Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, situated just across the main railway station which shares its name. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city’s principal Dominican church.This church was called Novella (New) because it was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne. When the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and an adjoining cloister. The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi.

Building began in the mid-13th century (about 1246), and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Friar Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy. At that time, only the lower part of the Tuscan gothic facade was finished. The three portals are spanned by round arches, while the rest of the lower part of the facade is spanned by blind arches, separated by pilasters, with below Gothic pointed arches, striped in green and white, capping noblemen’s tombs.
This same design continues in the adjoining wall around the old churchyard. The church was consecrated in 1420.
The vast interior is based on a basilica plan, designed as a Latin cross and is divided into a nave, two aisles with stained-glass windows and a short transept. The large nave is 100 metres long and gives an impression of austerity. There is a trompe l’oeil-effect by which this nave towards the apse seems longer than its actual length. The slender compound piers between the nave and the aisles are ever closer when you go deeper into the nave. The ceiling in the vault consists pointed arches with the four diagonal buttresses in black and white.

The interior also contains corinthian columns that were inspired by the Classical era of Greek and Roman times.The stained-glass windows date from the 14th and 15th century, such as 15th century Madonna and Child and St. John and St. Philip (designed by Filippino Lippi), both in the Filippo Strozzi Chapel. Some stained glass windows have been damaged in the course of centuries and had to be replaced. The one on the facade, a depiction of the Coronation of Mary dates from the 14th century, based on a design of Andrea Bonaiuti.

The pulpit, commissioned by the Rucellai family in 1443, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and executed by his adopted child Andrea Calvalcanti. This pulpit has a particular historical significance, because from this pulpit the first attack came on Galileo Galilei, leading eventually to his indictment.Giorgio Vasari was the architect, commissioned in 1567 by Grand Duke Cosimo I, for the first remodelling of the church, which included removing its original rood screen and loft, and adding six chapels between the columns. An armillary sphere (on the left) and a gnomon (on the right) were added to the end blind arches of the lower façade by Ignazio Danti, astronomer of Cosimo I, in 1572. The second remodelling was designed by Enrico Romoli, and was carried out between 1858 and 1860.

Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The square in front the church was used by Cosimo I for the yearly chariot race (Palio dei Cocchi). This custom existed between 1563 and late in the 19th century. The two obelisks marked the start and the finish of the race. They were set up to imitate an antique Roman circus. The obelisks rest on bronze tortoises, made in 1608 by the sculptor Giambologna.

Do you want to know some more about the history of Florence? come and visit this marvelous city staying in Santa Croce Hotel!

Versione Italiana

Florence stands in a pleasant valley surrounded by hills and crossed by the river Arno. This city is rich in monuments, historical buildings, galleries and museums, expressing all its magnificence of its ancient civilization.

Its world famous promenade along its monuments up to the wonderful Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is lined with characteristic goldsmith’s shops.
Which will be the perfect accommodation solution for visiting this marvelous city and the countryside all around? Certainly one apartment offered by the Hotel Antica Sosta dei Viandanti.

In Florence you will have to see and visit many monuments and  masterpieces, Giotto’s Tower, the Pitti Palace, the courtyard of Ammannati, Buonarroti house with some paintings of Michelangelo, Forte di Belvedere, the famous Uffizi Palace, Loggia della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio and so on.

Florence in the history has became one of the most important cultural and economic centers of Europe.

Rent an apartment in the cradle of the Renaissance, visit the Antica Sosta dei Viandanti: houses to rent in Florence.

Antica Sosta dei Viandanti offers many solution for you accommodation in Florence: seven houses to rent for several numbers of people, well furnished and well equipped.

A luxury accommodation solution in the heart of Tuscany, but not too expensive.

Versione Italiana

Tuscany is known for its works of art (just think about Pisa, Florence, Siena, Lucca,…) and for its nature.  This Italian region has a wide green area, very significant for wildlife.

If you want to enjoy art and nature at one time, you can choose an accommodation in the country but near the centre of the Tuscan capital.

Lebbiano residence is situated among the hills surrounding Florence, just few minutes from the historic centre.
From there it’s possible both to visit Florence and its museums and to go trekking in the wild, wonderful Tuscan nature.
The residence has de-luxe chalets, all loyal to bio-architecture’s principles; it has also created a lake suitable for bathing, made with natural method.

Really relaxing!

Italian version.

If you are planning to visit Florence, even if just for a week end, I advice to book a hotel in the city centre.
A central accommodation is perfect for who wants to visit the city by foot, without needing buses: for the one that wants to go round and round without the fear of arriving behind schedule.

Moreover, in the historic centre you can find a hotel made inside an historic palace.
The Hotel Santa Croce, for example, is situated in an ancient area of Florence, where there’s the Basilica of Santa Croce, and has created an ancient Florentine atmosphere also on its inside.

The hotel is placed near to monuments and historical buildings, like Michaelangelo’s house, the Uffizi Gallery, Santa Croce square and the Ponte Vecchio.

A perfect location to visit Florence!

Italian version.

The Lady with an Ermine, Ginevra de’ Benci, Isabella d’Este: these are the female portrait painted by Leonardo Da Vinci that look after the rooms in Bed and Breakfast Repubblica in Florence, the perfect place for a romantic weekend’s art in one of the most romantic cities in the world.

Everything, in this hotel, is connected with the spirit of Florence, from the furniture, in a renewed Renaissance style, to the views from the windows, overlooking on beautiful foreshortenings of the ancient city.

Even if all the rooms are nice and have their own bathroom and tv, there’s a very special one: the Beatrice d’Este’s room have a king size double bed and an internal staircase that takes you up to a mezzanine with a comfortable double sofa.
The view on the tower of Confraternita dei Lanai is really romantic for art lovers…

The bed and breakfast is also two steps away from Uffizi Museum and the Dome, and in the very centre of Florence: Piazza della Repubblica, close to the main fashion shops of the city, is a place from where you can reach everything.

Welcome to the city of art!

Italian version.

I don’t have to explain you what is there to visit in Florence or why is it defined one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

I don’t have to remind you that the Florentine recipes gave the birth to the famed French cuisine.

I don’t even have to tell you that an high percentage of the world renown works of art are kept in Florence.

Being certain of these, what are you waiting?!

If you want to visit Florence you ca choose an accommodation in the countryside (like in the Chianti area) or in the historic centre.

If you want to stay next to the Dome, in the town centre, inside an historic building, try out Tourist House Ricci: it is placed in the Martelli Palace, few steps from the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral.

Enjoy Florence!

Italian version.

Without music, life would be a mistake.
Friedrich W. Nietszche

Let’s talk about an undervalued composer…
Not “undervalued” in the true sense of the word, but in the collective imagination he’s not the first name that comes to mind.

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history, at least until his retirement in 1829.
Between 1815 and 1823 he produced 20 operas, but the most famous one has been the Barber of Seville. This opera has been the first Italian opera introduced in the USA.

Rossini lived in many cities, he was born in Pesaro, into a family of musicians, than his mother took him to Bologna. In adult age, after living in Florence, he settled in Paris.

If you want to visit his tomb you have to come in Florence, to the Basilica di Santa Croce,  were his remains were moved after his death.
To keep the point, you can accommodate at Rossini Harmony Bed and Breakfast, in the centre of Florence.

Italian version.

Italy is a particular territory and foreign people still believe that ours is a place where you can find things that in other places have disappeared, like a major human contact, typical little shops where the owners perfectly knows what you’re gonna buy, and so on…

If you’d like to find a real place where you can feel and taste the ancient atmosphere and tradition of a Medieval village, you can organize a week end in Villa in Tuscany, one of the main touristic regions of our Country.

There is a Villa in Colleoli, an ancient village between Pisa and Florence, that allows you to ride, have a wine and touristic tours and to do many other activities correlated with the main attraction of the region.

Borgo di Colleoli is the name of this marvellous Villa in the very center of Tuscany, that gives you the possibility of organizing tours through the major Tuscan cities, and offers to the guests a place of geat tradition: frescoes by 1592 and completely renovated location in respect of the ancient medieval structures.

A real paradise for a relaxing holiday in Tuscany.

Italian Version.

Looking for an apartment for your holiday or for a house to buy in Italy, especially in Florence?

You can have a look on the various facilities offered by TRUST SERVICE, a group of young and professional Florentine Architects and Engineers that decided to combine their diverse qualities to constitute a firm able to give a new and versatile service to best satisfy the mainfold demands of customers.

You can have advices and find out a pretty accommodation for your Italian holiday, in a house o villa in the countryside, or, if you are interested in buying home in Italy, you will have the possibility of a huge choice.

But TRUST SERVICE is also more than this: it’s a professional team that will help you in different areas; for example, if you already have a house but you’d like to restructure or review some parts of it, you can ask for advices to TRUST SERVICE architects.

Interior design, Photographic surveys ipx, Rendering and computer animation, are only some of the services offered to private families or business units; in the last years in fact, they have specialized also for those firms that are about to open or widen their own activity or restructure and modify “the atmosphere”.

So for choosing your ideal accommodation in Italy and customizing it as you prefer, try the TRUST SERVICE services.

Italian Version.

Florence is the city of art, of beautiful sightseeing, of Florentine steak and so on.

But in January, Christmas time ended, the city becomes something else: Pitti Immagine Uomo fair turns Florence in a coloured and glamour place, eclectic stylists and models overrun in restaurants and fashion bars: Florence is plenty of previews of art and fashion…

The 2009 edition, the 75th, will start on January 13th ‘til January 16th in Fortezza Da Basso and promises to be full of events and news, despite the period of economical crisis we’re living.

Besides the 3rd edition of Woman Pre-Collection, the salon dedicated to women’s fashion in order to become a very important business appointment, there will be many key previews and exhibitions, like Oliviero Toscani’s one, at the Stazione Leopolda, where the Tuscan photographer creates a dialogue between Work and the industry of fashion.

This is only a little part of the events that will take place in Florence in January, a wonderful period to visit the city if you love fashion and art and their connections.

The main problem, in this period, is finding an accommodation in Florence: hotels are crowded with businessmen that have booked the previous year.

Il Marzocco can be a solution. Is a comfortable and elegant ‘800 styled bed and breakfast placed at a stone’s throw from Fortezza Da Basso, that you can reach on foot like Santa Maria Novella Station or the most important congress and meeting centres.

Il Marzocco has a beautiful and completely restored ‘800 conference room and offers a lot of services, from baby sitting to the organization of city tours: they can even provide you with a personal trainer!

Italian version