A Room With a View

Usually, when going to Florence, the view is not really as important as the location. Most people just want to be in the middle of town so they are close to everything. Florence is NOT that big! You can comfortably stay on the South side of the river and enjoy a gorgeous view of the city from a tranquil villa on a hill.

Villa la Vedetta has 17 beautifully appointed rooms, GORGEOUS grounds, a fantastic pool, the perfect deck for watching the sun set on Florence and a top gastronomic restaurant. Basically, it has it all. Their Vista Suite (pictured) has massive windows looking on the city and can accommodate up to 4 people with a king bed downstairs and a convertible sofa upstairs.

The pool too is a fantastic way to unwind in the afternoons – following a full day of sites and shopping. Not many hotels in Florence have a pool, so this really is a treat – especially in those hot summer months!

Really, Villa la Vedetta was one of my favorite hotels of this past trip. I really loved everything about it.

Artisan Papers

Have you ever wondered how they got the cool designs on the binding of old books? I love finding a book in a flea market or something that has that marbling on it….books were so valued that even the binding of them was a work of art! The same technique is employed to dye paper for various other uses. Made throughout Europe even into the 19th century, marbled-paper making survives today almost exclusively in Florence with its old artisan economy grafted onto the airborne tourist trade of today. Nothing is lighter or easier to take home than a sheet of handmade carta marmorizzata, which sells in Florence's marbled paper shops for less than $8.

Basically, a resin or a glue is added to a specially designed basin. Then drops of pigment are flicked or drizzled into the basin. The artist creates his pattern in the pigments and then lightly dips the paper in the glue bath. After the colored paper is lifted gently from its bath, it is patted, sponged, combed or brushed into patterns. The three most popular are peacock's tail, combed or marbled. Of the 200 or so sheets usually obtained from one basin, no two are ever alike. Each is a work of art that can then be cut and glued to agendas, blotters, bookends and all the paraphernalia to enhance desks and the even more elusive art of writing.

There are a lot of paper shops in Florence. Let me know if you would like a demonstration with the artisan – and you can design your own marbled paper. I picked these up as gift for a friend who highly values the written word. It will be hard to part with them!!