Strozzi Palace in Florence

Palazzo Strozzi is a palace in Florence, Italy. The Palace was begun in 1489 by Benedetto da Maiano, for Filippo Strozzi the Elder, a rival of the Medici who had returned to the city in November 1466 and desired the most magnificent palace to assert his family's continued prominence and, perhaps more important, a political statement of his own status. A great number of other buildings were acquired during the 70s and demolished to provide enough space for the new construction. Giuliano da Sangallo the Younger provided a wood model of the design. Filippo Strozzi died in 1491, long before the construction's completion in 1538. Duke Cosimo I de' Medici confiscated it in the same year, not returning it to the Strozzi family until thirty years later.
Palazzo Strozzi is a splendid example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone, inspired by the Palazzo Medici, but with more harmonious proportions. Unlike the Medici Palace, which was sited on a corner lot, and thus has only two sides, this building, surrounded on all four sides by streets, is a free-standing structure. This introduced a problem new in Renaissance architecture, which, given the newly-felt need for internal symmetry of planning symmetry, was how to integrate the cross-axis: the ground plan of Palazzo Strozzi is rigorously symmetrical on its two axes, with clearly-differentiated scales of its principal rooms.
The palazzo has mullioned paired windows; the radating voussoirs of the arches increase in length as they rise to the keystone, a detail that was much copied for arched windows set in rustication in the Renaissance revival. Its magnificent cornice is typical of the Florentine palaces of the time.
The palace was left incomplete by Simone del Pollaiolo (il Cronaca), who was in charge of the construction of the palace until 1504. Also by Cronaca is the cortile or central courtyard surrounded by an arcade, inspired by Michelozzo. The famous wrought-iron lanterns that decorate the corners of the palace exterior, are by an iron-worker named Caparra.

how to reach Hotel Mario's with the car

Dear friends,

driving in Florence is not the easyest thing in the world, but...it's possible. If you reach the city with your car, you need to follow the direction to Via Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, then becames Piazza Indipendenza and then via Nazionale. When you are in via Nazionale, the first street on the right gets to via Guelfa, if you follow the street, at the end, there is a small square ( piazza del Crocifisso ). Immediately on the left, there is the parking where you can drop off the car: Parcheggio Palacongressi. Once there you can walk in via Faenza for 50 metres and find Hotel Mario's at the number 89.
In any case, the parking aware the police that you have the car parked in their garage, so that, even if you made some mistakes coming to centre ( if you pass in the reserved bus street or if you entered in a protected area ) you don't have to worry about something.
So, now it's time to visit Florence and to book at Hotel Mario's.
info@hotelmarios.com
+39055216801 tel
+39055212039
www.hotelmarios.com
via Faenza 89,
Florence, 50123
Italy

Davanzati Palace in Florence

The Davanzati Palace (center of the Davanzati Museum) was constructed at the beginning of XIV the century. At the beginning of XX the century it was acquired by the antiquarian Elia Volpi that restored it. She furnished it in order to make a reconstruction of ancient florentine house. The Palace in fact is known like museum of the ancient florentine house.

The furnishings of the rooms (frescoed and with the ceilings in wood) is the same of one florentina house between Middle Ages and rinascimento. Furnitures are conserved carve and inlay, forzieri, paintings, cassapanche, tapestries, sculptures, ceramics, objects of domestic use and for the kitchen.The present arrangement of the Museum aims at reconstructing the setting of an old Florentine home, with furniture and household tools from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Bedrooms display for instance chests full of linen and cots, while the audience hall on the first floor exhibits a rare painted cabinet, created by a Siennese artist of the 16th century, and the wooden painting showing The Game of Civettino by Giovanni di Ser Giovanni nicknamed "Scheggia" dating back to the 15th century and the marble bust of a Child by Antonio Rossellino, also dating back to the 15th century.
The museum also preserves a very fine collection of old ceramics and the 17th century hand warmers in the shape of shoes.

A very important document in the story of the family and palace is the Genealogical tree of the Davanzati Family, a work by an anonymous Tuscan painter of the 17th century. The State has recently purchased a rare wooden chest or throne-bed" with inlaid front and headboard, manufactured in the Tuscan-Umbran area during the last quarter of the 15th century.The Museum also displays a very fine collection of lacework ranging from the 16th to the 20th centuries and samplers.
This is not a famous museum of Florence, but for example it's perfect to go with kids, to show them how was a house in the past and how people used to live.
Bring your family in Florence or enjoy by yourself the visit at the Davanzati Palace staying at Hotel Mario's, just some metres far from the train station Santa Maria Novella and the Duomo square ( piazza San Giovanni ).
You can find us checking the website www.hotelmarios.com
info@hotelmarios.com

Roman theatre in Fiesole

We have already written about Fiesole,we live in a wonderful city that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.Close to Florence there is Fiesole, Settignano and many others small places where enjoy the contact with the nature.
Today we talk about the Roman theatre in Fiesol that is still well preserved, is sometimes used for spectacles of classic theater and has a capacity of about 3.000 people. It dates to the beginning of the imperial age and was improved in
View of Fiesole, Italy
the period of Claudius and of Septimius Severus. The Baths too belong to the early empire and were remodelled by Hadrian.If you're in the Florence area during the summertime Estate Fiesolana music concerts, by all means try to get a ticket for a night of music under the stars in this 1st-century-B.C. Roman Theater.
We suggest to listen some good music during the Summer period, it's a marvellous experience that you cannot miss.
Hotel Mario's is very close to the bus station that gets you to Fiesole in about 30 minutes from the city centre. Stay at Hotel Mario's and contact us sending an email at info@hotelmarios.com
We are located in via Faenza 89, very close to the train station Santa Maria Novella and to the Fortezza da Basso. It's available for clients a parking, only 50 metres far from the hotel.
We are waiting you here in this hot Summer.

Villa Gamberaia-Florence-Tuscany

To all the garden lovers: Florence and Tuscany have extraordinary gardens in the perfect italian style. When you come to Florence to visit the city, after a good rest at Hotel Mario's, you can enjoy a visit to Villa Gamberaia or to one of the many villas there are in the city and around it.
The Villa Gamberaia is located on the hillside of Settignano, with extraordinary views of Florence and the surrounding Arno valley. It is renowned for its splendid gardens, which are celebrated throughout the world by leading landscape architects and garden historians.Among the outstanding gardens of Tuscany, few have retained through the course of four centuries as much of their original design and distinctive character as Villa Gamberaia. From the first decades of the 17 C, when the wealthy Florentine merchant Zanobi Lapi built an imposing villa on the hillside of Settignano (1610–1630), on the foundations of a pre-existing casa da signore, and his nephews laid out the main areas of the garden, generations of owners have maintained and improved the property without significantly modifying its basic plan. During the last half century, owners have been engaged chiefly in restoration and conservation. In the summer of 1944 the villa was badly damaged by fire set by the retreating German army, and Marcello Marchi, who purchased the property in 1954, devoted the following years to rebuilding and renovating the house and restoring the garden. In the parterre the evergreens were carefully reshaped into their geometric forms and the gardener Silvano Ghirelli sculpted the phyllirea into an enormous sphere; the wisteria was revived in the gabinetto rustico; and Albertine roses were planted along the walls of the lower terrace and the limonaia. The photographic essay by Balthazar Korab attests to the rebirth and renewed splendor of the garden in the late 1960s.

During the last fifteen years, Luigi Zalum, son-in-law of Marcello Marchi and the present owner, has carried on the work of improving the property while preserving its historic image. The walls along the garden avenue have been reinforced and their graffito decoration repainted; the conduits have been repaired, and substantial sections of box and cypress replanted; the smaller houses on the property have been renovated; and, with the help of experts from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, parts of the rocaille decoration of the grottoes have been restored. Under the supervision of Mariachiara Pozzana, consultant for historic conservation, many of the plants recorded by Edward G. Lawson in his “Planting Plan” of c.1917 have also been reintroduced, among them the borders of iris, santolina, and lavender in the parterre, the mixed borders of perennials on the lemon terrace, and the many varieties of roses throughout the garden.
You can visit on the web other gardens like the one of Villa la Gamberaia : www.gardens-of-tuscany.net
Check if we have some room available and stay with us at Hotel Mario's
www.hotelmarios.com

via Faenza 89 in the centre, but close to the bus station. You can catch the bus to go everywhere to discover villas and gardens in Florence.

Wine Town Florence 2010 ( 30 Spt-3Oct )

It is an International fair with the highest qualities of wines that uses innovative marketing strategies with the hope of becoming an annual event organized by the Wine Town Committee with guidance from the Italian Association of Sommeliers (Associazione Italiana Sommelier – AIS)from 30th September 2010 to 3rd of October 2010.
The name Wine Town (The City of Wine) comes from the fact that Firenze is internationally known as one of the Nine World Capitals of Wine (together with Bilbao-Rioja, Bordeaux, Cape Town, Mainz, Mendoza, Porto, San Francisco-Napa Valley, Christchurch-South Island) www.greatwinecapitals.com
It is for those who love “Author wine”, its knowledge, its story and its evolution. This includes wine stewards, professional buyers (B2B), lovers of wine and gourmets, connoisseurs, journalists, world travelers looking for the Italian art of living.

For four days, visitors can meet important wine producers and taste these excellent local products at a joyful festival of art, culture and entertainment.

Locations

The historic buildings, the cloisters, and the corners of the city will be renamed using wine names, creating a continuous chase of interesting events, encounters, experiments, workshops, exchanges, and much more.

The WineCard

It also allows the holder to visit the town museums, ride the Florence buses, and use the parking spots. With doubtless economical advantages, the city becomes a SYSTEM.

You can get more information here :
comitato@winetownfirenze.com
info@winetownfirenze.com


When you'll be in Florence in that period, you can enjoy monuments, a fantastic weather, tasting good wines. Stay at hotel Mario's, close to the train station, a perfect position to start your days in the city of Florence. Nice, friendly and very well located, contact us : info@hotelmarios.com or check your dates www.hotelmarios.com
We are in via Faenza 89, 50123 , Florence
Tel : +39055216801
fax : +39055212039

Bronzino in Florence in September 2010 at Palazzo Strozzi

Considered one of the greatest painters of the sixteenth century, the work of Agnolo di Cosimo Tori, known as Bronzino embodied the fullness of the Mannerist style. Bronzino. Artist and Poet, the first exhibition to be devoted to his paintings, will be staged at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence
Bronzino's work will be part of a major exhibition at the Palazzo
from 24 September 2010 to 23 January 2011, which will include some of his paintings from museums such as Florence's Uffizi, the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, alongside works by his master Pontormo and his best loved pupil, Alessandro Allori.
The show will bring together a wide variety of Bronzino’s masterpieces, many of them displayed together for the first time. Alongside the works conserved in the Uffizi, the exhibition will present works such as the Adoration of the Shepherds from the Szépművészeti Múzeum in Budapest, the Portrait of Young Man with a Book from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and two versions of the Holy Family and Saint John, from the Louvre and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. In addition, the newly restored Panciatichi Crucifix and the lost right-hand panel that was originally part of the Besançon Altarpiece will be on public display for the first time.
The exhibition is curated by Cristina Acidini, Carlo Falciani and Antonio Natali, the foremost experts on the period, who have also contributed essays to the accompanying catalogue.
Location: Palazzo Strozzi
Piazza Strozzi, 50123 Firenze (Florence), Italy Tel. +39 055 2645155 www.palazzostrozzi.org

Exhibition hours:
Daily 9 am to 8 pm, Thursday 9 am to 11 pm.
Last admission to the exhibition 1 hour before closing.

Admission: Adult: €10.00; concessions: €8.50, €8.00, €7.50; schools: €4.00
Booking: Sigma CSC, Tel. +39 055 2469600, Fax. +39 055 244145 prenotazioni@cscsigma.it; or via www.palazzostrozzi.org

You can visit Florence and find an accomodation in an hotel that loves art where you can breath art: Hotel Mario's, via Faenza 89 ( close to the train station Santa Maria Novella, easy to reach if you arrive in Florence by train ).You can contact our staff by email : info@hotelmarios.com or just checking the availability on the website: www.hotelmarios.com

Hotel Mario's, an art lover hotel

BEACH ALONG ARNO RIVER...........FLORENCE!!!

It's not exactly the vast blue ocean, but the beach on the river bank of the Arno is a nice, although unusual place to relax in a complimentary deck chair, play beach volleyball or sunbathe within a stone's throw of the city centre. Arno "beach" is open during the summer months through September 2 each year.

Vintage Selection in Florence at the Stazione Leopolda

From 6th to 10th July 2010 it takes place Vintage Selection the fashion fair wich shows a large selection of clothes in the vintage way. Stazione Leopolda is in viale Fratelli Rosselli, 5 Firenze.
The ticket to enter costs € 5 and if you download the coupon on the website : http://www.stazione-leopolda.com , you save € 2.
Many stores will be at the Stazione Leopolda,from all over Italy :
A.N.G.E.L.O. VINTAGE CLOTHING, ANNA MARIA E MARGHERITA VINTAGE, ARTE & VIAGGI - VALEGGIO (VR), BEATRICE MORICCI designer, BOUTIQUE NADINE - FIRENZE, CAPPI VINTAGE , CERI VINTAGE, CHICAS LOCAS, D’AMATO gi, DESII VINTAGE, DEUDA, EMAK-BAKIA' VESTIRSI VINTAGE, EPOCA VINTAGE, ESTEL FASHION SARTORIA CREATIVA, FRANCESCA MOCALI, GAUDELI’S VINTAGE – SESTO F.NO, LIBRERIA HAPPY BOOKS, JEWELS OF FANTASY NYC, JULESEJIM VINTAGE STORE, LA SPILLA ALLEGRA -FIRENZE, LAMU' VINTAGE – BOLOGNA, LAURA VINTAGE PRATO, LAVGON, MAISON 39 & MARAKITA, MAI VISTO ABITI D'EPOCA, MAIKO UNIQUE!, NO LOGO-VINTAGE RESEARCH – PARMA, OFFICINA VINTAGE – FIRENZE, OLD NAVY PRATO, ONLY ONE, POST POST RAVENNA, RETROUVER, PX MILITARY VINTAGE PRATO, SENZA TEMPO – LUGO, STONDO - FIRENZE, SHABBY CHIC VINTAGE, VENTURINO VINTAGE - ASTI, VINTAGEART – BOLOGNA.

Hotel Mario's, thanks to his fantastic position, invite you to book some days in Florence to visit the city and the Vintage Selection. Call us +39055216801 or send an email at info@hotelmarios.com

Stay tuned!

HILLS AROUND FLORENCE: 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.[1][2]

Fiesole was the scene of Stilicho's great victory over the Germanic hordes of the Vandals and Suevi under Radagaisus in 406.[3] 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.

THE COURSE OF 2010 FIRENZE MARATHON

The Florence Marathon takes place in one of the most fascinating cities in the world and its route takes the runners through the heart of it, filled with monuments and artistic sights. The race starts off at Piazzale Michelangiolo, leaving the breathtaking Ponte Vecchio behind. Half course runs within the historical town centre and a great part across the Cascine Monument and National Park and the Florentine' districts.
Besides the first 3 km which are lightely downhill, the route is entirely flat and is closed to traffic, characteristics which the marathoners appreciate.

The streets of the course:
PIAZZALE MICHELANGIOLO - Partenza - VIALE GALILEI – 1° km - PIAZZALE GALILEO- VIALE MACHIAVELLI – 2° km. – 3° km - PIAZZALE DI PORTA ROMANA- VIALE PETRARCA – 4° km - VIALE V. PRATOLINI - VIALE A. ALEARDI - VIALE R. SANZIO – 5° Km - PIAZZA PIER VETTORI - VIA PISANA – 6° km - VIA SANT’ANGELO - VIA DEL POLLAIUOLO – 7° km - VIA BRONZINO – 8° km - PIAZZA GADDI - VIA DELLA FONDERIA- LUNGARNO SANTA ROSA - LUNGARNO SODERINI – 9° km - PIAZZA NAZARIO SAURO - VIA DEI SERRAGLI – 10° km - PIAZZA DELLA CALZA - VIA ROMANA - PIAZZA PITTI – 11° km - VIA GUICCIARDINI - VIA DEI BARDI - PIAZZA S. MARIA SOPRARNO - LUNGARNO TORRIGIANI - LUNGARNO SERRISTORI – 12° km - PIAZZA POGGI - LUNGARNO CELLINI - PONTE S. NICCOLO’ – 13° km - LUNGARNO DEL TEMPIO - LUNGARNO COLOMBO – 14° km - LUNGARNO ALDO MORO – 15° km - VIA DE NICOLA- VIA GOBETTI - VIA DI VARLUNGO- VIA TURATI - VIA ARETINA – 16° km - VIA DELLA RIPA - VIA ROCCA TEDALDA- VIA ARETINA – 17° km. – 18° km - LARGO MONZANI - VIA ARETINA - PIAZZA L.B. ALBERTI - VIA DI CREDI - VIA MANNELLI – 19° km. – 20° km - PIAZZA VASARI - PONTE DEL PINO - VIA CAMPO D’ARRIGO – 21° km - LARGO GENNARELLI – ½ maratona - VIALE MALTA - VIALE FANTI - VIALE PAOLI – 22° km - VIALE FANTI – 23° km - VIA CIALDINI - VIALE DE AMICIS – 24° km - CAVALCAVIA DELL’AFFRICO - PIAZZA L.B. ALBERTI - VIA PIAGENTINA – 25° km - VIA FRA’ GIOVANNI ANGELICO - VIALE DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI - VIALE GIOVINE ITALIA - VIA DELL’AGNOLO – 26° km - VIA SANTA VERDIANA - PIAZZA GHIBERTI - LARGO ANNIGONI -VIA DELLA MATTONAIA - VIA NICCOLINI - PIAZZA D’AZEGLIO - VIA DELLA COLONNA – 27° km - PIAZZA SS. ANNUNZIATA - VIA BATTISTI - PIAZZA SAN MARCO - VIA RICASOLI - PIAZZA DUOMO – 28° km - PIAZZA S. GIOVANNI - VIA ROMA - PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA - VIA STROZZI - VIA DELLA VIGNA NUOVA - PIAZZA GOLDONI -BORGO OGNISSANTI – 29° km - VIA IL PRATO - VIA MAGENTA - VIA MONTEBELLO - VIALE F.LLI ROSSELLI – 30° km - PIAZZA VITTORIO VENETO - VIA DEL FOSSO MACINANTE - VIALE DEL VISARNO - PIAZZALE JEFFERSON - VIALE DEGLI OLMI – 31° km - PIAZZALE DELLE CASCINE - VIALE DELL’AERONAUTICA – 32° – 33° km - PIAZZALE DELL’INDIANO - VIALE WASHINGTON - 34° - 35° km - PIAZZALE KENNEDY - VIALE LINCOLN – 36° km. – 37° km - PIAZZALE VITTORIO VENETO - CORSO ITALIA - VIA MAGENTA - VIA SOLFERINO - VIA PALESTRO - VIA MONTEBELLO – 38° km - VIA CURTATONE - LUNGARNO VESPUCCI - LUNGARNO CORSINI - LUNGARNO ACCIAIUOLI – 39° km - VIA POR SANTA MARIA - VIA VACCHERECCIA - PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA - VIA CALZAIUOLI - PIAZZA DUOMO (lato misericordia) - VIA DEL PROCONSOLO – 40° Km - VIA GHIBELLINA – 41° km - VIALE GIOVINE ITALIA - PIAZZA PIAVE - LUNGARNO DELLA ZECCA VECCHIA - PIAZZA CAVALLEGGERI - CORSO DEI TINTORI - VIA MAGLIABECHI – 42° km -PIAZZA SANTA CROCE – Arrivo

FLORENCE, 6-8 JULY 2010: PITTI FILATI

Design Watching will be the theme of this summer
edition of Pitti Filati: the world of fashion will be making a
curious – and indiscreet – foray into the world of design
through the ideas and visual-acoustic-verbal notes gathered by a
platoon of “design watchers”, the spearhead of Pitti People, the
international community of the Pitti Uomo buyers, journalists
and opinion leaders. They will choose, between tradition and
contemporaneity, their preferred design object and will be
coordinated by Cristina Morozzi. The settings, designed by
Patricia Urquiola will create an ideal continuity between the
outdoor and indoor areas of the fair, and will offer a new
concept for the lounge areas and special refreshment-food
points. It’s just one more and new proof of a clear calling and
the across-the-board nature of Pitti Immagine events that are the
ideal venue for launching new projects and presenting special
previews in the most important areas of contemporary fashion,
lifestyle and design.
Hotel Mario's is 3 minutes walking far from Fortezza da Basso.