Florence Nightingale
Named after the city of
her birth, Nightingale was
a hero of the Crimean War,
a talented statistician, a
prolific writer and, above
all, a social reformer
widely credited with pio-
neering modern nursing.
Florence
Griffith Joyner
It’s been 25 years since
Flo-Jo smashed the
women’s 100m and 200m
world records at the
Seoul Olympic Games and
nobody has come even
close. The US sprinter died
in 1998, aged 38.
Eggs florentine
A veggie version of the
American brunch clas-
sic, eggs benedict, but
with spinach instead of
ham. Not to be confused
with Florentines, the
chocolate-coated fruit-
and-nut treat.
Cibreo Teatro del Sale
It’s worth jumping
through hoops to eat at
this inimitable Florence
restaurant. It’s both a
theatre and a showcase
for Tuscan cooking
where each dish leaves
the kitchen to a dramatic
announcement from the
chef before being passed
round. You need to buy €7
membership (NOK56) and
fill out a bunch of forms,
but it’s worth the hassle.
edizioniteatrodelsalecibreofirenze.it
Solo Ciccia
Butcher to the stars
Dario Cecchini counts
Elton John, the UK’s
Prince Charles and Jack
Nicholson among his
clientele. Cecchini is
a boundlessly creative
carnivore who uses his
Panzano restaurant to
serve produce from his
butcher’s shop – he serves
meat and meat alone,
and his huge personality
matches the vast portions
of food.
solociccia.it
La Chiusa
An ancient oil mill in
the remote village of
Montefollonico seems an
unlikely place to find the
future of Tuscan cooking.
But La Chiusa breathes
new life into the old
classics. The handmade
pasta here is celebrated
(don’t miss the tagliatelle
with truffles), while the
baccalà is a must-try – a
regional version of salt
cod in tomato sauce.
ristorantelachiusa.it
Famous
Florences
06
Where to
book tables
In the know
A great way to discover
Tuscany is on a walking tour.
Art Viva (italy.artviva.com)
has tailored tours of Florence
depending how long you have:
you can see work by Leonardo
da Vinci at the Uffizi, visit
Michelangelo’s David at the
Accademia Gallery or take a
night-time tour of the city’s
bloody past. Local Constanza
Riccardi (sienawalkingtours.
com) also offers a range
of Siena city and Tuscan
countryside tours, including a
taste of Montepulciano.
The equestrian centre at Castellare
di Tonda
(castellareditonda.com) is
a great place for kids to connect
with nature. The agri-tourism
resort at the heart of Tuscany
offers kids riding lessons at their
well-equipped stables.
Summer here gets hot so a
cool sea breeze will appeal.
Hop on
a catamaran at Viareggio Harbour
(pre-book at cetus@supereva.
it) to meet tuneful bottleneck
dolphins, who use high-frequency
clicks, squeaks and whistles to
communicate with each other.
Nobody will award
Pinocchio
Park
(pinocchio.it) any prizes for
hi-tech innovation, but it has few
rivals when it comes to old-school
charm. Pinocchio, of course, is
Florentine, and the original
The
Adventures of Pinocchio
is set
in Tuscany. This park, seemingly
untouched since opening in 1956,
divides opinion – some warm to
the puppet-making workshops and
butterfly house, others will crave a
swift return to modernity.
If you
have kids
08
07
REX
La Chiusa,
in remote
Montefollonico
n
/ 0 9 3
