Florence: Getting off the beaten track - at least for a while

We began the day using the tea and coffee making facilities in the hotel. Of our three hotels to date only this is the second to provide a kettle. Here at the Montebello Splendid there is a full size kettle and 6 sachets of coffee, 8 teabags and a variety of fruit and herb teas.

At 8.30 we were ready to head out. Today we had decided to avoid the busiest areas and start the day in the north of the town.

We walked from the hotel to, and through the station, and up to the Fotrezza da Basso, a large fortified fortress that we had seen as the train approached the station. It is an imposing site. Beside the fortress is a memorial area called Piazza Bambine e Bambini di Beslan, as the name implies it is a memorial to the children of Beslan. It is not clear what the link between Beslan, in the Caucuses, and Florence is but the work on the square took place in the same year as the massacre in Beslan.

From the Fotrezza da Basso we walked a little way to a small cafe called Caffe Corsini where we stopped for breakfast. Drew had Panino Crudo e Mozzerella, while I had Panino Spagnola e falagnone. I’d been unaware of the distinction between a panino and a panini until today. Apparently a panino is a crusty sandwich while a panini is a toasted one. These were very tasty, the crusty bread was light and fresh, my spagnola is what I would have called salami, but evidently is not the ‘real’ salami of Italy, and the cheese was a hard cheese not unlike, but slightly stronger than, pecorino, Drew was happy with his ham and mozzarella too. We both had coffee, Drew’s was a cappuccino and was no surprise other than the shape of the cup. My Americano however was served in a way new to me. I have the espresso in the cup and a jug of hot water allowing me to dilute the coffee to the amount I wanted – very civilised.

We walked from the cafe to the Piazza dell Indipendenzia, a nice grassy area remembering some of the influential people of Florence at the unification of Italy. This pleasant piazza had no visitors other than Drew or I, which made it seem quite personal. The two statues in the piazza commemorate Bettino Ricasoli and Ubaldino Peruzzi.

As we walked further we came across a farmicia with a thermometer, as you’ll see in the picture the temperature had now risen to 39C and it felt so. Still, as I mentioned yesterday, the narrow streets of Florence are good for giving shade, so we walked on; on the shady side of the road. Our next find was the Cenacolo De San Apollinaris, this small former convent dining room has become a centre for frescos from famed Italian fresco painters. Again we were alone in the building, visiting the less well known sites of Florence.

From the cenacolo we walked down to Piazza San Marco which is a pretty square. The Church, and another building in the piazza, were both covered to undertake repairs, but we were able to go into St. Mark’s Church and were allowed to take photos (but no flash). You will be able to see the pictures on flickr but I thought it was worth sharing the most remarkable image from the Church: the body of St. Antonino Pierozzi (known as Sant'Antonino da Firenze), a former Archbishop of Florence, which is preserved in a glass coffin here in the Church. He was born nearby in a house that is now attached to St. Mark's Church.

Our route then took us past the Galleria dell'Accademia which holds a number of Michelangelo statues. The area around the gallery was filled with large groups of people who had come to Florence from Cruise ships, not having booked in advance for this, we decided we could give the original a miss as there are plenty of good copies elsewhere in Florence, like for example the one in the Piazza Signoria we saw yesterday.

The street from the gallery leads directly to the 13th century Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo of Florence) this is a strangely decorated Church which looks like someone has wallpapered it, though we were assured it was very detailed paint work. Drew took many photos as we walked around the building which has become an icon of Florence. 

We then walked on to the Piazza della Republica, unlike the Piazza dell Indipendenzia this was busy with expensive restaurants and cafes all around. We passed the Palazzo del Podesta, a very early Florentine palace which was the residence of Florence's chief magistrate for generations.

While walking around the Cathedral Drew had taken a photo of some ice-cream, I took this as a hint that on this warm day we would stop for a coffee. Though it was about an hour later we did stop not just for a coffee but for sparkling water and so that Drew could have some elevenses, as seen on the right. 


Following our brief rest we looked at our list of ‘things to do in Florence’ to find we had completed them all, other than Basilica di Santa Croce, so we headed over to that part of town. The basilica is very impressive and has a huge statue of Dante, who is a native of the town, at the front.

Following that visit it was almost 1.00 p.m. so time for lunch. We stopped at a small bar cafe in one of the side streets nearby the basilica, but well enough off the tourist route. The bar was called Cafe Bar Quelo and was run by two friendly young ladies. Drew began with Crostoni Prosciutto Crudo e Pecorino, I had to learn the difference between crostoni and crostini (one is toast, the other croutons) as I asked for the wrong one. I had Insalatone Mina, a lovely salad of Insalata (lettuce), gorgonzola, noce (walnuts), carote e pomodoro. While we eat one of the staff took a Torta al Cioccolato out of the oven and put it to cool. So Drew was able to have a home-made Torta al Cioccolato as dessert.

We walked back along the river, wow it was hot, but no shade meant less people in our route, so we opted for the quicker way. We got back to the hotel just before 3.00 p.m. Time for a chill in our 16C room and load pictures to Flickr and blog. Plus of course plan what we will eat tonight.

As I end this post I am struck by the impact of tourists on prices in Florence. Our breakfast, in a small local cafe was 6 euros, our elevenses (two coffees, two waters and a cake) in a busy cafe by the Ponte Vecchio, was 15 euros and our lunch (as described above) was 16.50. The moral, avoid the places, like the coffee shop, which are in the busy parts of the town. I know I’m a marketer by background, and have taught this stuff to students. So I know the principles already, but it was interesting to be reminded of the power of location in price by where we were today. A reminder for the even bigger City of Rome where we will be tomorrow.