Bricchiche Fiorentine by
Foresto Niccolai
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Great tidbits about Florence and its history. I ended up bookmarking a bunch of places on Google Maps, and I look forward to checking them out next time I go there.
Some of my notes:
Festa della Rifocolona
Fiera degli uccelli
Fiera dell'Impruneta (and a lot about Impruneta, like its Madonna)
The piano was invented in Florence in 1700 by a Padovano called Bartolomeo Cristofori).
Glasses were invented by Salvino D'armato, from Florence.
The story "Un amore segreto" (p. 206) was interesting:
in 1300 Ippolito Buontalenti secretly loved Dianora dei Bardi. He was caught trying to sneak into her house (Palazzo Bardi), and rather than implicate her, said he was trying to rob it. While being conducted to his execution, Dianora rushed out and publicly admitted to their secret rendez-vous. So the story goes the parents were touched and approved of the match.
Another story (Una giovane sposa ritenuta morta, p. 224) was also nice. Ginevra degli Almieri married Francesco Angolanti, but was in love with another man. After 4 years she got sick and was presumed dead and put in a coffin. She woke up, had the strength to open the casket, and went back home, where her husband thought she was a ghost. As did her parents. So she ran to her lover who took her in and they married. The ex-husband sued, but the courts said "che per essere stato disciolto il primo matrimonio dalla morte, poteva la donna legittimamente passare ad un altro marito".
The origins of Vinsanto are excellent. Nothing holy about it, but when trying to reconcile with the Greek church it was invented (to be similar to the Greek wine), and people proclaimed that it was "Di Xantos".
Also, the Florentines apparently called the French "I Nuvoloni", since when they were issuing edicts they all started with "nous voulons".
I may have to check out the other books in this series
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