{"id":57395,"date":"2023-03-10T11:23:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T11:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/?post_type=product&p=57395"},"modified":"2023-03-10T11:30:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T11:30:21","slug":"the-other-side-of-florence","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/en\/shop\/english-tours\/the-other-side-of-florence\/","title":{"rendered":"The other side of Florence"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Oltrarno, or as it is called in Florence “beyond the Arno<\/b>“, is not only the most authentic area of the city (despite the thousands of tourists who flock there!), but it is also the most popular<\/b> in Florence. Artists, writers, collectors<\/b> and scientists loved to stop in the little coffee houses<\/b> and shops<\/b> of this neighborhood and exchange gossip<\/b> on the latest love affairs, gamble their money in clandestine<\/b> dens or taste a bottle of Chianti Classico<\/b>. Many of these characters were famous LGBTQ+ people<\/b> and their stories can still be read on the stones of Santo Spirito<\/b> or the San Frediano<\/b> neighborhoods.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our tour of the other side of Florence will start from Ponte Vecchio<\/b>, the ancient medieval gay cruising area<\/b>, to arrive at Santa Felicita<\/b>, where we will admire a powerful and evocative work by Jacopo Carucci known as Pontormo<\/b>, whose rumors about his homosexuality involved not only his own workshop but also that of the court painter Agnolo Doni known as Bronzino<\/b>. We will show you the house of the vicious and gorgeous Giuliano Dami, the personal assistant of Grand Duke Giangastone de ‘Medici<\/b> who, with his ambition, brought the entire court of Tuscany to ruin! We will then move towards the Basilica of Santo Spirito<\/b>, where we will be able to talk about the life of Filippo Brunelleschi<\/b> and admire a spectacular wooden Crucifix by Michelangelo<\/b>… in the buff![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Famous gay writers such as Sandro Penna<\/b> and Carlo Emilio Gadda<\/b>, the English art critic Roger Fry<\/b>, the lesbian poet Radclyffe Hall<\/b> and the famous Oscar Wilde<\/b> also lived in the streets of this lively district. He even wrote beautiful poems about the city that had inspired him so much (read our blog article to find out more). On our tour, we will trace the memory of these original and often scandalous protagonists <\/b>of modernity and retrace their steps to conjure the atmosphere of gay Florence with its voices, its noises and its flavors<\/b>\u2026 we will also have you taste a mouth-watering gelato in the evocative Piazza della Passera<\/b> (Pussy Square)![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Oltrarno<\/b> is also the headquarters of Florence\u2019s LGBTQ+ organizations<\/b> which give a hand to the queer people who live in this area or to the numerous resident students. \u201cThe Shade\u201d also takes place here: it\u2019s an interesting drag evening in pure stand-up comedy style (for info, click here<\/a>)! Our tour will end with the climb towards San Miniato al Monte<\/b> and Piazzale Michelangelo<\/b> (don’t worry, if you are tired, we can take a taxi!) to enjoy the most monumental view of Florence and a fascinating tribute to Michelangelo by Clemente Papi<\/b> celebrating the time when Florence was Italy\u2019s capital city, the Florentine genius<\/b> and\u2026 the beauty of the naked body<\/b>![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”WHAT WE WILL DO TOGETHER:” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23662483″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C500%2C500italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n