Romantic Florence - Rooms with a View

T R AV E L
Romantic
Florence
A
. h, Romance… How lucky we are to live in Italy and
free to plan a trip to Florence, not to visit her museums,
or her churches and outdoor markets, but to simply
follow in the footsteps of the romantics, searching for all
that is beautiful and savouring all that is serene. Of course,
history plays a role no matter where we turn, whispering to
us in cloisters and courtyards, in scented gardens and beneath
the arches of stone loggias. For our weekend getaway, we
choose the Hotel Torre di Bellosguardo. In the 13th century,
poet and nobleman Guido Cavalcanti, friend of Dante
Alighieri, chose the summit of one of Florence’s hills to build
the Tower of Bellosguardo, as a refuge and a hunting lodge.
Over the centuries, it has had many proprietors, including
the Medici Family, who appropriated it for their use as a
“country” residence outside the walls of the city. In the late
15th century, it became the property of the Roti Michelozzi
and in 1583 the family restored the tower and built the lovely
villa that was destined to become this splendid hotel. In
1913, Bellosguardo and the surrounding land became the
property of Baroness Marion Hornstein Franchetti, and it
is thanks to Giovanni Amerigo Franchetti, her grandson,
that Bellosguardo has been fully restored to its original
grandeur. Signor Franchetti is also responsible for creating
the enchanting gardens that frame the tower and villa.
Bellosguardo
Duomo at night
We enter Bellosguardo through the
beautifully frescoed ballroom, which
serves as the reception, while the ancient
limonaia is now a light-filled garden
room where guests can simply relax
and listen to the silence. Each of the
uniquely decorated rooms is furnished
in authentic, priceless antiques, inviting
guests to experience not a predictable
hotel environment, but rather the romance
of a Renaissance villa. At Bellosguardo,
modern comforts have been seamlessly
added, without altering the evocative
atmosphere of the villa’s intriguing past.
It is a banquet for the senses, and the
gardens lead one into the realm of magic.
From almost every angle of this enchanted
floral kingdom, I have a panoramic view
of the rooftops of Florence, punctuated by
Brunelleschi’s Dome, Giotto’s Belltower
and the distinctive turret of Palazzo
Vecchio, once the fortified palace of the
Medici Family. The garden is just now
blossoming with the promise of spring and
the air is heady with its perfume. I walk
along stone paths that flank a trickling
stream where water lilies float. On a stone
bench, beneath a shady cupola of scented
laurel, I read a contemporary novel, but
something does not feel quite right. This
is a poet’s garden. I should be reading
poetry. Perhaps Calvacanti’s “Donna me
prega,” one of the most famous of his
poems contemplating love.
conjunction with the creation of
this grand Piazzale designed by
architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1865,
La Loggia was originally constructed
to house a Michelangelo museum.
The tree-lined avenues leading up
from the banks of the Arno to the
impressive piazza, the square itself,
and the Loggia were all part of an
ambitious plan to give the city a
facelift following, and in celebration
of, the unification of Italy and
the establishment of the new
government in Florence. Instead,
in 1876 this lovely neoclassical
building became the Panoramic
Restaurant destined to become a
historical institution, not only for its
architectural beauty but also for its
cuisine, and the part it still plays in
the social life of the city, drawing
Florentines and foreigners from all
over the world to its tables.
Piazzale Michelangelo
Antico Ristorante La Certosa
From the tables in the dining room,
and through the arches of the loggia,
or from the rooftop terrace, La
Loggia offers incomparable views of
the city, the Arno, the Ponte Vecchio,
the turrets and towers and domes
of Dante’s city – most spectacular
of all the Duomo, especially when
softly illuminated at night. This
evening the dining room tables are
graced with silver chargers set on
fine table linens, with fresh flowers.
Or Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets
The atmosphere is relaxed, yet
from the Portuguese. I wonder if she
elegant. Our waiter opens a bottle
might have paused beneath a leafy canopy
of Chianti Classico, Tagliafune 2005,
in a similar Florentine garden and been
produced for the restaurant by the
inspired to pen her words of love… The
University of Florence’s Agricultural
courtship between Elizabeth and Robert
Department. It has earned a DOCG
Browning, which began in May 1846,
classification, and it is well merited.
is one of the most famous courtships in
La Loggia has a team of six chefs,
literature. Elizabeth, six years older
and during high season, six more
and an invalid, was doubtful that such a
join the team. Tonight Franco Carnivale
dynamic and worldly man could love her
has prepared some marvellous dishes,
and these feelings were expressed in her
but the filet mignon of
famous Sonnets from
Tuscan beef, made with
‘Elizabeth married poet
the Portuguese, which
lardo and a reduction of
she wrote over a twoRobert Browning in secret Chianti wine is superb.
year period. Because of
In fact, Chianti also
and together the two
her father’s objections,
stars in our pasta course,
Elizabeth married poet moved to Italy, where they flavouring the very tasty
Robert Browning in
ragú that top fresh pici.
lived almost continuously
secret and together
Soft music makes
the two moved to Italy, for the rest of her life.’
conversation easy and
where they lived almost
silent moments enjoyable. As we sip the
continuously for the rest of her life. She
sweetness of Passito di Pantaliera, Sicily’s
is buried in the English Cemetery here in
noted Moscato, it is easy to understand
Florence.
why La Loggia has remained popular for
Keeping to our plans to skirt around
130 years, whether one comes to dine
the centre of Florence, we drive uphill
as we have or to simply enjoy an aperitif
to the Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy
as shadows lengthen and day turns into
the views and to dine at La Loggia. In
dusk. Claudio Nobbio, in his poem entitled
“Aperitivo sulla Terrazza di Firenze” ends
his day – and his verse – with these words:
In the meantime, they bring me an iced
aperitif
And it is in these moments that I love
Florence
Even more…
The following morning, we drive to
Certosa on the outskirts of the city to
visit the former Carthusian Monastery
built in 1341, locally known as Certosa
del Galluzzo. The last member of the
Carthusian order left in 1956, but it has
continued to be an active monastery
throughout the years. The monastery
passed to the Cistercian Order and
today the Benedictine monks occupy the
cloisters, continuing to work and pray in
silence. Indeed, the silence pierced only
by birdsong and the buzz of bees is like a
honeyed balm for all who visit. I say to the
old monk who is the resident beekeeper, “I
understand that you make the honey” and
he promptly replies, with a twinkle in his
eye, “No, the bees make the honey!”
Unfortunately, Napoleon robbed the order
of about 500 works of art, stripping the
monastery of a rich endowment of art
treasures. Nevertheless, what remains
of the art and architecture is visually and
spiritually pleasing. A local family – mother,
father and daughter - soon interrupts the
monk, who has begun to show us around.
They have come to plan her wedding to take
place in the monastery’s church. We leave
them to their business and wander around
on our own until it is time for lunch.
When a restaurant occupies what was once
the Monks’ Old Pharmacy, it has every
reason to attach the venerable attribute
“Antico” to its name. Opened a little over
a decade ago, La Certosa offers traditional
Tuscan cuisine and awesome views of the
hilltop monastery. Each of the several dining
rooms is uniquely decorated with newly
frescoed walls that take their inspiration
from Tuscany’s artistic past. We lunch in
the Sala Chiostro, an intimate space that
wraps us in the warm colours of the Tuscan
countryside – sunflower yellow, golden
wheat and wine red, easily putting us in the
mood for the wonderful food and wine that
soon comes to our table.
When we ask our waiter to help us select
from their many offerings, he simply shrugs
and says, “You are in Toscana, what else?
It’s obvious. Beef!” His recommendation is
obviously the right choice. If we were to eat
nothing else but the main course, tagliata
alla fiorentina, the most tender slices of
beef, seasoned simply with salt, rosemary
and capers, accompanied by roasted
potatoes and grilled vegetables, we would
have left completely satisfied. But naturally,
we savor assorted antipasti of salumi and
crostini, and a sampling of two different
pastas, accompanied by an excellent DOCG
Chianti from Villa La Palagina vineyards.
La Certosa cuisine has no secrets – it is
simply Tuscan country cooking at its best
– fresh ingredients, in the hands of master
chefs, simply prepared. And Ecco Fatto! You
have a most satisfying meal.
My husband and I are feeling drowsy and
think of nothing else but indulging in the
time-honoured tradition of the siesta. In our
shuttered room, I think about the austerity
of the monk’s lives, cloistered from the
outside world with few creature comforts.
And then, just before I close my eyes I see
the young bride-to-be, glowing with love and
dream-like visions of her wedding day. Ah,
Romance….
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Torre di Bellosguardo
Via Roti Michelozzi, 2
50124 Florence
055-229-8145
www.torrebellosguardo.com
[email protected]
WHERE TO EAT
Panoramico Ristorante La Loggia
Piazzale Michelangelo, 1
50125 Florence
055-234-2832
www.ristorantelaloggia.it
[email protected]
Antico Ristorante La Certosa
Via Cassia, 1
50124 Certosa Firenze
055-204-8876
www.lacertosa.it
[email protected]
© Ginda Simpson