Author: Lourdes Flores

An American living in Florence for over 10 years, Lourdes continues to explore and discover new places in Tuscany with the eyes of a tourist but with the experience of living in Italy. She shares her experiences on this blog and website, particularly offering lots of travel planning help on the Forum!

A Dream of Contemporary Art

January 13, 2015

We have highlighted some of this artist’s work before, sharing his “mash-up” creations on our Instagram and Facebook. His name is Andrea, known as “@pomo_fi” on Instagram, and you can get a chance to see some of his incredible unique works of contemporary art for a few more days at the Merlino Bottega d’Arte at…

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Free Museums the First Sunday of Every Month

January 2, 2015

EDIT 2018: CHECK DATES FOR 2018 HERE. Welcome to 2015 and our first post of the year!! We start off reminding everyone of the possibility of enjoying free admittance at your favorite museums this year… In case you missed the news back in July 2014, every first Sunday of the month all State-run museums in…

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Art for a Year: Firenze 2015, Un Anno ad Arte

December 23, 2014

A new year is almost here, a new year of more art than you knew existed in Florence to discover! Florence is home to priceless treasures and masterpieces and you’re likely already including several in your itinerary. In addition to a museum’s permanent collection, most of the major state museums in Florence organize major temporary…

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InContrada, A Chance to Go Inside the Contradas in Siena

November 25, 2014

One of the first things that comes to mind when one thinks of Siena is the Palio. The Palio horse race is run twice every year, on July 2nd and August 16th, around the Piazza del Campo. All of Siena comes out to participate and celebrate on those days, hoping for a victory to show…

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Crazy for the Pazzi in Santa Croce

November 18, 2014

I love the Franciscan Basilica of Santa Croce, every time I go back I have a chance to remind myself of why this is so: from the wonderfully colorful frescoes in the Cappella Maggiore by Agnolo Gaddi to those in the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels by Giotto (which don’t seem to have been painted over…

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Urban Trekking: Getting to Know the Towns through City Walks

October 23, 2014

In it’s 11th edition, “Trekking Urbano” is a national day when several towns across all of Italy organize guided walking visits of their town to explore their town, including known and off-the-beaten-path areas of town. Siena in Tuscany was one of the first cities in Italy to adopt this initiative, and has developed several itineraries…

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General Strikes in October and November 2014

October 18, 2014

Unfortunately for us and visitors to Italy and Tuscany, fall and winter is when Italian unions decide to show their strength and political clout by announcing general strikes that paralyze the country. These impact all sectors of transport: the airports, ferries, trains and buses. Fortunately, the “hot” days are not that many; we’re sharing what…

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Museum closures after heavy rain

September 20, 2014

Yesterday afternoon a pretty freakish storm descended on Florence that made national news: heavy rain with hail about 2 cm wide carpeted most of Florence making it seem like snow had fallen. The hail cause quite a bit of damage while the wind and rain cause many trees to fall. At least no one was…

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Be Freddie for a Day on September 5th

August 30, 2014

Given we are Queen fans here at the DiscoverTuscany office and love the Hard Rock Cafe in Florence, we could not share this upcoming event: “Freddie for a Day“! On Friday, September 5th on the occasion of Freddie Mercury’s birthday, the event is celebrated at all of the Hard Rock Cafes worldwide. The event not…

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