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Gay Travel: Pride Life tastes Italian delights both cultural and culinary in Florence
By: Cate Langmuir
Can you not see Michelangelo's David?
Can you not see Michelangelo's David?
Florence - and Michelangelo's David - for the day
We’re enjoying the mother of all breakfasts at the Savoy Hotel in Florence. Freshly baked pastries, exotic fruits, piping hot savoury nibbles, and a dizzying array of jams and compotes.
The location, too, is picture perfect. The Savoy sits on Piazza della Repubblica, one of the most magnificent squares in the city centre, with historic cafés just across the cobbles. And our room does indeed come with a view – over the sun-dappled piazza to a horizon dotted with domes and bell towers.
Throw in the chance to observe, over my freshly squeezed orange juice, the French chaps at the adjacent table, who have brought their lovers’ tiff to breakfast, and our 24-hour stay in the city is off to an excellent start.
Now, if like me you like to get high on first acquaintance with a place, there are two sensible options in Florence.
Head straight to the Piazza del Duomo and climb the Cupola (the dome that crowns the cathedral), or the Giotto Campanile alongside.
If you prefer your views to include the Duomo, then stretch your legs with a stroll over Ponte Vecchio, whose buildings have been occupied by goldsmiths since the sixteenth century, and up to the Piazzele Michelangelo, from where the snowcapped peaks of the Apennines are clearly visible across the city.
The sprawling art-filled Boboli Gardens are not far from here and where better to stretch out on the grass after your exertions? And while you’re on the Oltrarno (literally the “other side of the Arno”) check out the host of arts and crafts studios and workshops selling jewellery, textiles and ceramics. Mind you, now might also be a good time to find a street stall selling cool cocomero (watermelon).
We lunch back at the Savoy, ideally placed, after all, for a spot of early afternoon shopping, though I’m almost floored by the best pea and asparagus risotto I have ever tasted.
But the chic stores along Via della Vigna Nuova beckon, and when you’re ready to throw in the towel there’s always the option of a thick cup of rich cocoa and a sugary afternoon snack, or merenda, somewhere like Robiglio, a cioccolateria on Via dei Servi, to get you back on your feet – perhaps to sample the Florentine and Tuscan specialties at the market of San Lorenzo.
Could you visit Florence and not see Michelangelo’s David?
If the answer is “no”, then make for the Accademia to see the world-famous figure, sculpted when the artist was just twenty-six years old.
However, I’m more moved by his Genio della Vittoria, squirreled away inside the Palazzo Vecchio. It’s an unfinished piece but the head has a savage beauty.
We’re given a private tour of this palazzo by the head of the City Council, no less, who takes us beyond the ropes into the private murder chamber of Cosimo I, where the Medici ruler dispatched his enemies by shaking their hands wearing a poisonous ring. Chilling.
Adjoining Palazzo Vecchio is the Uffizi Gallery, if you’ve time to peruse some early masters. Or is it time for an ice cream?
The finest Florentine ice cream parlour, by all accounts, is Vivoli Piero Il Gelato, on Via Isola delle Stinche. When brothers Serafino and Raffaello Vivoli set up in the 1930s, ice was brought from Saltino, where it was made in winter and stored in ice-boxes. It was delivered to the city at night to keep it from melting too fast. The original owners’ heirs still run the business and there are fine pastries to accompany the wonderful ice cream.
Generally, when choosing an ice-cream parlour look out for the signs produzione propria or gelateria artigianale. But neither can you go wrong with the wholesome gelateria chain, Grom.
Later on, refreshed for a night out, we have pre-dinner drinks in an area of Florence that was completely rebuilt in the 1950s. The Gallery, on Vicolo dell’Oro, is a cool hotel/ gallery/ bar/ restaurant, where generous amuse-bouches are served with drinks
Try local favourite, Negroni, a mix of Campari, vermouth and gin, invented in Florence by Count Camillo Negroni.
We eat at Gustavino (gustavino.it), on Via della Condotta, with original art on the walls, and the loos in a trendy cube. The food is contemporary Italian – ravioli pecorino and pear with butter, walnuts and pistachios, followed by baked smoked scamorza cheese with grilled veg.
The next day, we pop over to Santa Croce, with its Gothic interior, Giotto frescoes, and local artists in the square.
And there’s just enough time to stop off for a pastry at Pasticceria Bar Ruggini, on the picturesque Via dei Neri. Riccardo is the third Ruggini pastry chef offering fresh baking on the premises. What could be a better farewell to Florence than a macchiato accompanied by home-made bomboloni?
I do hope those French chaps kissed and made up…
• For information about the gay scene and gay-friendly places in Florence, go to gayflorence.com
• The Leading Hotels of the World website offers stays at Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy, Florence, Italy from 260 euros per room per night based on two people sharing a double room. This price includes breakfast. Call 00800 2888 8882 (toll free) or go to lhw.com/savoyflor
