PlanetEye

This simple, family style restaurant promises some of the most impressive “Rustic Tusca” cuisine in the area. Known for their fantastic white bean dishes and the Ribollita, fresh pasta, soups, fantastic antipasto starters, braised pork dishes, and seafood risotto. They also have a simple yet delicious selection of Tuscan wines. Always ask what the chef or waiters suggest to go with your meal, as they are very good at recommending wines that bring out the flavors in the meal you’re having. This is a real locals’ place, so you need to make reservations. Located by the Roman gate (Porta Romana), about a 20 minute walk from Piazza della Signoria across the Arno. €20-25 per person.

Da Ruggero (closed Tues./Wed.)

Via Senese 89r

Phone: 055-220542

Not just a regular wine bar here in Florence, the Coquinaros Wine Bar lets you go in at any time of day for a snack. Located just next to the Duomo, this is a quick retreat from the heavy crouds and soon to be overwhelming heat.

You can try cold dishes, such as meat or fish carpaccios, avocado salads, feta cheese, nuts and carrots, Tuscan salami and a selection of their wonderful cakes (asparagus cake!). They also have a wonderful selection of Italian, Californian, Chilean and Argentine wines to go with you meal. They also have great hand made pasta dishes.

Address:

15r Via delle Oche

As many of you readers know, there's more to Tuscany than just Florence. Each week I try and find a new place to suggest to friends and family and this week I hit the jackpot with the lovely town of Arezzo. Set on a steep hill overlooking the floodplain of the Arno, this is a fantastic 38 minute train ride from Florence. Remember the  1997 academy award winning film, “Life is Beautiful”? You’ll see it here in Arezzo, with many of the scenes shot right in the city and nearby countryside.

The small 11^th century city boasts big things, like the Piazza Grande, the most noteworthy medieval square in the city, opening behind the thirteenth-century Romanesque apse of S. Maria delle Pive.  Once the main marketplace of the city, it is currently the site of the Giostra del Saracino ("Joust of the Saracin"). Also must sees are the numerous churches located at the top of the hill, the ampitheatre, the Medici Fortress, and the famous Anitque Fair that occupies Piazza Grande and many of the streets leading to it, with an array of some 500 stalls by which is fun to browse though.

Arezzo is also home to an annual popular music and culture festival, each July, called Arezzo Wave. Publicly funded, it attracts bands of high repute and attendees from all over Europe and North America. It also features literary and film expositions.

On weekends, via Corso Italia is the place to been seen while shoping. Via San Franceso has a handful of really fantastic wine bars and restaurants, too many to count! You can’t go wrong coming here, and although there are tourists, there is something charming about this place and you feel like you fit right into the Italian way of life. As usual, plan your trip so you arrive in the morning and not at lunch time. With many Tuscan towns, they all close around lunch time, so plan on taking a nice long 2 hour lunch with the locals. Enjoy!

For many, the difference between Tuscany & Umbria is visibly small, but for the experienced traveler and native, it’s like stepping into a different country. From food, wine, culture and even the language, you can see many differences between the two regions. Both are fantastic, and those staying in Tuscany should make an effort to visit the rugged countryside and small villages of Umbria. So this coming May 11^th, why not make your way to the charming village of Orvieto for the feast of the Palombella? Since 1404, this celebrated tradition of the white dove has been virtually unitnerupted. In the beginning, the event was held inside the Duomo where, from a wall, a white dove, "la palombella", its wings tied open wide with red silk ribbons to a haloed structure, slid along a thin wire stretching to a wooden canopy, set on the main altar, representing the scene of the Last Supper, on which the Virgin Mary and the Apostles were painted. At noon the arrival of the haloed structure on the Last Supper and small flames were lit on the heads of the Apostles, a sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit. This was accompanied by a loud outburst of fireworks. In 1864, an old order of the 1725 Concilio Laterano, was applied, which prohibited fireworks within the churches. The Palombella event was at that point moved outside of the Duomo in the square. From the very first events, the popular belief that there would be a good harvest if the “Palombella” reached the canopy of the Last Supper without stopping along the wire, came through. Another tradition is that to give the white dove to the couple who last got married in Orvieto. ?

Even if you can’t make the festival, Orvieto is a fantastic day trip. Careful with a car, the streets are small and winding. Better yet, take the train from Florence and the bus up to the city center. From here you’ll have incredible views of the countryside, the charming squares and piazzas, the Duomo, Etruscan ruins and the underground city. Positively stunning and a real treat for those that think they have seen it all! 

With a recent visit from friends this last weekend who are big antique fans, they suggested a trip to the nearby town of Pistoia. Although I’ve passed it many times on the train, I was always under the impression there wasn’t much to see there. How wrong I was!

Although not as visited as other towns in Tuscany, mostly due to the industrial environs, Pistoia presents a well-preserved and charming medieval city inside the old walls. This charming town was filled with people for market day, and street after street was filled with folding booths and vans with all types of goodies to buy. Although not a food market, you can find something for everyone. The market is located on Via Cigliegiale, every Wednesday and Saturday.  Even if you aren’t into shopping, the city offers a fantastic Bell Tower in the Piazza Duomo, the Ospedale del Ceppo and the octagonal baptistery. While friends searched for their antiques (sadly the antique market was the following weekend) I wandered around, ducking into the glorious court house, enjoyed a glass of wine and enjoyed my people watching for the day. Roghly 38 minutes from Florence, if you are market fans, this is a great day trip out of the city!

Located just 2 minutes on foot from the ever popular Accademy Gallery in Florence, the San Marco Museum and Cathedral should be included on the must see museums in the city. The architecture alone is stunning: a former Dominican convent restored for one of the Medici family members in 1443. The museum offers the visitor an example of a perfectly preserved fifteenth century convent, its rational and harmonious plan based on Brunelleschi's innovations. Everything is designed to coordinate and simplify the monastic life within its walls as much in its calm cloister as in the light-filled library, one of the finest interiors of the Renaissance.

Inside, you can also see works by Fra’Angelico, with interior fresoes that would make any art history teachers eyes widen in delight. Among the works, you can find the most famous, Angelico’s “Cricifixion” painted in the chapter house. There is also another version of the Last Supper by Ghirlandaio (not to be confused with the Da Vinci’s masterpiece in Milan). A perfect stop to see some amazing works of art and historical architecture without waiting in line with the rest of the tourists, San Marco Museum will not disappoint.

Piazza San Marco, 1

Open from 8:15 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. Monday through Friday, closes at 6:50 p.m. on Saturdays and at 7 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month

Closed 2nd and 4th Monday of each month, 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday of each month

Entrance fee: € 4,00 

If your travels have left you hungry for fantastic traditional Tuscan food, this simple restaurant is a must. Alla Vecchi Bettola is nestled away from the tourists on the Santo Spirito side of the river, near the Piazza del Carmine but is worth the 15 minute trek from Ponte Vecchio. Here you’ll find some of the best Florentine steak in town, and the amazing array of meat dishes will not disappoint. For the adventurous, try some of the house specials, Penne alla Bettola in spicy cream tomato sauce, rigatoni dressed with crushed olives, or riso sulle testicciole d'agnello (a "local's" rice dish cooked in a halved sheep's head). Secondi range from anatra ripiena tartufata (stuffed duck in truffle sauce) to the superlative carpaccio con rucola -- pounded disks of beef piled high with arugula and tissue-thin slices of pecorino cheese. The wine list is simple, and usually the house wine will suffice, but the hosts also cater to their international clientele with a small selection of French wines. This restaurant is becoming more and more popular, so be sure to go now and enjoy the local flavor.

34r Via Luigi Ariosto

Phone ++-39-055-22.41.58

Open Tues-Sat noon-2:30pm and 7:30-10:30pm