Plumridge - Lost in Florence: an insiders guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore

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CONTENTS

Benvenuto!

My love affair with Florence is long, and Lost in Florence came to life with a desire to showcase the chic, boutique, and unique venues in the Renaissance capital. Incredible places run by passionate artisans of style or food, spaces tucked away from the crowds, found by turning down an innocuous cobbled street to discover a hole-in-the-wall eatery or boutique store run by friendly locals. Often the best Florence experiences are when we take that unexpected turn and get lost ... in the most adventurous sense.

I first visited Tuscany at age 15 and was immediately mesmerised by Florences beauty, its graceful buildings and open piazze which are museum-like, filled with elegant statues and bordered by cafes with locals lounging al fresco sipping cappuccini well into the late morning sunshine. That trip I vowed to return when I was older, to live for a summer, which I did, finally, in 2010. I packed up my London flat, bought a one-way ticket and spent year-end immersed in the city. I took art classes, drank cappuccini well into the late morning sunshine and soaked in the unique spirit this city holds a certain 'dolce vita that washes over you and there, just like that, youre hooked. Years on, my passion for the city remains ignited.

I have discovered most people are searching for Italys famous sweet life, craving more than just gelato or Michelangelos David (although he is rather handsome and worth seeing). This book combines my passion for Florence with its people and places to take you on a journey through its ancient streets. I share hidden venues and guide you on itineraries to discover your own unforgettable adventure.

Are you ready to be Lost in Florence too?

Buon viaggio!
Nardia

Florence today is a magnificent example of Renaissance architecture built on the wealth of the city's 15th- and 16th-century burgeoning new banking scene, as the newly rich built grand palazzi (palaces) to out-do their neighbours and commissioned fine artworks by the citys most talented creatives to adorn their palace walls.

Florences history dates back to Roman times with an early settlement Florentia by the river Arno during the reign of Julius Caesar. The Roman town was laid out in typical grid-like Roman fashion, its main crossroad is today marked by a pillar with a grey sandstone statue of Dovizia atop Colonna dell'Abbondanza, in Piazza della Repubblica, and noted by street names like Via Roma (the road leading south towards Rome). During the Middle Ages, Florence became a hub for the textile industry making many citizens wealthy and the city became a centre of European life. These riches enabled families to diversify into other businesses, namely banking, when the Renaissance period really took off.

The citys most famous family are the Medici, bankers, art patrons, private citizens and Grand Dukes who ruled the walled city, in politics and business, from Cosimo de'Medicis reign from 1434, through Lorenzo Il Magnifico, The Magnificent, until their eventual demise in 1737 (I recommend , to understand all this history in one short hour). During the end of the Medici reign, it was the lesser known Anna Maria Luisa who, with her brother, created the Family Pact instilling the condition in her will that all the art and collections of the Medici dynasty remain in her beloved Florence, which it still does today; its what makes the city the best preserved Renaissance capital in the world.

During the citys Renaissance heyday, Florence was divided into four different quartiere Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, Santa Maria Novella and San Giovanni which still make up the four teams for the annual calico storico (historic soccer) matches played in Piazza Santa Croce each June. Yet the city has more than four central neighbourhoods, many still retaining a village-like charm, all of which are worth exploring.

Up until 1865, Florence was a walled city surrounded by ten-metre-tall stone mure (walls) and entered into via sixteen porte (gates). When the city was gentrified after Italys unification in 1860, the council wished to modernise the city and feeling that old medieval walls were, well, old, they knocked them down on the north side of Florence to make way for sweeping boulevards tree-lined streets, known as Viale, fashioned on the streets of Paris, the city du jour of the time.

The citys heart lies within the old Renaissance parameters, intersected by the river Arno, crossed by the famed Ponte Vecchio bridge, and containing the major landmarks: the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens, Galleria dell'Accademia, Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo. And not to forget the vista from Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sun set over the citys famed terracotta rooftops. Florence has so much to discover, from classic art to contemporary exhibitions, plus an illustrious heritage for fashion and food. Its a city to ignite your passions on every level.

For a small city of just over 300,000 residents, Florence is a vibrant capital that today retains much of its traditions especially with its artisan heritage. Equally, there is a burgeoning array of contemporary spaces and places to enjoy a happy balance of traditionally made creative crafts with a modern design twist, whether its leather-made goods or jewellery in artisan studios, or restaurants using locally sourced produce of the finest quality. And lest we forget we are in wine country Florence is surrounded by some of the finest vineyards in Italy and is just a skip from the famed Chianti region, with the city boasting a number of beautiful boutique wine bars.

NORTH OF THE ARNO

SAN GIOVANNI

Wine & Nine

Wine

Wine

Wine

Dine

Dine

Dine

Fine

Fine

Sublime

Sublime

Sublime

Sublime

Sublime

Sublime

Sublime

Sublime

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA

Wine & Nine

Wine & Nine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

SAN LORENZO

Wine & Nine

Dine

Dine & Nine

Fine

Fine

Sublime

Sublime

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

Nine

SANTA CROCE

Wine & Nine

Wine

Wine

Dine

Dine

Fine

Fine

Fine & Nine

Fine

Fine

Sublime

Nine

Nine

Nine

SANTAMBROGIO

Wine

Wine

Dine

Fine

Fine

Nine

Nine

Nine

SOUTH OF THE ARNO

SANTO SPIRITO

Wine

Wine

Wine

Wine & Nine

Wine

Dine

Dine

Dine

Dine

Dine

Dine

Dine & Nine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Fine

Sublime

Sublime