Tuscany

Travel and Adventure Show

Posted April 27, 2015 by Sharon 1 Comment

Imagine yourself in a thousand magnificent destinations at a Travel and Adventure Show.

By Walter Sanders

John Golicz is the ring master of the nationwide Travel and Adventure Show series in seven U.S. markets. When the circus gets to your town, take advantage of it.

At the recent show in the Philadelphia Convention Center, all our senses were dazzled. Scrumptious aromas wafted across the exhibit floor as chefs prepared their specialties at the Taste of Travel Stage. We touched the brocaded robes of a tour operator from Nepal. We heard joyful music from Saint Lucia. And everywhere we looked was the colorful tapestry of global travel. You saw visitors trying out a Segway, and others scaling a rock wall.

Experts shared their wisdom at the Destination Theater. We sat in on the hour-long “Insider’s Italy” session featuring nostri amici Kathy McCabe—publisher of Dream of Italy and host of the upcoming Dream of Italy on PBS—and Italian authority and writer Susan Van Allen.

We enjoyed speaking with the engaging Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. She is like the Pied Piper of travel. We would follow her anywhere.

We spent some time with John Golicz to get a sense of how he shapes up the 2015 travel scene.

“What will be the hot international travel destination this year?” we asked John.

“Now’s the time to go to Europe. The dollar is strong versus the Euro—about 23 percent stronger than last year—and many analysts predict parity by 2016,” said John. “While the US economy is gaining strength, there’s softness in many European countries. That means better deals at hotels and restaurants as these vendors compete for tourist spending. Plus, with more transoceanic air competition, it is very likely that European airfares will drop as carriers have more seats to fill.”

“SimpleItaly fans would enjoy hearing about your Italian experiences. Anything you’d like to share?”

“We love Italy. We’re very fortunate to share multi-generational family trips with my parents and my children. One of our favorite trips was to Italy when the kids were younger. We started in Rome, then settled into a villa in Greve, right in the heart of the Chianti zone,” said John.

John Golicz

“The food and wine were exceptional, as usual. The kids enjoyed the pool, the hill towns of Tuscany. In Florence, we were smart enough to hire a guide who made the city and its art come alive. In the Uffizi, the guide told the back stories of some of the paintings and that really engaged the kids. They still enjoy visiting museums because they realize every work of art has a human story.”

The Golicz family does more than travel together. Son Jon is the mastermind of 1,000 Travel Tips a travel resource for the best tips, trend information and expert advice for any travel situation you can imagine. SimpleItaly looks forward to becoming a contributor.

The shows 2016 schedule is out, visiting seven cities between January and March. Whet your travel appetite by attending the show in your market.

The Great Flood of Florence

Posted March 16, 2015 by Sharon 2 Comments

Among those cleaning up the Santa Croce courtyard after the flood are Marcello Gori (left standing on the ground), who was my employer at The Leather School, and Padre Franchi (second from right) who became head of the Franciscans at the Basilica.

Some of the men who would become my friends in Florence labored to clean up the Santa Croce courtyard after the flood. Massimo “Max” Melani’s head is just visible (third from the left on the truck bed). On the ground are Marcello Gori (left), who was my employer at The Leather School, and Padre Franchi (second from left) who later became head of the Franciscans at the Basilica.

By Walter Sanders

When I moved to Florence in 1971, the city was still recovering from the disastrous flood of November 4, 1966. High water marks—stained by mud, heating oil, and gasoline—stretched like taut ropes across building facades near the Arno.

It was harsh stuff that floated to the top. And below the crest mark, on walls around the city, were murky shadows of flood residue.

These ugly reminders faded with time, but have been memorialized with plaques designating the height of flood waters throughout the city. Five floods from five different centuries are noted by these marble plaques; none are as high as those commemorating 1966.

I worked at the Scuola del Cuoio, the Leather School, from 1972 through 1975. The workshops and showrooms were located in the old Franciscan monastery attached to the Basilica of Santa Croce, one of the hardest hit victims of the flood. I still remember the stains, and even the faint smell of fuel, on the exterior and interior walls of the courtyard.

Kayla Metelenis and Diane Cole Ahl

Those memories rushed back when I attended a presentation “Looking Back at the Flood of Florence in 1966: Disaster, Recovery, and Cultural Conservation,” sponsored by the Art Department and The Ideal Center of Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.

Sharon and I had met the one of the presenters, Diane Cole Ahl, Rothkopf Professor of Art History, when she curated a traveling exhibit of “Offering of the Angels” from the Uffizi at the Michener Museum, Doylestown, Pa.

Ahls’s student Kayla Metelenis ’15, art history major, was co-presenter.

[Read more…]

Pazzi Chapel Restoration

Posted November 20, 2014 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Commissioned by the Pazzi family, the Chapel

Ornate sculpted rosettes, terracotta cherubim roundels and the colourful tin-glaze terracotta by Luca della Robbia decorate the interior of the Pazzi Chapel loggia. It is built in pietra serena, a grey sandstone that, by its very nature, tends to crumble over time.

By Walter Sanders

Many fortunate lovers of Renaissance art journey to Florence, but few get to the splendid Pazzi Chapel—one of architect Filippo Brunelleschi’s 15th Century masterworks–part of the complex of the Basilica of Santa Croce. If you have been to the Pazzi recently, you may have noticed the façade is in need of some repair. After 650 years, who wouldn’t need a little touch up?

The video in the Kickstarter campaign launched by the nonprofit Opera di Santa Croce paints a loving portrait of a jewel. The Opera is seeking donations to match the 50 percent of the funding it has already raised.

I’ll focus on what the Pazzi Chapel means to me. I first experienced it as an art history master’s student. Viewing it from the courtyard, I was underwhelmed. The façade looked severe, and a little top heavy, with the illusion of the tall porch and cupola being supported by impossibly spindly columns.

But there’s something transformative about entering the Chapel. I felt serenity, order, cool spatial integrity. I was amazed how hushed the interior was, muffling clamor from nearby Piazza Santa Croce. And, over time, I learned to love the façade.

I worked inside Santa Croce, at the Scuola del Cuoio (The Leather School), and lived just off the square. Santa Croce and the Pazzi Chapel became integral aspects of my daily life. In some respects, the Pazzi Chapel became a personal escape, a calm island. I needed only to look at it to feel the peace.

Sharon and I met in Santa Croce, and four years later married there. No, not in the Pazzi Chapel but in the Medici Chapel in the adjacent sanctuary of the Basilica.

The Pazzi means a great deal to us, and we are helping to support the renovation (#crazyforpazzi).

Do you have a Pazzi story? Share it here and please consider a contribution to help restore this Renaissance treasure.

Tuscany Tours 2015

Posted November 4, 2014 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Is 2015 the year for your Tuscan dream to come true?

Escape with SimpleItaly to the private Villa Pipistrelli!

Few experiences are as memorable as sharing time and a spectacular destination with an intimate group of friends, colleagues, or grown-up family.

This intimate curated adventure is all about cultural immersion, relaxation, and good times. You’ll feel as if Villa Pipistrelli is your home because you’ll unpack once and “move in” for a week of wonders . . .

• Pecorino cheese-making demonstration and tasting.

• Olive oil comparison blind tasting.

• Watercolor painting class.

• Pasta making session and tasting.

• Wine estate tour with tasting.

• Magnificent medieval Siena—home of the Palio—and a private tour of the Brucco contrada with author Dario Castagno.

• Outing to the stunning hill town of Montepulciano.

• Presentation on the restoration of Villa Pipistrelli conducted by antiques expert Susan Pennington.

• Lavish buffet breakfasts and gourmet evening meals prepared by a private chef at Villa Pipistrelli.

• Free time to explore Montestigliano, the 2,500-acre Tuscan estate on which Villa Pipistrelli is tucked away.

• Social time with author Jennifer Criswell and other English-speaking experts on the culture, cuisine, and lifestyle.

Click here for the full itinerary to make 2015 the year for your Tuscan dream to come true!

Four week-long itineraries are reserved for you to choose from:
April 11–18, 2015
April 18–25, 2015
October 3–10, 2015
October 10–17, 2015

Little Shop in Florence

Posted June 17, 2014 by Sharon 2 Comments

Just off the luxury goods trail in Florence, Sandra’s little shop beckons with hidden “treasures.”

Ferragamo didn’t need to open its Salvatore Ferragamo Museo just for me. I approach all the luxury goods temples—Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Bulgari–on Florence’s stylish Via Tornabuoni with a gaze-in-awe-but-don’t-touch reverence. Owning these baubles is not for me but I can admire the artistry as I would the masterworks in a museum.

So, imagine my surprise on a blindingly sunny morning in April when I wandered a few footsteps east of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museo on peaceful Via B. SS. Apostoli to discover a shop called Sandra.

Gorgeous globe artichokes fresh from Sandra’s garden.

At 41r, tucked into a street level space no wider than a train car, Sandra was honoring her store motto: “di tutto un pò un pò di più” (a little of everything and a little more). Surrounding the entrance were crates of fruits, vegetables, braids of garlic, copper pots, painted wooden plaques, bunches of dried flowers. Sandra said she had plucked the artichokes from her garden that morning.

Stepping over the threshold was like entering a time machine back to Florence of 30, 40, or 50 years ago. On the shelves and from the ceiling were household items, oils, vinegars, herbs, jewelry, collectibles, petite chandeliers. Every centimeter offered a new treasure.

Sandra occupied the space behind the glass refrigerated display case at the back. It was stocked with salume and formaggi, no doubt to fortify serious Sandra shoppers who might want to inspect everything on the premises.

Wild fragolini and their hybrid cousins.

I wondered to myself how Sandra could afford the rent in this alta moda area given the price points of the merchandise. As I paid for my lovely little olive wood mortar and pestle and fragolini (tiny sweet wild strawberries—the only strawberries that would have been in a Florence market 30, 40, or 50 years ago), I said a silent “grazie” to Sandra for having di tutto up pò.

Sandra, Via B. SS. Apostoli, 41r, Firenze, (055) 28.34.10