Holidays in Florence

Oltrarno in Florence

The district called 'Oltrarno' in Florence means 'across the Arno', and living on the south bank of the river was once considered inferior. Here lived people who did not have sufficient wealth to build a palace within the centre of Florence. That stigma did not change until the house-hold of the Medici Grand Dukes moved to Oltrarno in 1550. The Palazzo Pitti became the base from which Tuscany was ruled for the next 300 years. Eleonora di Toledo, the Spanish wife of Cosimo I, purchased the Palazz...

Visiting Villa Palandri in Tuscany

“Villa Palandri”, located nearby Greve in Chianti (Florence), is the headquarters of the “Museum of the Florentine Peasant Culture”. In extending a warm welcome to its visitors, “Villa Palandri” would like to share some historical information pertaining to the property. History tells us that in 15th century these Tuscany villas were the property of the Palandri Family. It was later bought by the Medici family, cousins of the reigniting Grand Duchy at that time. It then remained in the Medici fam...