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luca – Studentsville Staff

 

The Duomo, Baptistery and Giotto bell tower district. The Cathedral or Duomo of Florence as we can admire it today is the end result of years of work that spanned over six centuries of history. Its basic architectural design was conceived by Arnolfo di Cambio at the end of the 13th century; the cupola that has made it a symbol for the whole city was created by that genius of the Renaissance, Filippo Brunelleschi. Nowadays the Duomo is surely one of the most impressive monuments created by humankind on the planet. When you visit it, don’t forget to climb to the top of the cupola, your efforts will be repaid by the breathtaking view of all the hills around, the red roofs of the city and all the other major monuments of Florence.

The district that surrounds the Duomo constitutes the heart of the historical city center and the area has probably one of the highest concentrations of art per square meter on the whole planet: churches, statues, museums, towers, and historical buildings fill every corner of every street.

At the heart of this district lies the magnificent Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a beautiful space dominated by the presence of the elegant SS.Annunziata Church. This church originally stood outside the second circle of city walls. Between 1444 and 1481 Michelozzo, Pagno Portinari and Antonio Manetti (with suggestions from the architect Alberti) remodelled it into its present form.

The facade has a portico that rests on Corinthian columns and the central portal leads to the Chiostrino dei Voti (1447), a scenic space with lunettes frescoed by Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, and Andrea del Sarto (1511-1513). Also to be admired is Volterrano’s magnificent coffered ceiling (1664)… What we’re saying is, if you live in this district you can’t miss a visit to this church (come on, we’re not asking you to go to Sunday morning mass!…)

This area is characterized by the strong presence of thousands of students that attend the several Faculties and University facilities that have their seats in this and in the neighboring San Marco district (literature, fine arts, architecture, student cafeterias, student houses, etc..).

San Lorenzo, for the Florentines is synonymous with ‘market‘. The biggest open market of the city is, in fact, located here. In the colourful and noisy San Lorenzo market it’s possible to find a wide choice of leather jacket and bags, jeans, t-shirts, shoes…everything of reasonably good quality and at reasonable prices.

Even if you don’t plan to spend hours shopping we suggest that to visit the market all the same, just to enjoy browsing. Naturally, watch out for pickpockets here.

Just behind the open market, in the large grey and red building that resembles a train station, is the main daily indoor market of the city, the Mercato Centrale, where every morning (except on Sundays) you can find excellent food products (fruits, vegetables, typical local cheeses and meats) at good prices, as well as several places to stop for a quick, high-quality and low-cost lunch, immersed in the beautiful atmosphere of an ancient city market.

Tomorrow on the streets of Florence, transit  the race cars more attractive in the world “the 1000 miles.”

The first car transit from 14.00.

Itinerary:  Via San Felice a Ema, Viale del Poggio Imperiale, Viale Torricelli, Piazzale Galileo, Viale Macchiavelli, Piazza della Calza, Via Romana, Piazza San Felice, Via Maggio, Piazza Frescobaldi, Ponte a Santa Trinità, Lungarno degli Acciaioli, Via Por Santa Maria, Via Vacchereccia, Piazza della Signoria, Via dei Calzaioli, Piazza San Giovanni, Via de’ Martelli, Via Cavour, Piazza San Marco, Via La Pira, Via Giacomo Matteotti, Piazza Libertà, Via Don Minzoni, Via G. Pascoli, Largo Zoli, Via Mafalda di Savoia, Ponte Rosso.

Open-air markets are a great place to get fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Le Cascine Market is one of Florence’s famous markets located along the Arno River.

It is open every Tuesday morning from 8 am until 2 pm. Vendors sell fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, flowers, housewares, clothing, jewelry, shoes, and bags.

Just remember, vendors do not like customers touching their fruits and vegetables so just point and they will be more than happy to assist you.

You will run into many of the local Italians at Cascine market.

Piazza Santa Croce is an excellent example of a quintessential ‘Renaissance square‘, where perfect and impressive architectural geometry has been designed around the life of the community and its citizens. Here man is not dominated by the church and architecture but is, rather, at the center of the scene.

Piazza Santa Croce, almost all year long filled with hundreds of tourists, represents the natural landmark for all the area, either by day or by night. Due to the beauty of the piazza, its monuments and its main streets, Santa Croce is one of the major tourist centers of the town. It’s important nevertheless to point out that the district still conserves the antique atmosphere of the city, especially in the narrow, hidden streets where it’s still possible to meet local inhabitants chatting (in perfect Florentine dialect) from the windows while hanging out the washing…

Here you are a selection of the best Party Streets of Florence:

VIA PIETRAPIANA – PIAZZA DE’ CIOMPI (SANT’AMBROGIO DISTRICT)

One of the coolest streets for outdoor party in Florence is this year (2009) Via Pietrapiana/Piazza de’ Ciompi…the streets is short and there are only 2 bars Caffé Sant’Ambrogio and Plaz and 1 great place Teatro del Sale (in my opinion, in some special evenings, the best of the city)…these venues attract hundreds of florentines and foreigners every night, especially on Friday and Saturday night…we definitely recommend a visit to these places…
If you are lucky you can also find concerts and nice events under the characteristic “Loggia del Pesce” of Piazza de’ Ciompi (famous for its flea market) and almost every night you can find a quality show (music, theatre, dance, etc) at Teatro del Sale (where you can also eat great food at a reasonable price!). In front of Caffé Sant’Ambrogio you can enjoy a drink in a nice, typical, off the beaten road Place (Piazza Sant’Ambrogio) The atmosphere in the street is cool and colourful ( the area is definitely safe).

Caffé Sant’Ambrogio and Plaz are open also in the morning for the breakfast. Caffé Sant’Ambrogio is recommended also for the “aperitivo“, from (around) 6 pm on…

VIA DE’ BENCI – PIAZZA SANTA CROCE (SANTA CROCE DISTRICT)

Moyo, Lochness, Kikuya, Red Garter, Osteria de’ Benci, Oibò, Australian Pub, William Pub…the coolest bar, pub and restaurant of Florence are located here….on Friday and Saturday the street is transformed in a great Party area, if you like having fun outdoor in a nice context you can’t miss this street! Definitely one of the trendiest of the city!

Moyo is recommended for its fine “aperitivo“…Osteria de’ Benci is a great place for a good Tuscan dinner before the long party nights….

The inflation rate of Italy in March 2009 is not so high, it’s around 1,2/1,5%….

The fact is that, after the introduction of the Euro (the 1st of January 2002) , the practice of rounding up the euro to the value of ITL 2,000, rather than to the correct conversion rate of ITL 1,936.27 has given rise – according to the president of Istat (Italian Institute of Statistics) – to the unexpected (and unwanted) effect that, in Italy, perceived inflation can be estimated at around 6%…!

This process has brought to a rise in prices particularly strong in cities like Florence, Venise, Rome, Milan, Bologna…
Here we have listed the prices of some of the most usual things that you can buy during your stay here so you can better compare the cost of living of Florence with the cost of living in your hometown…

1) A night in an Hostel: 18/25€
2) A night in B&B (double bedroom): 50/120€ ( find your B&b)
3) A night in a one star Hotel in Florence city center: 20/30€ per person
4) The rent of a cosy studio in the city center (40/60 sq meters): 700/1300€
5) The rent of a nice single room in the city center: 400/700 € per month all inclusive
6) The rent of a nice double room in the city center: 550/1000€ per month all inclusive
7) A private lesson of Italian Language in a private school: 25/40€ per hour
8 ) An intensive private course of Italian in a private school: 1000/1200€ per 40 hours
9) A standard Italian course in a private school: 450/700€ per 4 weeks (20hrs per week)
10) A good dinner for 2 pax (and you buy everything at the supermarket!): 15/20€

Many cooks say that for a good ragu’ (Italian for Meat Sauce) different kinds of meat are required: beef, pork, lamb, veal. Purists say that only beef meat is required. I don’t dislike to mix a crumbled good fresh and rather lean sausage with the ground beef.

Meat sauce – or ragù – is made with different meats all over Italy: in the south, especially Apulia, there is a predilection for lamb. In Napoli the meat is not ground: they rather use a whole piece of beef to stew for six or seven hours. What seems to be in common is the use of tomato. Not everybody knows that the tomato is a recent addition to Italian recipes, being original from America. Tomatoes started to appear on Italian tables only at the beginning of the 17 hundred. The real Bolognese sauce is, actually, without tomato. The lack of one ingredients brings also to a different procedure.
Comparing the following recipes, you would notice that in the meat sauce with tomato the vegetable are cooked first, in the Bolognese sauce the vegetable are added later.

Ingredients:

300gr ground beef – it shouldn’t be too lean, or the sugo will be dry

2 fresh sausages
olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cups dry red wine
400gr canned tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste dissolved in 1/2 cup water
Beef broth
A pinch of salt
Pepper
Bay leaves and chopped rosemary