Aka gelsomino in italiano.
In any language, I love this hardy plant! Below is my new pot filled with this very fragrant vining shrub.
And, here is gelsomino growing next door to my building: wow, I can’t wait for mine to grow! Just walking down the street near these flowers is like being in a garden!
The Italian brand of scooter, the iconic Vespa, is manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio.
From their inception, Vespa scooters have been known for their painted, pressed steel unibody which combines a complete cowling for the engine (enclosing the engine mechanism and concealing dirt or grease), a flat floorboard (providing foot protection), and a prominent front fairing (providing wind protection) into a structural unit.
Post World War II Italy, in light of its agreement to cessation of war activities with the Allies, had its aircraft industry severely restricted in both capability and capacity.
Piaggio emerged from the conflict with its Pontedera fighter plane plant demolished by bombing. Italy’s crippled economy and the disastrous state of the roads did not assist in the re-development of the automobile markets. Enrico Piaggio, the son of Piaggio’s founder Rinaldo Piaggio, decided to leave the aeronautical field in order to address Italy’s urgent need for a modern and affordable mode of transportation for the masses.
A masterpiece was born!
An early Vespa poster above.
The UK is Vespa’s second largest market, see above.
For more on Vespa, see:
I was walking along a new to me street in Florence last Friday, and when I walked by this arresting view of a gigantic succulent fenced in by brightly painted iron work, I must say it stopped me in my tracks!
I mean, the sheer size of the plant was overwhelming…it felt kind of Jurassic parklike. So cool!
Across the nation, 23 locales have risen to become UNESCO World Heritage sites. And they’re all breathtaking.
What does a city do with an historic fortress, when the idea of a fortress and its original capabilities are no longer needed/wanted?
Well, if it is Florence, you turn it into a modern asset–an exhibition/conference space like no other.
Known as Fiera Firenze, the Fortezza de Basso is now a leading exhibition centre in Tuscany located at the heart of the city, with 100,000 sq m, 65,000 of which are roofed. Among the venues constituting the exhibition area are The Fortezza da Basso, with its 55,000 sq m of covered area, Palazzo dei Congressi (with a congress capacity of around 1,500 seats and an auditorium for 1,000 guests) and Palazzo degli Affari, a modern and multifunctional venue of over 4,000 sq m, with an overall capacity of 1,300 people.
Its privileged location and its charming spaces, reflecting a perfect dialogue between historical architecture and contemporaneity, are the key factors making it a unicum in the fair & congress world.
Every year, the company boasts a portfolio of important events – some of which are leading events for men’s fashion and high quality crafts- as well as important local and international conventions and congresses, mainly focusing on medical-scientific subjects and on the IT sector.
Firenze Fiera also features a Development Department, as well as a Press & Communication Office, actively supporting the organisers of events, fair and congresses.
Cut it out! It is finally time to be who you really are!
My friend Isadora posted this on her Instagram today. I love the words and the idea that if you tear off a label, you can be wholly you! I know that isn’t what the original maker meant, but that’s how I like to see it!
My new apartment is right across due viale from the very handsome Palazzo dei Pittori. The palazzo and I are separated by 2 viale or boulevards and one stream (the Mugnone), and I always admire the facade of the palazzo whenever I gaze across this space. There is nothing blocking my view except some beautiful green trees and a stream, and two grand-scale viali or boulevards. The Palazzo provides a gorgeous backdrop!
Here is a Youtube video about the palazzo and its current iteration.
The building, intended for the studies of artists, has always been called “Palazzo dei Pittori” and located on the southern bank of the Mugnone stream, today Viale Giovanni Milton, at numbers 47 and 49.
The building was commissioned by an English painter named Lemon who was living in Florence. It was designed by the architect and engineer Tito Bellini and built in the 2nd half of the 19th century to host artists of various nationalities including English, German, Russian, Swiss and also Italians, all of whom created art during the time that Florence was the capital of Italy (1860-1865).
The Palazzo dei Pittori itself was built during the “Umbertino period,” with its large spaces and austere decoration.
From its construction to the present day, there have been many well and lesser known artists who have worked in the palace, including the Sicilian sculptor Domenico Trentacoste, the Macchiaiolo painter Egisto Ferroni, Giovanni and Romeo Costetti, the sculptor Giuseppe Graziosi and many others. It was also home to a prestigious school of painting called the “Florentine School of Painting,” directed by professors Giuseppe Rossi and Alberto Zardo.
Other creative artists also worked in this atelier, including poets and writers such as Gabriele D’Annunzio and Mario Luzi.
This is therefore a place that houses an important but forgotten past, vaguely mysterious, waiting to be discovered.
get back, lauretta! 
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