On a recent Friday evening in Florence my friends and I set out for the Palazzo Antinori, a Renaissance palace in the center of the city. The august group, The Friends of Florence, which raises money to restore precious objets in Florence, was promoting a fund-raising auction of fine wines with the Pandolfini auction house and was honored by the Antinori family hosting a reception.

But long before reaching the palace, the natural lights of this Friday night sky were magnificent!

Often my phone can’t capture natural phenomena well, but this evening was an exception. These photos are close to the original!

And as the sun went further down, the sky became more splendid!

Wow!

Double wow!

So we reached the beautiful palace and were welcomed by the patriarch of the Antinori clan in this short address. You are looking at and listening to the man who currently embodies a wine producing family concern that evolved over centuries. Bask in this moment of Florentine history with me!

We were guests of the Antinori family for a few hours on a beautiful evening in their incredible home, on the piano nobile.

Lively conversation abounded.

I loved the simplicity and elegance of a still-life tableaux. The clear class vases, filled with water, reminded me of hundreds of paintings I’ve experienced of such loveliness.

Back outside, we wandered through this magical city, which is as impressive at night as it is during the daytime. The electric lights do not photograph well, but you get the vibe.

From every angle, the duomo complex astounds me.

And, because it was before Easter, we happened upon a procession pouring out of the Duomo, about which I have already posted on March 29, 2026 if you’d like to read more about it.

Another magical evening a Firenze. Buona notte a tutti!

Like turtles, Florentines come out to bask in the sun after the winter.

But of all the places to sun, why one earth would someone go to the trouble of sunbathing in THIS particular spot??

I love love love lilacs and I rarely see them here in Florence! But I spotted these today and I was so happy!

If only I could have gotten close enough to inhale their gorgeous scent!

I recently had the good fortune to see an intarsia artist at work in his workshop in the Oltrarno section of Florence. I am happy I got some good videos and photos of him and his work. Please enjoy!

Bottega: workshop.

Below is a piece of 19th century intarsia, created in an antique (Renaissance) style. Renato just had this piece on hand.

But I mean, really, is there such a thing? Walking down a new avenue in Florence recently with friends we spotted an open front door on a lovely old palace. Of course we entered and had a quick look. The exact address is Via Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi 21, Firenze.

A monumental staircase in the foyer.

Stone tracery,

The fresco paintings I would judge to be from the late 19th, early 20th century and there is one painting, seen above, that records a name and date! This is not always the case. Aldo Nanni, built this, in 1912 it says. At the bottom it says he was the architect.

The central female figure in the vault painting is adorned with a sash that carries Latin words which I can barely make out in my photograph, unfortunately. I can read “hosts hisser aeibus ___?__” which in English would say “goes of these homes __?__”. If I am ever lucky enough to go back there, I will take a better picture, but I think we get the point, it is a welcoming message.

Pride of place

In Latin is written “human labori, astern laus” which in English reads “Eternal praise to human labor.”

Written in Latin is “ubi labor” and “obi uber” which in English means “where there is labor, there is fruit.”

High over this simple but stunningly stone encased doorway is a fresco that provides the name of the painter and the year of its execution. Translated it reads: In the year 1912 Guido Nincheri was the painter.”

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/christmas-stained-glass

“The Art and Passion of Guido Nincheri,” a 2018 book by Mélanie Grondin,

An exhibit of Nincheri’s work, “From The Secular to The Sacred” at Montreal’s Château Dufresne museum 2023

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Born in 1885 to a wealthy textile merchant in Tuscany, and educated at Florence’s Academy of Fine Arts, Nincheri came to Montreal via Boston in 1914.

After blooming its little heart out for over a month, my camellia shrub with the medium pink blooms ended the cycle of blooming. And then one day I noticed another, brighter, bloom. Instead of the paler pink, the bloom was now this corally color! Gorgeous!

Thinking this might be the last bloom of the 2026 season, I decided to photograph it each day as it opened up.

It was a fun exercise and reveals such beauty in the natural process.

And when it was fully open, it was the much lighter pink of the earlier blooms!

And I have a 2nd camellia shrub that has very pale pink blossoms. It is still going strong, as you can see below!

And just for kicks; in my neighborhood there are many mature camellias, which foreshadow the size mine could eventually become! You’ll see what I mean!

And right in my lovely neighborhood! Mi piace!

What a lovely terrace! Che bella terrazzo!

And then there is a lovely young blooming tree on the walk I take almost daily along the Arno River. I couldn’t resist a few shots!

Welcome springtime! Benvenuta primavera!