Florence Local Customs

One of the most common habits in Italy and in Florence too is having brakfast at the bar. Cappuccino (remember Italians never order cappuccino after a meal) and croissant. Here is a list of my favourite bars (in terms of quality of breakfast):

Pasticceria Gualtieri Via Senese 18 r (Porta Romana) 0039 055 221771 Closed on sundays afternoon and Mondays

Giacosa Roberto Cavalli Via della Spada 10r (S. Maria Novella) 0039 055 2776328

Pasticceria Curtatone. Borgo Ognissanti, 167r. 0039 055 210772 (Ognissanti square)

Pasticceria Piccioli B.go Ognissanti 118 r 0039 055 295086 (Ognissanti square)

This is 100% local customs tip.
It is located in a small lovely square that doesn't even exist on the city plan!
Have a coffee or a glass of wine there. Not hip, but very charming and laid-back rustic-chic cafe.

Behind the Piazza Repubblica, in the centre of town, there is the Loggia del Porcellino or the Piglet's Loggia named after the bronze statue of a wild boar that brings you luck if you rub his nose, they say. Beside that is said also that throwing a coin to the fountain you wish to come back to Florence. But, pay attention!! Tradition says that the coin has to fall exactly in the cracks of the fountain!! I tried it..it's not so easy!!
The statue and the little fountain that is next to it are a copy of the ancient marble model that is hold in the Galleria degli Uffizi.
If you look at one of the columns surrounding the loggia, you will find out a door: it was the entrance to the stairs leading to the bargaining room, in the roof of the loggia. If you look at it carefully, you will find some of the windows

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Palazzo Strozzi is very monumental building, looks almost like a fortress, which dominates the square with the same name. It is situated just a foot from Piazza della Repubblica.
The palace was built from 1489 to 1539 by famous architect Benedetto da Maiano in Italian Renaissance style. It is a typical Firentine palazzo pattern which favours a flat facade build of rusticated stone.

Founded by the Romans in the first century B.C., Florence began its rebirth after the decadence of the barbaric ages, in the Carolingian period, and reached its highest pinnacles of civilization between the 11th and 15th centuries, as a free city, balancing the authority of the Emperors with that of the Popes, overcoming the unfortunate internal dispute between Guelfs and Ghibellines. In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the Medici family, who later became the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. This in fact was the period when the city was at the height of its glory in art and culture, in politics and economic power. The Grand Duchy of the Medicis was succeeded, in the 18th century, by that of the House of Lorraine, when in 1860 Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Italy of which Florence was the capital from 1865 to 1871. In this century, the city has once more taken up its role as an important centre for culture and the arts

When traveling in a country where english is not the main language I try to make an effort to speak the local language. Italian is a beautiful language and it isn't very hard to pick up the basics. I got a phrase book and a CD, which I put on my i-Pod, to help me learn some phrases. And while I was shy about trying to speak the language at first, by the end of my 2 weeks there I was ordering meals and ice-cream (gelato) all in Italian!

So here are some helpful phrases to get you started!

Hello/Goodbye (informal): Ciao
Good Morning: Buongiorno
Good Afternoon/Evening: Buonasera
Good Night: Buonanotte
Yes/No: Si/No
Please: per favore
Thank you: grazie
That's fine: Va bene
How Are You?: Come sta?
Open/Closed: aperto/chiuso
Entrance/Exit: entrata/uscita
Where is...?: Dov'e...?

and...
I didn't understand: non ho capito
Do you speak English?: Parla Inglese?

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The monumental church of San Firenze is one of the rare examples of the 17th century Baroque architecture in the town of Florence. It is, however, transformed into the palace and now it houses The Tribunal of Firenze. The building is situated on ononymous square, right behind the Palazzo Vecchio and in close vicinity to Bargello.

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The Uffizi Palace was designed in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari and completed some twenty years later by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti. It was built next to Palazzo Vecchio and was assigned to the offices of the city magistracies. The old church of San Piero Scheraggio was sacrificed to make a room for the new palace, partly demolished and partly incorporated into the new edifice. The ground floor of the palace have lofty arcades and above a loggia, which initially had no specific use. Francesco I de Medici decided to transformed it into the Gallery and commissioned Buontalenti to build the Tribune. The Galleria degli Uffizi became the city's first art museum.