Florence, often considered as ‘Rome Light’, is the city of the Medici and art abounding. Florence is situated in the heart of Tuscany, on the Arno River between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, in the middle of the Italian peninsula. From1865 to 1870, Florence was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Now it is the capital city of Tuscany, Italy. The city was long ruled by the Medici family and oftentimes conceived the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Florence is a city of remarkable beauties including churches, monasteries, museums, galleries and palaces.
This city also called the ‘Athens of the Middle Ages’. It is believed that, of the 1,000 most important European artists of the second millennium, 350 lived or worked in Florence. Florence is a city that always mesmerizes and allures the visitors. Florence has population of approximately 400,000 people, in addition, a suburban population in excess of 200,000 persons.
Overflowing with history, superb art, architecture and rich culture, Florence attracts large number of visitors every year. It is a city which bustles with industry and craft, art and science, commerce and culture. Florence is also one of the best places on earth for food and wine lovers. Every passageway appears to offer the visitors a treasure trove of delicatessens, Enotecas (wine bars), gourmet shops and appealing trattorias.
Florence is a rich blend of flavors and aromas that make it one of the most famous for quality and taste. Florence is well-known for its tasty and yummy foods. Florentine people eat simple food, delicately spiced and not covered with heavy sauces. Florentine cooking is related to a custom of simple dishes made with authentic, flavorsome but plain ingredients, which has recently been reconsidered by the world of more sophisticated cuisine. All dishes are fresh, healthy and nutritionally excellent. Cereals, bread, tomatoes, beans, herbs, ham and salami and oil are the basis of many recipes of the foods of Florence.
In Florence there is good quality food for any price range. You can find best food at reasonable price outside the historical center, normally where local Italians go to eat. In the neighborhood of Mercato di San Lorenzo where there are several tourist restaurants food is much costly. Florence grows fruits, wine, wheat, corn, olive oil and vegetables: beans, asparagus, spinach, cardoons, artichokes, peas.
Rosemary, sage and basil are favorite spices of people of Florence. Soups are much liked in this city from ancient times. Cinestrata was a popular soup in the Renaissance. It was prepared from Marsala, crushed eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and some sugar. 'Ribollita' soup based on black cabbage, beans, and other vegetables and minestrone soup with boiled beans, cooked in oil with tomato sauce and sage are also much preferred soups of Florence.
Another most famous ‘beefsteak Florentine style’ food cooked rare, without salt, flavored with herbs and ‘tripe Florentine style,’ food covered with tomato sauce and an abundant sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. Crostini toscani with liver paté, trippa alla fiorentina covered in tomato and grated parmesan cheese; fiorentina a cut of meat from the Chianina cow, famous worldwide, lampredotto, the darkest part of tripe, used for soups and risottos and as a filling for a sandwich and Fagioli all'uccelletto, boiled and fried in oil and tomato sauce are greatly favored dishes in Florence.
Florence is one of the great wine-growing regions in the world. Florence produces some of the best Italian wines like Chianti- a red wine, the most popular Tuscan wine. The Chianti region is just south of the city, and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of the more recently produced Supertuscan blends.
Vernazza di San Gimignano, a dry white wine is another good wine to taste. This wine was favourite of Lorenzo de' Medici. The Vernaccia of San Gimignano, obtained from Vernaccia grapes, is very flavorful, as is the Montecarlo, from the Lucca region. Among the characteristic sweet wines is the Vin Santo made with raisins from Trebbiano and Malvasia, aged for several years in small casks and then bottled.
Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Riserva Nipozzano, Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino, Ruffino Modus, Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Gold, Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico Reserve, Villa Puccini Toscana , Vernaccia de San Gimignano, Antinori Santa Cristina, Galestro, Villa Puccini Chianti Superiore Luiano Luianico, Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale are most liked wines of Florence and also available online.
These wines with several flavors go well with different foods. For example, the Galestro is light and fruity and goes well with snacks and light meals. Chianti is perfect with most foods and all meats. Vernaccia de San Gimignano has dry and full bodied flavor and fits best with seafood. If you love wines, pay a visit to an enoteca, where you can taste, enjoy and buy a range of quality wines.
Orson Johnson writes for
Holiday Velvet, a website providing listings for bed and breakfasts, villas, hotels and
Vacation rental in Florence
