Archive for 'Florence'

In the last post, we introduced the pretty and historic Tuscan town of Montelupo Fiorentino, located just outside Florence and its grand and long-standing tradition in ceramics. A typical Tuscan village, surrounded by beautiful hills, it is home to over 120 producers of its famous ceramics to this day but it is also home to the Museum of Ceramics, which is excellent at giving insight into the importance of the Tuscan ceramics from Montelupo in the history of Italian and European pottery. If you are interested in artisanal goods and craftsmanship, it is a must-see and is also a pleasant museum experience that is a stone's throw away for those who have found a vacation rental in Florence but, also, a little removed from the bustling tourist crowds of the city.

Montelupo Fiorentino is a pretty village, located just on the outskirts of Florence, that has been an important centre for handmade ceramics in Tuscany since the Middle Ages. Montelupo ceramics were traded and dispensed all across Europe and quickly became synonymous with quality and beautiful craftsmanship. Today, it is home to plenty of workshops still producing the pieces and a museum dedicated to the craft, the Museum of Ceramics in Montelupo. If you have found a vacation rental in Florence and are interested in Tuscany's long legacy of excellence in all of the arts but need a break from the busy historic centre and bustling museums of the city, this is a great place to soak up the region's history of artisanal prowess and even shop it, all while enjoying a slower pace and calmer lifestyle.

If you have found a vacation rental in Florence and are planning a trip to the city in the run up to Christmas, one of the highlights and must-see attractions has to be its Christmas markets. Christmas markets are one of the best things about Christmas. They offer delicious foods, lovely hot drinks, a vibrant Christmassy atmosphere, shopping, festive music and fun in one place (because one can't say “under one roof” in this case, can they?). There are plenty of Christmas markets in Florence to choose from but one of the most famous is the Weihnachtsmarkt, located in piazza Santa Croce in Florence.

Named for, and based on, the style of Christmas markets you can find in Germany, it offers everything you would want from a typical festive market, all with a distinctive Tuscan twist on the model. Running from the end of November until a few days before Christmas, it is a great place to taste Tuscan products and food, mulled wine and beer from all over the rest of Europe as well

You begin researching a vacation, decide on a destination and then start looking for the perfect holiday rental. Once you've found some good options, it can be hard to narrow them down but one thing that really helps are reviews. Hearing what real people have to say about something helps give us peace of mind and, luckily, here at Italy Villas, we have been blessed with lots of customers who give us great feedback. Therefore, we thought that it would be a good idea to put together a list of our most-reviewed properties to show some of the excellent villas and experiences you can expect when you book with us!

1. Montegufoni

Montegufoni is a wonderful castle dating back to the 12th century that was restored in the 17th century by the Acciaioli family, who added its distinctive and impressive tower that was modelled after the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Part of a large estate that is comprised of gardens, vineyards and olive trees in the heart of the Chianti region, it is located 1km away from the small village of Montagnana and 20km from Florence.

As we noted in the last post in this series, there are many excellent museums to be found all across Italy and your list of options is endless. In order to make your choice in which ones to visit, we have compiled a selection of some of the most popular and beloved museums in Italy.

4. Bargello

The Bargello is one of the best and most important art museums in Florence. Dating back to 1255, it was originally the headquarters of the Capitano del Popolo and later of the Podestà. In the sixteenth century, it became the residence of the Bargello (head of the police) and was used as prison during the whole 18th century. The building became a National Museum as of the mid-19th century and today it is an excellent sculpture museum, especially for early works by great masters of the Renaissance such as Donatello, Giambologna, Michelangelo and many others. Just find a luxury villa in Florence and take in this excellent but lesser-known (and slightly less busy) of the city's most famous museums.