Found Objects: Florence, Italy – Part One

Florence, Italy. August – September 2014.

I’m splitting all my posts on Florence because there are too many photos to post all at once, and I’m still amassing a whole truckload of others while I’m here. I had been to Florence twice before coming for school this year, but both visits had been short and tourist-spot-centric. It’s really only now that I get to walk and explore the city everyday that I’m able to focus on the details, even the most random, seemingly-minute ones.

I saw this interesting display inside Polimoda, whose campus is so nice btw.

And there really should be a miniseries featuring the tiniest cars of Italy. Because.

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Signs: Milan, Italy

Milan, Italy. August 2014.

Just a hunch, but I think the marketing/advertising person behind this copy won’t likely find a job in an English-speaking market.

Architecture in: Segovia, Spain

Segovia, Spain. April 2014.

Abundant in Moorish elements (as well as a huge dollop of Italian–you’ll see why) but still missing that ever-evasive “Spanish” signature, Segovia at least was not too big of a disappointment. This is approaching borderline broken record territory, I know–me and my beef with the confusing absence of Spanish architecture in Spain, or at least my expecting a stronger architectural/design point of view from Spain but instead finding out that Spanish design is largely Moorish with strong infusions from France and Italy? That whole train of thought is confusing. But anyway, just some photos for now.

As with several cities that were once under Roman rule, one of Segovia’s main landmarks is a Roman one (not Spanish). This Roman aqueduct is, amazingly, still standing given that it was built with no cement or mortar or anything–just the stones, using the whole “keystone” technique that the Romans were famous for. Our tour guide told us that the sorta laughable reason for this aqueduct being built was that they needed water for the city but the water was located in a lower area, and Romans didn’t know how to pump water, but they did know how to build bad-ass aqueducts that could transport water from a higher area, so that’s exactly what they did. Whatever works, I guess.

Food: Il Fiesolano – Florence, Italy

Fiesole, Firenze, Italy. August 2014.

A cozy little gem right by the main square of Fiesole (Piazza Mino), with a good variety of dishes and an abundance of retro-quirkiness (I’m loving the almost-vintage hand-lettering on the menu), and most importantly the food tastes good, so there’s that. It’s known for its Florentine steak as well (which a lot of people regard as the best in Florence) but we were a little bit steak-ed out at this point, having just had steak the day before, and the day before that–so we decided to just try a bunch of their specials instead.

A traditional ravioli with just spinach and sage butter sauce

Porchetta al Forno con Patatone–looks kind of gross but is really surprisingly delicious. Those icky-looking black bits are the best part.

Risottino all’Osso Bucco. Doesn’t look like much either (their plating in general is more rustic than fancy, which lends to the authenticity, I think), but is also really good. The thing in the middle is the bone with the pot o’ gold (the marrow). Nom/Yum.

Il Fiesolano is located at Piazza Mino 9r, Fiesole, Florence, Italy

Street Art Snaps: Prato, Italy

Prato, Firenze, Italy. September 2014.

Prato, a sub-commune of the province of Firenze, is a quiet, quaint neighbor with a lot of charm (and apparently the largest and oldest Italian ‘chinatown’ is here? I haven’t seen it, so.)

I like that they made the street sign blend in with the street art

Signs: Zealand, Denmark

Helsingør & Hillerød & Fredensborg, Zealand, Denmark. May 2013.

Some signs spotted around the castles of Zealand–Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, and Fredensborg Castle in Fredensborg. A strange collection.