firenze Scienza. Le collezioni, i luoghi e i personaggi dell’800
(8 novembre 2009 – 9 maggio 2010)
Apertura straordinaria di Palazzo Medici Riccardi dalle 20 alle 1.

Museo Bardini - apertura straordinaria dalle 19 alle 2
Visite gruidate gratuite a cura dell’associazione guide turistiche – gli eventi

Fondazione Salvatore Romano – Piazza Santo Spirito 29
Apertura straordinaria dalle 21 alle 24
Visite guidate gratuite a cura dell’Associazione Guide Turistiche
Le visite guidate gratuite saranno effettuate a cura dell’Associazione Guide Turistiche ogni 20 minuti nelle seguenti lingue: Italiano, Inglese, Francese.

Mostra dall’Artigianato – apertura straordinaria



Noi dell' Hotel Mario's ( www.hotelmarios.com ), come sempre, saremo tutta la notte non in giro, ma ad aspettarvi tornare in albergo, dove dalle 5 saranno offerti cornetti e caffe'.

Florence, Italy: a cultural itinerary!!!

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 364,779. The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
The video begins at the Basilica of Santa Croce which is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile, Rossini, and Marconi. Next it was over to the L-shaped Square Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The various eye-catching statues in this square include: a copy of David, the Fountain of Neptune and Hercules and Cacus. Next we walked through the narrow courtyard between the Uffizi Gallery's two wings. Next it was past Ponte Vecchio, a Medieval bridge over the Arno River. The video concludes at The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, its exterior facing of polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.

Cenacolo del Conservatorio in Fuligno, Florence

Hotel Mario's is situated in a fantastic position for all the visitors would like starting their days walking to everywhere here in the city. Close to the train station of Santa Maria Novella ( less than 2 blocks ), close to the Mercato Centrale of San Lorenzo and also to the topic we are talking today : The Cenacolo of Fuligno.
The ancient convent in Fuligno was founded at the start of the fourteenth century and subsequently renovated in 1430.The convent’s refectory is decorated with fifteenth century frescoes depicting the Last Supper and the Oration of Christ in the Garden, both of which are attributed to Pietro Perugino. This refectory was used as a museum from the nineteenth century.Many works of art damaged in the great flood of 1966 were brought here. It was re-opened in 1990, with the addition of some frescos by Bicci di Lorenzo (1430 circa) which came from other rooms of the convent, as well as a wooden crucifix by Benedetto da Maiano.
Today the Cenacolo, or refectory, is home to other works such as the Assumption of the Virgin by Valerio Marucelli which once stood above the main altar in the church of Sant’Onofrio, the Crucifixion and several fifteenth and sixteenth century Tuscan and Italian paintings of the Perugino school. Hotel Mario's is only 50 metres far from this extraordinary masterpiece and we are glad to welcome you here in our small and typical hotel.


Opening hours
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 9am – 12pm
Closed on New Year’s Day, 1st May and Christmas Day

Entry fee
Free

Disabled access
No

Contact information
via Faenza 42
Florence
Telephone 055 286982
E-mail segreteria@sbas.firenze.it
http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/fuligno

Florence Airport

To confirm the constant increase of the airport traffic of the last years nearby the airport of Florence Perentola, AdF Spa has begun during the first months of the 2006 the airport modernization.
With an investiment of about 11 milions of euro for the works on the runway and of about 4,5 milions of euro for the renovations of the air terminals AdF has so taken to the maxim operating efficiency the principals infrastuctures of the Florence airport and has increased the total capacity of the airport from 1.500.000 to 2.200.000 passengers/year.
To plan the new internal structure of the airstations, AdF has used particular attention to the improvement of the flow passengers in departure setting in a more rational way different operative and commercial services that the passengers find now along a more fluent way.
The security passages have been increased from 3 to 5, the boarding gates from 6 to 10. The conveyer claims have been increased from 2 to 3. The check-in desk have become 23.

Bill Viola presents "Emergence" at the Accademia

The Galleria dell’Accademia will present the restored Pietà da Palestrina, the marble group sculpture attributed to Michelangelo and exhibited in the Tribune of the David. On this occasion at 10.00 p.m. in the Tribune of the David the Galleria dell’Accademia of Florence proposes the video Emergence (2002) by Bill Viola in the presence of the artist himself. This event intends to suggest a meditation on the theme of the Pietà, a central theme in the life and work of Michelangelo starting from his youth (St. Peter’s Pietà), and then repeatedly in later age (the Bandinelli Pietà intended for his own tomb, and the Rondanini Pietà).
This is another extraordinary possibility to see an incredible artist from the past, Michelangelo, and an extraordinary artist of this times, Bill Viola. The Bill Viola's opera will be on till 9th of May 2010, so don't waste to much time.
To book the hotel, just call us at the +39-055-216801 or write an email to this adress : info@hotelmarios.com

Cultur week in Italy and in Florence too.Museums free

The settimana della cultura, or the culture week, or the week during which the state- and city-run museums in Florence (and the rest of Italy) offer entrance without admission costs for the year 2010 is...now. In fact is already started 18th of April and will be continued till 26th of April.
Apart from normally open museums being free, several attractions that are normally closed to the public will open their doors during the settimana della cultura. This can be achieved thanks to the help of hundreds of volunteers.Some favorite sites such as the Colosseum, Uffizi Galleries, the archaeological site of Pompei, and the Galleria Borghese are just a few of the many that will be free during this 9 day period. You’ll be out of luck at the Vatican, however, as it is not a state museum and will still enforce the normal entry fee.
For any Context walk that normally includes pre-purchased tickets to a state museum, you will either be receiving a refund shortly if you were already charged for your ticket or, if you will be booking, the price of your ticket will be deducted before it is charged.
In Florence you could visit for free Uffizi, Accademia ( where the David of Michelangelo is ), Medici Chapels, Bargello,Pitti Palace,Boboli garden,Opificio delle pietre dure and many others.

Here a list of special events for your visit in Florence:


Uffizi: from 4/20/2010 to 5/30/2010 on special display is the newly restored Altarpiece of the Novitiate painted by Filippo Lippi for the chapel of the same name in the Church of Santa Croce (read announcement from the Uffizi). The altarpiece was commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici in 1445. For the first time since its dismantling it will be displayed with its predella, painted by Francesco di Stefano known as Il Pesellino, thanks to a loan from the Louvre.

Boboli Gardens: Saturday 17 April at 15:30: Sbandiatori – historic flag throwers of Florence will perform in costume in the Boboli’s Piazzale della Meridiana.

Cappella Ruccellai and Alberti’s Tempietto: this little jewel of a chapel is only open on this occasion! I’ve seen it during previous culture weeks, it’s an important contribution to understanding Alberti’s architecture.

Conservatorio di S. Maria degli Angiolini: special opening of this dominican convent that has been recently restored! Info here, booking by telephone is obligatory.

At the state archive, an exhibit of documents related to the city of Florence and the Medici family. April 16 to 24

You can check other information on the website http://www.beniculturali.it if you are also interested to others Italian museums. Take a break now, come in Florence and stay at Hotel Mario's, next to the railway station of Santa Maria Novella, in the heart of the city of beautiful Florence. We are here, contact us and require all the information you need ( info@hotelmarios.com ).

FORTEZZA DA BASSO

Mario's Hotel is very near Fortezza da Basso.
The great pentagonal mass of the Fortress of San Giovanni is known to everyone as the Fortress "Da Basso" because it is located on the river plain.
It was built around the medieval Porta Faenza beginning in 1534 by the great architect Antonio San Gallo the younger, and commissioned by the Duke Alessandro de' Medici, who wanted to create a kind of citadel of power. Indeed, in the original designs for the fortress, there was a palace to be constructed inside for the Prince himself. However, political considerations persuaded him to remain in the Medici family residence in Via Larga. The fortress was finished in 1537 and today is used as an exhibition center.

A TRIP TO FIESOLE

Mario's Hotel's staff helps you in visiting Fiesole.
Fiesole(Vipsul) was probably founded in the 9th-8th century BC, as it was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy, as may be seen from the remains of its ancient walls.
The first recorded mention on the town dates to 283 BC, when the town, then known as Faesulae, was conquered by the Romans. In pagan antiquity it was the seat of a famous school of augurs, and every year twelve young men were sent thither from Rome to study the art of divination. Sulla colonized it with veterans, who afterwards, under the leadership of Gaius Mallius, supported the cause of Catilina.
Fiesole was the scene of Stilicho's great victory over the Germanic hordes of the Vandals and Suevi under Radagaisus in 406. During the Gothic War (536-53) the town was several times besieged. In 539 Justinus, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications.
It was an independent town for several centuries in the early Middle Ages, no less powerful than Florence in the valley below, and many wars arose between them; in 1010 and 1025 Fiesole was sacked by the Florentines, before it was conquered by Florence in 1125, and its leading families obliged to take up their residence in Florence.
By the 14th century, rich Florentines had countryside villas in Fiesole, and one of them is the setting of the frame narrative of the Decameron, also Boccaccio wrote the poem "Ninfale fiesolano". Robert Browning also mentions "sober pleasant Fiesole" several times in his poem, Andrea del Sarto.

OUR STAFF HELPS YOU IN VISITING FLORENCE

Florence keeps an exceptional artistic heritage, marvelous evidence of its secular civilization.
The works of great Italian art, Cimabue, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, are gathered in numerous museums including the Uffizi, a key step for those visiting the Tuscan capital.
Great monuments are the landmarks florentine artistic culture: the Baptistry, the Duomo, the medieval churches, the public and private buildings, monasteries and cloisters, monasteries and the Certosa.
World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO in 1982, the historic center of Florence, enclosed by a circle of paths traced over the old medieval walls, collects the most important cultural heritage of the city.
The old town can be appreciated in its entirety from the surrounding hills, especially by the Forte Belvedere, from the Piazzale Michelangelo with the Romanesque Basilica of San Miniato al Monte and the hills of Fiesole, which offers one of the most beautiful views of Arno valley.

Parking available in Florence at Hotel Mario's

Hotel Mario's doesn't get an own parking space. In the area where we are situated, in the heart of the city centre, it's not easy to find hotel with garage, but what we offer is a very good service with a parking just 50 metres far away from the Hotel. We have an agreement in place with Garage Palacongressi in piazza del Crocefisso, 1. They deal with the regularization of your entry into ZTL (Traffic Limited Zone), so allowing you to drive through the areas normally forbidden to not-authorized vehicles even if to get here at the Hotel you could pass from viale Lavagnini and then taking Via Santa Caterina d' Alessandria; this is not a ZTL area and you need no permission. Anyway, the parking will communicate automatically to the system that your car is allowed to drive in the centre of the city.The garage is located in a crucial point of Florence and it is controlled and safe, according to the currently European rules.There is a manual and automatic internal and external car wash, directly in the garage if you would require.
This is a fantastic service, you don't need to park far from where the Hotel is and is absolutely the private parking most cheap of the centre of the city.
Give a look to the information and when you'll be here at Hotel Mario's you know you can consider this option of Garage Palacongressi ( http://www.cb512parcheggi.it/ ). Hotel Mario's, in the heart of the beautiful city of Florence, Italy.

VASARI CORRIDOR

The Vasari Corridor (Italian: Corridoio Vasariano) is an elevated enclosed passageway in Florence, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. Beginning on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it then joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its south side, crossing the Lungarno dei Archibusieri and then following the north bank of the River Arno until it crosses the Ponte Vecchio. At the time of construction the Torre dei Mannelli had to be built around using brackets because the owners of the tower refused to alter it. The corridor covers up part of the façade of the chiesa di Santa Felicità. The corridor then snakes its way over rows of houses in the Oltrarno district, becoming narrower, to finally join the Palazzo Pitti. Most of it is closed to visitors.
The Vasari Corridor was built in 5 months by order of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1564, to the design of Giorgio Vasari. It was commissioned in connection with the marriage of Cosimo's son, Francesco, with Johanna of Austria. The idea of an enclosed passageway was motivated by the Grand Duke's desire to move freely between his residence and the government palace, when, like most monarchs of the period, he felt insecure in public, in his case especially because he had replaced the Republic of Florence. The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved to avoid its smell reaching into the passage, its place being taken by the goldsmith shops that still occupy the bridge. At the latter extremity, the corridor was forced to pass around the Mannelli's Tower, after the staunch opposition of that family to its destruction.
In the middle of Ponte Vecchio the corridor is characterized by a series of panoramic windows facing the Arno, in direction of the Ponte Santa Trinita. These replaced the smaller windows of the original construction in 1939, by order of Benito Mussolini.
After the Ponte Vecchio the Corridor passes over the loggiato of the church of Santa Felicita; at that point it had a balcony, protected by a thick railing, looking into the interior of the church, in order to allow the Grand Duke's family to follow services without mixing with the populace.

Tonight semifinal vs Inter ( Coppa Italia )

Today we would like to talk about the Cup game Fiorentina, the local soccer team, is going to playing tonight vs Internazionale of Milan.
Firenze has a real passion for its team and all the city support with a great feeling the ViolaS. In Florence is almost impossible to find a person that is fan of another team.Usually in other cities people can be of a different team than the city he belongs to, but not here in Florence. Florence is Fiorentina. When you go to the bar or to some store, you often see people speaking about this club and Fiorentina's supporter are one of the hottest of all Italy.
Firenze has always supported the team, even when it was in the lower leagues because a real Florentine is not opportunist is constant with his love and so will be forever.

FORZA FIORENTINA, VINCI PER NOI!

Fiesole, a perfect day off Florence

If you're beginning to feel overwhelmed by Florence's churches and museums, or simply want to get away from the crowds for a while, take a break and visit Fiesole, the town perched on the hill just north of Florence. Getting there is easy, a short ride on the number 7 bus, and it can easily be explored in a morning.
Fiesole was once Florence's big brother, but now it's a sleepy hill-town visited by tourists. Ironically, their main reason for coming here is not to see Fiesole itself, but to admire the view over Florence. Fiesole's history goes back into the mists of time. As Faesulae, it was an important Etruscan town, commanding the Arno valley from its defensive heights. The Romans encouraged a new settlement, Florentia, on the plain by the river, to drain importance from Fiesole, and gradually Florence became the more important of the two towns. After various spats, the Florentines destroyed Fiesole in the 12th century, since when it has enjoyed quiet, insignificant independence. The local artist Fra Angelico lived and worked in the monastery of San Domenico before descending to San Marco in Florence. Its peace and fresher air made Fiesole a popular resort for rich Florentines who wanted to escape the heat, smells and crowds of the city, and many fine villas were built on the slopes around the town.
Here are the main sights and attractions:

* Piazza Mino - Fiesole's large main square was named after the sculptor Mino da Fiesole. It's ringed with cafes, restaurants, and shops. On one side is the pretty 14th century Palazzo Pretorio, the town hall, with coats-of-arms displayed on its facade.
* Cathedral - Cattedrale di San Romolo dates from the 11th century but has been modified several times. It has its original 13th century bell tower that can be seen from a long distance. Inside the cathedral are works by Mino da Fiesole and frescoes. The nearby Museo Bandini, Via Dupre 1, houses sacred works from the 14th and 15th centuries.
* Archaeological Area or Zona Archeologica - Fiesole's Archaeology park includes a partially restored 1st century BC Roman amphitheater, baths, and an Etruscan temple. There are Roman, Longobard, and Etruscan ruins and a museum with prehistoric, Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval artifacts. The entrance is on Via dei Partigiani, open at 9:30 and closed Tuesdays except in summer.
* Etruscan Walls - The Etruscans settled in Fiesole about 2000 BC, building the city of Faesulae, the most important city of the region before Roman times. They left their typcial huge Etruscan walls, which can be seen several places, the best being below the archaeological park on Via delle Mure Etrusche. There are a remains of two Etruscan tombs outside the Etruscan walls.
* Convento di San Francesco - The uphill walk is worth it for views of Fiesole, the hills, and sometimes even Florence. Take Via di San Francesco, the steep pedestrian-only street west of the Duomo. There's a Gothic church with Renaissance paintings and 14th century wooden choir stalls, built on the site of the ancient acropolis. On exhibit in the museum are local archaeological finds and a display relating to the friars missionary work in China and Egypt. Currently it's free (donations appreciated) and open daily. Below the convent is a large park.
* Sant' Allesandro Church, below San Francesco, was built in the 4th century over a pagan temple incorporating Roman materials into the building.
* San Domenico di Fiesole - San Domenico monastery can be reached by walking down the road (or taking the bus) toward Florence. Fra Angelico first entered the monastic world here and the 15th century church holds his Madonna with Angels and Saints and the chapterhouse also has Fra Angelico frescoes. Nearby is the Badia Fiesolana, Fiesole's ancient cathedral built in 1028, with its original Romanesque facade.
* Monte Ceceri - The quarries at Monte Ceceri outside Fiesole produce the famous Tuscan gray stone. There's also a nature park and a pillar with an inscription about Leonardo da Vinci's flight experiments.
The bus number 7 gets you from and to the train station Santa Maria Novella, exactly a couple of minutes walking from where Hotel Mario's is. It's fantastic that from where we are you can reach every nice place in or around the city. We just love to see your happy face when we indicate the distances you need to take to go to the Uffizi or to the Accademia or to the San Lorenzo Market. Visit Florence, stay at Hotel Mario's. www.hotelmarios.com info@hotelmarios.com

Piazzale Michelangelo: a panoramic view

Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence, Italy and is a popular tourist destination in the Oltrarno district of the city. The view from this most famous observation point of the city landscape has been reproduced in countless postcards and snapshots over the years.
It was built in 1869 and designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi on a hill just south of the historic center, on completion of retraining of the left bank of the shore. From that fact, Florence was the capital of Italy and the whole city was involved in an urban renewal, the so-called rehabilitation, or the rebirth of the city middle class: they were created lungarni; on the right bank, instead of the fourteenth-century walls were open the avenues of the ring of a boulevard, on the left bank was traced, wind on the hill of San Miniato, the Viale dei Colli, a street tree overview 8 kilometers long, at whose climax the square was built as a terrace with a panoramic view inside the city. The chronicle of the early construction of the company has been described in detail by the Italian journalist Peter Ferrigno (known under the name of Yorick) that does not fail to report as a part of Florence is dispiacesse "for the excessive spending of the construction.
The square Michelangelo square, dedicated to the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo, has copies of some of his famous works in Florence: the David and the four allegories of the Medici Chapel of San Lorenzo. These copies are made of bronze, while the originals are all in white marble. The monument was brought up by nine pairs of oxen on 25 June 1873.
Poggi designed the loggia in the neoclassical style that dominates the whole terrace, which today houses a panoramic restaurant. Originally it was supposed to house a museum of works by Michelangelo, ever. In the wall of the balcony, under the loggia, an epigraph is a banner characters reminiscent of his work: Florentine architect Giuseppe Poggi turn around here is his monument MCMXI.
The panorama encompasses the heart of Florence from Forte Belvedere to Santa Croce lungarni through the bridges of Florence and in sequence, especially the Ponte Vecchio, are the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the octagonal bell tower of the Badia Fiorentina, without forgetting opposed to the hills north of the city with the center and Settignano Fiesole.
The square can be accessed by car along the tree-Viale Michelangelo, made in those same years, or walk the stairs going up the ramps of the monumental Piazza Poggi Poggi in the district of San Niccolò.

Giotto, the father of modern painting

Giotto di Bondone, the father of modern painting and one of the greatest figures in the history of Western art, was born in a small hamlet in the valley of the Mugello, twenty miles north of Florence.
Giotto signed his name to only three of his paintings. His most famous attributed works are the Arena Chapel frescoes (1305-10) in Padua, the Bardi and Peruzzi Chapel frescoes in Santa Croce in Florence, and the magnificent Ognissanti Madonna for the Church of All Saints. The twenty-eight frescoes based on the life of St. Francis and located in the Upper Church of the Franciscans in Assisi are accepted as Giotto's by some art historians and denied him by others. The controversy, which has now raged for a century and a half, fills volumes and has yet to be resolved.
Giotto was a painter during the renaissance period and this influenced his paintings to be mostly based on the bible. During this period a Dante of the devine comedy said "Giotto is regarded as the founder of the central tradition of western painting because his work broke free from the stylizations of Byzantine art, introducing new ideals of naturalism and creating a convincing sense of pictorial space."
At the Uffizi Gallery you could see the "Ognissanti Madonna" , the "The Badia Polyptych" and others. As written by Vasari:
“One day Cimabue was going about his business between Florence and Vespignano, and he came upon Giotto who, while his sheep were grazing, was sketching one of them in a lifelike way with a slightly pointed rock upon a smooth and polished stone without having learned how to draw it from anyone other than Nature. This caused Cimabue to stop in amazement…”
Another very good reason to visit Florence, you cannot imagine how many great masterpieces you are gonna see here. Start your days at Hotel Mario's, we are in the centre of the city, next to the train station Santa Maria Novella, a very nice and typical 3 stars Hotel in an historical palace. Enjoy Hotel Mario's, enjoy Giotto...

Calcio storico Fiorentino ( Historical soccer )

In the historic Greece came commonly carried out ludiche recreations with the ball, organizing contests from the names of "Feninda", "Episciro", and, more known, than "Sferomachia" (that it drew the name just from the sphere in game), in which two groups of equal number of players, rury compete to take the ball, offered a more varied and competitive show that, al same time, comprised the exercize of the race, the jump and the fight.

From the Greeks, this ludo, passed to the Roman which, with the name of Harpastum (torn to force) played it on the sabbiosi lands (for which the name harpastum often he was aggettivato with pulveruleotum) practicing to precise rules to which the two squares, always of equal number of players, had to be adhered.

The sport is a cross between Greco-Roman wrestling, rugby and soccer. Goals are scored by pitching the round red and white leather ball over a four-foot high wooden wall that runs the full width at each end of the field. Quixotically, a tall narrow white tent with red trim and a small red flag on top is positioned in the center of each goal wall. In front, stands the captain of a team and a standard bearer with the team flag. When a team scores, the cannon is fired, the scoring team's standard-bearer runs the length of the field waving his flag with his team running behind, cheering. The other team's standard bearer slinks down the field and the teams change goals.
Although the Calcio Storico of today is based on a memorable game held in 1530, the sport actually may have begun as far back as the 1400s. The original games continued until 1739 in Piazza Santa Croce. After a couple centuries of Calcio Storico hiatus, the Fiorentini brought the sport back as an annual event in 1930.
According to ancient testimonies "the game of soccer" is been born "on the river of Arno" and after centuries it is only trasmigrate on that one of the Tamigi where, changed the name in Foot-Ball (game of the ball to foot) and affinaterules, have achieved that reputation, today, universal recognized. Fiorentino Soccer , said also "soccer in custom" or "soccer in livery", is a game that sinks its roots in remote times, the first Italian dictionary of 1612, of the Academics of the Bran, confirms the thesis supplying the following definition: "... the name of a game, just and ancient is soccer also of the city of Florence, like battles ordered, passed from Greek to Latin. Therefore ancient game "just c" of Florence the whose origins, remotest, go then but tried before from the Greeks and from the Latins.
owadays three matches are played, by teams drawn from Florence's four major neighborhoods, in Piazza Santa Croce, on 16th, 24th, 30th of June on the recurrence of the patron -saint. After the long parade headed by the nobles on horseback, starting in Santa Maria Novella and culminating in Piazza Santa Croce, the game begins to cries of Viva Firenze! It is an hour of continuous struggle, attacks, scuffles, blows and tangling of bodies dressed in fifteenth-century costumes. It is intended to echo the famous match of 1530, in the desire to revive and to record a memorable page of the city's glorious history.After a three year pause the Florentine “Calcio” came back last year with friendly match and what about this June 2010? If you come in that period of the year, stay at Hotel Mario's, we are in the city centre, just few metres far away from Piazza Santa Croce where Soccer is played. It will be a real Florentine experience.
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Hotel Mario's an real idea of hospitality

How many times do you find fantastic luxury hotels, with the most modern technologies, the best view and the best service ? if you have the opportunity to pay a lot of money, you know what we are talking about.
How many times have you been in a nice cozy little Hotel, ran from real youngs Florentine guys, with the history in their blood, with a know-ledge of the secret of the city? how many times in the big and unreal hotels you felt only a number? too big, too less time to spend with clients, no way to have a relationship with the concierge or with the front desk.
Here at Hotel Mario's, a very old Hotel, with far origin, we instist without esiting, to follow the way of a style that is not studied, but it's inside ourself. Real,Florentine,authentic and charming place, near the railway station of Santa Maria Novella and close to the Fortezza da Basso, to the Palazzo dei Congressi and in the historical area of the Mercato Centrale ( central food market ). A terrific position where to start your walking tours through the city.
Contact us to require information, to be helped to plan your trip. Don't hesitate, write us : info@hotelmarios.com
We'll be glad to assist you in any occasion.

Ciao from Florence, a magic city