Piazza Michelangelo

Piazza Michelangelo

If you are going to Italy, or Florence in particular, one Piazza we really recommend is Piazza Michelangelo. It is located on top of a small hill and requires a small walk to get to, but is definitely worth it. Usually this Piazza is pretty populated and has a lot of stands selling sunglasses, paintings, food, etc. There is even a place where you can get Gelato and a small cafe or two! The view from the top is amazing and is pictured to the left, but you can't really capture how beautiful it is unless you have seen it in person. On Saturday, we walked to the top and sat on the steps for about 30 minutes.. It was pouring in another town and we could see the lightning bolts from where we were. If you are going to go to the Cafe that is on the very ledge, we recommend you don't get the Gnocchi.. it is sort of too creamy and gave us both a stomach ache. Everything else is good though. :)

Cooking Show

Emily & Jenna in the kitchen.

The Medici Family

Today we went to the Medici Gallery

 Museo delle Capelle Medicee

 Piazza Modonna degli Aldorbrandini 6

Firenze, Italia

The Medici family began in the 12th century in Florence, Italy. They were part of the Patrician Class and were seen as friends of the common peo

ple. Over time they became rich with banking and commerce and at the end of century one of the Medici's was gonfaliere (h

igh ceremonial office) 

By the time the 14th century rolled around the Medici family had grown quite popular and gained a lot of power. As time went on the Medici's wealth decreased but thanks to Giovanni di Bicci de'Medici he had made the Medici's into the wealthiest family in Italy, maybe even Europe. But the Medici's were more concerne

d about art than political power. Because of them Florence, Italy became the birthplace of the Renaissance. 

The things that interested us the most about the Medici Gallery would have to be the vases that held parts of the families body inside of it. Unlike what we do in the present, The Medici's believed that

 when someone died instead of burning the body for their ashes, you should remove a bone, or jaw, or some part and keep it in one of these beautifu

lly detailed vases. 

The vases ranged from two feet tall to maybe just a foot and were usually in gold or silver. Most of them had see-through boxes displaying the body part inside.  

THE MEDICI FAMILY TREE

if you would like to see the enlarged image, please go to:

http://www.lakesideschool.org/studentweb/worldhistory/renaissance/

images/MediciFamilyTree_000.gif

     Medici Chapel

Another intriguing part about the Medici Gallery was the Chapel. 

Because the building is being partially remodeled, due to aging and deterioration, there are some statues missing and construction equipment on one side. Even with the continuos shrill of the jackhammer echoing off the walls, there is still enough beauty to drown out the harsh sounds of modern day technology. 

Gelato Reviews

For those of you who have never encountered the lusciousness of freshly made gelato, we suggest you come to Italy. 

Quite convenient for the two of us, we are surrounded by an abundance of gelato stores, each unique in their own way.  Our two favorites; Vivoli and Gelataria Dei Neri. 

When it comes to gelato, we prefer Stracciatella (chocolate chip) and Crema (cream) 

and in our opinion Vivoli (the oldest gelato shop in Florence) has the best Crema. It's English translation means Cream, but it still has a vanilla taste to it. We prefer our crema not too sweet but flavorful and creamy. 

And when we're in the mood for Stracciatella (which is most of the time) we usually go to Gelataria Dei Neri, we choose Gelataria Dei Neri over Vivoli because Vivoli's Stracciatella is much different than Gelataria Dei Neri's. For starters there are more chocolate chips, and the chocolate chips taste more like chocolate, as Vivoli's are too frozen to decipher what they actually are. Plus, the Vanilla (vaniglia) is softer and tastes better too. 

Gelato tastes best when it's fresh, without a doubt. If you're really luck you'll get the chance to taste it right after it's been prepared. We think that if you're going to Vivoli you'll have a better chance of trying freshly made gelato because it's more popular than Gelataria Dei Neri so they have to keep on making fresh batches to satisfy all of their customers.

But don't get us wrong; Gelataria De Neri is excellent and a one of a kind original gelataria like Vivoli!

Here are the addresses:

Gelataria Dei Neira

26r Via dei Neri

Firenze, 50122 Italy

Vivoli

Via Dell' Anguillara 35/R

50100 Firenze, Italy 

A video will be up shortly of our travel to Gelataria Dei Neri!

Please bare with us :)

Y Emily & Jenna

"If you do not live life on the edge, then you are taking up too much space"