Published on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 by Kathy McCabe The secret room in Florence where Michelangelo spent three months in hiding is expected to open to the public later in 2020. In the summer of 1530, the Renaissance master artist disappeared without a trace, camping out in an underground chamber beneath the Medici chapels in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He was hiding from the Medici, who had themselves just returned fr...

Published on Monday, December 16, 2019 by Kathy McCabe Michelangelo’s Pietà dell’Opera del Duomo is undergoing restoration at the Opera del Duomo museum in Florence. The sculpture is also known as The Deposition, the Bandini Pietà or The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, and is known for an incident in which Michelangelo became frustrated with the piece and tried to destroy it. The restoration began in Novembe...

Published on Sunday, November 24, 2019 by Kathy McCabe To the delight of art lovers, Italy’s popular free museum Sundays are back. This popular program, which offers free entry on the first Sunday of the month for both Italian and foreign visitors at state-run museums around the country, was introduced in 2014 by Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. About 15 million visitors took advantage of the offering in total Ho...

Published on Friday, September 20, 2019 by Kathy McCabe In 2020, Palazzo Pitti will highlight the link between Florentine nobility and the Russian Orthodox Church by displaying 78 Russian religious icons. The collection of icons, the largest outside of Russia, will be housed in four ground-floor rooms at Palazzo Pitti. This will be the first permanent home for the collection, which has been in Florence since 1761 and ha...

Published on Thursday, July 4, 2019 by Kathy McCabe A replica of the south door of the Baptistery at Florence’s Duomo was unveiled and blessed by Cardinal Giuseppe Betori on June 24, the feast day of John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence. For conservation purposes, the replica has replaced the 700-year-old original, which is currently undergoing restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. The...

Published on Thursday, March 14, 2019 by Kathy McCabe After being closed since 2016 for safety reasons, Florence’s Vasari Corridor will reopen in 2021. The passageway will undergo an 18-month renovation costing 10 million euros. Commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1565 and built in 1585, the enclosed Vasari Corridor was a way for Florentine nobility to walk unbothered from their offices in the Uffizi Gallery and P...

Published on Thursday, February 28, 2019 by Kathy McCabe A new tram line has opened in Florence, connecting the airport and the city center at Piazza dell’Unità near Santa Maria Novella Central Station in 22 minutes. The T2 line is the second tram line to open in Florence and has 12 stops. The T1 line opened in 2010 and links Villa Costanza with Careggi in the northern outskirts of Florence, passing through Santa Maria N...

Published on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 by Kathy McCabe Many tourists from the United States hear “Christmas market” and immediately think of Germany’s deservedly famous “Weinachtsmarkts” and “Kristkindlmarkts,” both of which conjure up the smell of Gluehwein and the sizzle of roast bratwurst. But Italy has its own legion of markets during the winter holidays, and like everything Italian, they’re focused mo...

Published on Saturday, September 15, 2018 by Kathy McCabe To decrease crowding, Florence has banned people from eating on four of the city’s busiest streets: Via de’ Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano and Via della Ninna. The ban is in place during the most popular mealtimes – from noon to 3 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. – and those who violate it will be fined between €150 and €500. On Via de’ ...

Published on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 by Kathy McCabe To combat Islamophobia and celebrate ancient Middle Eastern culture, two Florence museums have teamed up to stage an exhibit on Islamic art and the reciprocal relationship between Florence and Islam. The exhibit, titled “Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century,” runs through Sept. 23 at the Uffizi Gallery and the Bargello Museum, showcasing 25...