Rivoire. Regrettably filled
with tourists and overpriced, Rivoire
still occupies one of the greatest
pieces of real estate in the world.
Smartly clad waiters hustle to
deliver lunch platters and elegant
sandwiches—as though anyone’s
paying attention to anything but
the view. Piazza della Signoria.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Piazza della Signoria.
Piazza della Signoria.
The monumental heart of Florence
(and Tuscany’s most famous square)
is an open-air museum of sculpture,
dominated by Michelangelo’s David
(a copy of the original, which used
to stand here). The powerful mass
of the Palazzo Vecchio dominates
one side of the square; another is
defined by the 14th-century Loggia
dei Lanzi, filled with ancient and
Renaissance statues (the most celebrated
being Bevenuto Cellini’s
Perseus holding aloft the severed
head of Medusa). Also check out
Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabines,
which marks the point (1584) when
Tuscan tastes abandoned drama in
favor of melodrama.
The monumental heart of Florence
(and Tuscany’s most famous square)
is an open-air museum of sculpture,
dominated by Michelangelo’s David
(a copy of the original, which used
to stand here). The powerful mass
of the Palazzo Vecchio dominates
one side of the square; another is
defined by the 14th-century Loggia
dei Lanzi, filled with ancient and
Renaissance statues (the most celebrated
being Bevenuto Cellini’s
Perseus holding aloft the severed
head of Medusa). Also check out
Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabines,
which marks the point (1584) when
Tuscan tastes abandoned drama in
favor of melodrama.
Uffizi
Uffizi. This is one of the
world’s great museums, and its single
best repository of Renaissance art. In
room after room, you’ll confront masterpiece
after masterpiece—including
Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation
(with an angel that could be Mona
Lisa’s brother), Michelangelo’s Holy
Family, Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of
Venus, Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna,
and more. In Italian, uffizi means
offices, and that’s what Vasari
deigned this building to be in 1550.
But it’s come a long way, bambino.
These Uffizi will dazzle you. (Serious
art devotees may want to spend the
entire day here
world’s great museums, and its single
best repository of Renaissance art. In
room after room, you’ll confront masterpiece
after masterpiece—including
Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation
(with an angel that could be Mona
Lisa’s brother), Michelangelo’s Holy
Family, Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of
Venus, Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna,
and more. In Italian, uffizi means
offices, and that’s what Vasari
deigned this building to be in 1550.
But it’s come a long way, bambino.
These Uffizi will dazzle you. (Serious
art devotees may want to spend the
entire day here
Florence in One Day
Florence in 1 day? “Impossibile,” a Florentine might tell you
before throwing up his hands in despair and walking away, convinced
you are mad. But 1 day in Florence is better than none—
provided you rise with the roosters and move with steely discipline
and stamina, to make the most of it. This “greatest hits” itinerary
begins with the highlights of the Uffizi, the most rewarding and time
consuming stop. After lunch in Piazza della Signoria, you’ll take in
the city’s majestic ecclesiastical complex: the Duomo, the Baptistery,
and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Then you’ll round out the day with a trek to
see Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia—a mandatory stop—
followed by a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio and a Tuscan meal in
an authentic buca (cellar). START: Take bus B or 23 to the Uffizi.
before throwing up his hands in despair and walking away, convinced
you are mad. But 1 day in Florence is better than none—
provided you rise with the roosters and move with steely discipline
and stamina, to make the most of it. This “greatest hits” itinerary
begins with the highlights of the Uffizi, the most rewarding and time
consuming stop. After lunch in Piazza della Signoria, you’ll take in
the city’s majestic ecclesiastical complex: the Duomo, the Baptistery,
and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Then you’ll round out the day with a trek to
see Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia—a mandatory stop—
followed by a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio and a Tuscan meal in
an authentic buca (cellar). START: Take bus B or 23 to the Uffizi.
Don’t follow these ideas to the letter; use them as building blocks for your trip.
Rule #6: Don’t follow these
ideas to the letter; use them
as building blocks for your
trip.
This guide was designed to help you
piece together your own dream getaway.
You can plan your time in Florence
using one section and then
hop about Tuscany, in the next few
days, using another. It’s like an a la
carte menu—select one item from
column A and another from column
B, according to your own tastes and
interests, to make the most of our
advice.
ideas to the letter; use them
as building blocks for your
trip.
This guide was designed to help you
piece together your own dream getaway.
You can plan your time in Florence
using one section and then
hop about Tuscany, in the next few
days, using another. It’s like an a la
carte menu—select one item from
column A and another from column
B, according to your own tastes and
interests, to make the most of our
advice.
Every now and then, let the train take the strain.
Rule #5: Every now and then,
let the train take the strain.
It’s cheaper, greener, and hassle free
arriving in your Tuscan town for the
day by train. The Italian network is
inexpensive, accessible, and easy to
use—even for beginners. Not every
town is handily reached by rail, but
the highlights of the region’s northwest
like Lucca, Pisa, or Prato
let the train take the strain.
It’s cheaper, greener, and hassle free
arriving in your Tuscan town for the
day by train. The Italian network is
inexpensive, accessible, and easy to
use—even for beginners. Not every
town is handily reached by rail, but
the highlights of the region’s northwest
like Lucca, Pisa, or Prato
Plan your excursions around lunch.
Rule #4: Plan your excursions
around lunch.
If you’re driving from town to town,
plan to reach your destination by
noon. Restaurants usually serve
lunch until 2 or 2:30pm, but you’ll
need time to park (which is often
tricky) and to locate the address of
your restaurant (ditto). If you don’t
want to follow a schedule, pack a
lunch before setting out and follow
your bliss to the ideal picnic spot
somewhere under the Tuscan sun.
There’s no shortage of them.
around lunch.
If you’re driving from town to town,
plan to reach your destination by
noon. Restaurants usually serve
lunch until 2 or 2:30pm, but you’ll
need time to park (which is often
tricky) and to locate the address of
your restaurant (ditto). If you don’t
want to follow a schedule, pack a
lunch before setting out and follow
your bliss to the ideal picnic spot
somewhere under the Tuscan sun.
There’s no shortage of them.
Decide whether to hotel hop or stay in one place.
Rule #3: Decide whether to
hotel hop or stay in one
place.
Checking in and out of hotels is
often a tedious hassle—involving
luggage transfers, packing and
unpacking, registering and checking
out, and other technicalities that
can drain pleasure from a vacation.
Because most Tuscan towns are
within easy reach of one another,
you can set up camp in the same
hotel for 3 nights—in Siena, for
example—and venture to smaller
towns nearby on day trips. From
Siena, you can easily visit San
Gimignano, Pienza, Montepulciano,
or even the Chianti wine country
without wasting too much time in
the car. You’ll save a lot of wear and
tear on your soul with this tack,
reserving your energy for hotel
changes required by longer hauls.
hotel hop or stay in one
place.
Checking in and out of hotels is
often a tedious hassle—involving
luggage transfers, packing and
unpacking, registering and checking
out, and other technicalities that
can drain pleasure from a vacation.
Because most Tuscan towns are
within easy reach of one another,
you can set up camp in the same
hotel for 3 nights—in Siena, for
example—and venture to smaller
towns nearby on day trips. From
Siena, you can easily visit San
Gimignano, Pienza, Montepulciano,
or even the Chianti wine country
without wasting too much time in
the car. You’ll save a lot of wear and
tear on your soul with this tack,
reserving your energy for hotel
changes required by longer hauls.
Remember, distances between towns are short
Rule #2: Remember, distances
between towns are
short.
Visiting Tuscany is as easy as traveling
around a small U.S. state or midsized
Mediterranean island. You can
drive from Florence to San Gimignano,
Lucca, or Siena in less than an hour.
The entire Chianti wine country is
only 48km (30 miles) from north to
south, and 32km (20 miles) at its
widest point. What’s more, it begins
only 4km (21⁄2 miles) south of Florence.
You can even drive from Florence
west to Pisa in an hour. Once
you veer off the autostrada, the
roads become slower, but unless
you’re going to the most remote
hamlet in Tuscany, they’re generally
well maintained and signposted (if
sometimes erratically). The only
problem in summer will be occasional
heavy traffic caused by thousands
of other visitors aiming for
the same hilltowns as you.
between towns are
short.
Visiting Tuscany is as easy as traveling
around a small U.S. state or midsized
Mediterranean island. You can
drive from Florence to San Gimignano,
Lucca, or Siena in less than an hour.
The entire Chianti wine country is
only 48km (30 miles) from north to
south, and 32km (20 miles) at its
widest point. What’s more, it begins
only 4km (21⁄2 miles) south of Florence.
You can even drive from Florence
west to Pisa in an hour. Once
you veer off the autostrada, the
roads become slower, but unless
you’re going to the most remote
hamlet in Tuscany, they’re generally
well maintained and signposted (if
sometimes erratically). The only
problem in summer will be occasional
heavy traffic caused by thousands
of other visitors aiming for
the same hilltowns as you.
Keep your expectations
Rule #1: Keep your expectations
reasonable.
Consider the experience of two couples
I know who recently visited the
region. One fashioned an aggressive
itinerary that encompassed most of
the major towns I cover in chapter
6. And while they were able to say
they saw town after town, church
after church, and artwork after
artwork, they spent 2 or 3 hours a
day stuck in the car, fighting traffic,
the heat, and crazy truck drivers.
The other couple decided to take on
less turf and, naturally, didn’t see as
much; they even missed Cortona
and some of our other favorite
towns. Instead, they spent an entire
afternoon in a Montepulciano cafe,
splitting a chilled bottle of Orvieto
Classico, staring over a wrought-iron
balcony at a church in the distance.
In hindsight, they considered that
stop the pinnacle of their trip, writing,
“We wouldn’t have traded that
lazy Tuscan afternoon for the
world.”
stop the pinnacle of their trip, writing,
“We wouldn’t have traded that
lazy Tuscan afternoon for the
world.”
Some Suggestions
Tuscany isn’t Tokyo or New York or Mosca; racing around the region trying
to “see” everything runs against the grain and the pace of the
place, and might prevent you from really experiencing it. It’s tempting
to want to make tracks, given that there is so much to see within
a relatively small region easily traversed by car. But structuring a
relaxed itinerary makes for a memorable trip. In this chapter I provide
some suggestions for maximizing your time in Tuscany.
to “see” everything runs against the grain and the pace of the
place, and might prevent you from really experiencing it. It’s tempting
to want to make tracks, given that there is so much to see within
a relatively small region easily traversed by car. But structuring a
relaxed itinerary makes for a memorable trip. In this chapter I provide
some suggestions for maximizing your time in Tuscany.
The logical start to your Tuscany
The logical start to your Tuscan adventure is Galileo Galilei
airport in Pisa. Keenly priced flights connect it with most of
Europe—and there’s a direct flight to New York’s JFK 5 days a week.
However, if you’re already touring near Milan, Venice, or Rome,
there’s no need to think about connecting to Pisa by air. All are well
linked to Tuscany by rail or autostrada. Rome and Milan are alternative,
hassle-free intercontinental air gateways—both about 3 hours
from Florence by train. From Rome, a 277km (172 mile) drive north
to Florence on the fast-moving A1 takes you right past some of the
highlights of southern and eastern Tuscany: Break your trip in Montepulciano,
Cortona, or Arezzo. Milan is slightly farther—298km
(183 miles) northwest of Florence—but worth the minimal extra distance
if you find a cheaper flight there. A drive down to Florence can
easily be broken in Pisa or Lucca.
airport in Pisa. Keenly priced flights connect it with most of
Europe—and there’s a direct flight to New York’s JFK 5 days a week.
However, if you’re already touring near Milan, Venice, or Rome,
there’s no need to think about connecting to Pisa by air. All are well
linked to Tuscany by rail or autostrada. Rome and Milan are alternative,
hassle-free intercontinental air gateways—both about 3 hours
from Florence by train. From Rome, a 277km (172 mile) drive north
to Florence on the fast-moving A1 takes you right past some of the
highlights of southern and eastern Tuscany: Break your trip in Montepulciano,
Cortona, or Arezzo. Milan is slightly farther—298km
(183 miles) northwest of Florence—but worth the minimal extra distance
if you find a cheaper flight there. A drive down to Florence can
easily be broken in Pisa or Lucca.
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