News & Events
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Florentine Musical May 2008
Hosted by the Teatro Comunale di Firenze, is the oldest and most prestigious European Festival, along with Bayreuth and Salzburg. Founded in 1933, the Florentine Musical May offers the city two months of opera, concerts, ballet and exhibits.
Festival of San Giovanni and Historic Florentine Soccer
Every year, on 24 June, Florence celebrates the feast of its patron, San San Giovanni, with a series of exhibitions that involve the entire city.
One of the most popular events linked to the Feast of San Giovanni is the Calcio in Costume, also known as "historic Florentine soccer," which is held in Piazza Santa Croce. Historic Florentine Soccer is a violent version of medieval soccer; if compared to contemporary sports, it would be considered a mix of wrestling, rugby and soccer
TIPICAL MARKETS IN FLORENCE
SANT'AMBROGIO
Located in Piazza Ghiberti and Piazza Sant'Ambrogio, the market is either indoor or outdoor. Just walk around it and discover fresh fruits and vegetables, clothes, flowers, shoes and houseware stands, then enter on it if you're searchinf for fresh meat or fish, pasta, general groceries or good cheeses.
MERCATO "DELLE CASCINE"
Situated in the very beautiful Parco delle Cascine (the bigger "park" of Florence) each Tuesday morning opens (from 7 to 14) the probably biggest and cheapest market in town!
MERCATO DELLE "PULCI"
The famous FLEA MARKET of Florence is located in Piazza dei Ciompi and it's opens (every day from 9 to 19.30. And if you're lucky go there on the last Sunday of every month, when the stalls extend into the surrounding streets. On it you can find furniture and objects from the past, prints, coins and jewellery.
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Welcome to Florence Old Bridge!
Your Rooms in Florence
The Florence Old Bridge gets its name from one of the most beautiful and famous bridges in the world, the Ponte Vecchio, from which is close by (less than 100 mt).
Also nearby is the Palazzo Pitti, with the Boboli Gardens.
Within comfortable walking distance are the main monuments and museums of the historical center, like the Uffizi's Gallery [Galleria degli Uffizi], Palazzo Vecchio, the museum of the Academy (David by Michelangelo), the Basilica of Santa Croce, the Baptistery, and the Cathedral (Dome by Brunelleschi).
In this part of the city, one of the most beautiful ih the heart of the city, there are plenty of shops and by historical craftsmen's studios, as well as bars and restaurants, the ideal place from which you can reach anything without needing the car. For those who look for a room on the very heart of the most beautiful renaissance city of Italy, our Inn is the perfect place where staying even only couple of days you can have the chance to discover the art city and its mervellous monuments. |
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Special Offers
SPECIAL OFFER!!!
FROM THE 5TH TO THE 31ST JULY 2008:
DOUBLE ROOM with private bathroom and tv - Euro 50,00 breakfast not included!!!
T H E P O N T E V E C C H I O (O L D B R I D G E)
The oldest and most famous bridge across the Arno, the Ponte Vecchio we know today was built in 1345 by Taddeo Gaddi to replace an earlier version. The characteristic overhanging shops have lined the bridge since at least the 12th century. In the 16th century, it was home to butchers until Cosimo I moved into the Palazzo Pitti across the river. He couldn't stand the stench as he crossed the bridge from on high in the Corridorio Vasariano every day, so he evicted the meat cutters and moved in the classier gold- and silversmiths, tradesmen who occupy the bridge to this day.
A bust of the most famous Florentine goldsmith, the swashbuckling autobiographer and Perseus sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, stands off to the side of the bridge's center, in a small piazza overlooking the Arno. From this vantage point Mark Twain, spoiled by the mighty Mississippi, once wryly commented, "It is popular to admire the Arno. It is a great historical creek, with four feet in the channel and some scows floating about. It would be a very plausible river if they would pump some water into it. They call it a river, and they honestly think it is a river . . . They even help out the delusion by building bridges over it. I do not see why they are too good to wade."
The Ponte Vecchio's fame saved it in 1944 from the Nazis, who had orders to blow up all the bridges before retreating out of Florence as Allied forces advanced. They couldn't bring themselves to reduce this span to rubble -- so they blew up the ancient buildings on either end instead to block it off. The Arno flood of 1966 wasn't so discriminating, however, and severely damaged the shops. Apparently, a private night watchman saw the waters rising alarmingly and called many of the goldsmiths at home, who rushed to remove their valuable stock before it was washed away.
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