Unique Christmas Celebrations in Central Italy

An edited version of this article appeared in the November 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Click here for all Christmas in Italy travel suggestions The holiday season is a magical time of year in Italy and a great time to experience Italian traditions new and old. Over the years at Dream of Italy, we’ve written about various ways to …

Cibrèo to Ciblèo: The Fabio Picchi Empire in Florence

This article appears in the March 2017 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Florence has always been a food-centric town. Classic old-school trattorias, new vegan hipster restaurants, tripe-sandwich stands and never-ending cafes fill the city. The menus are often the same almost everywhere, not because of tourism, but rather because Florentines, when they go out, always want the same traditional …

Taste Florence with a Food Tour

This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. What’s your first thought at the mention of Florence? Art? Shopping? Food? Half-day food tours are all the rage these days in cities around the world. Seven years ago, Toni Mazzaglia, an Italian-American expat hailing from North Carolina, started one of Italy’s first such tours and the …

Mask Making in Florence

This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Many Italophiles associate masks and their manufacture with Venice and its famed Carnevale celebrations, but Florence, with its Commedia dell’Arte theaters dating back to the 16th century, also has a long, rich history of mask making. Florence has, of course, been a treasure chest of creativity for …

Florence’s Torre di San Niccolo Opens for Summer

Updated 2018. Thought that Florence was out of surprises? Through September 30, 2016, Florence’s Torre di San Niccolò is open to the public allowing visitors to take the 160 steps up to the top and catch magnificent panoramic views of Florence. Located in Piazza Poggi, the tower is a majestic reminder of the Florence of years past. Though the outpost was …

Now Time For Tea at Florence’s Most Famous Apothecary

Updated 2018. Although Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella has become a must for most visitors to Florence seeking lovely perfumes and bath products. Now there’s another reason to visit: a tea room that provides a much-needed respite for weary travelers. Inconspicuous and yet bursting with the rich history of Florence, this apothecary sits on Via della Scala with a classically Florentine storefront: a …

Florence’s Osepedale degli Innocenti to Open New Museum

Updated 2018. On June 23, 2016,  the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence opened a new museum called Museo degli Innocenti. The city’s famous orphanage operated from 1445 to 1875 and allowed parents to surrender their babies anonymously, first using a basin at the entrance and, later, a horizontal wheel similar to a lazy Susan that was connected to a room where workers …

In Search of the Modern Grand Tour of Italy

This article originally appeared in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Taking “a grand tour” sounds old-fashioned — and it truly is. Although the kind of leisurely, arts-focused weeks or months in Italy that many of us have only seen depicted in films like the 1985 Merchant-Ivory classic A Room with A View might sound romantic …