Santo Spirito Fountain & Bird

Once a month, Piazza Santo Spirito hosts a large antiques market.  It’s always crowded and never disappoints because even though it’s not the largest antique market in Italy it has a little something for everyone.  This time I was not shopping…..I was just looking and taking photos and when I got home and downloaded them all I knew I had to post some of the winners.

Furniture……Indoor and Out:

Classic Cantilever Chairs…Bauhaus anyone?

Stools of Every Stripe

Marching Geese

Vigilant Flamingo

And some fun things..

And lots of Useful Things, Decorative Things, Vignette-Creating Things:

English Platters, loved by all……

Fancy Glassware

Lots of Silver….

And some throwbacks to another era of communication and art……

Remember these??

Exotic Prints (by Italian standards)

And of course a large selection of dress-up accessories:

Always a crowd-pleaser…vintage leather bags

More crowd-pleasers

And just to add color and whimsy……

A whole booth of buttons….

And another booth with clever and beautiful pins….never out of fashion….and each one carries a message

And finally…..a huge display of straw hats….something that everyone needs in order to endure a Tuscan summer…..

So…..Sunday at the Santo Spirito Mercato……an aperitivo in the square and then home for Sunday dinner.

Lily Love

There’s a lot going on in the Boboli Gardens these days.   Aside from the arrival of summer which is always a big deal there, some major restoration work is underway. The Upper Botanical Garden has just been opened to the public for the first time in the Garden’s history.    Nearly two acres of gardens are now on display as part of an ongoing reorganization and restoration project.

Luscious and Pale Roses

Blooms abound here along the walking paths which are always shady and cool because of the tall trees and bushes.

Water Lilies and Pineapple Palms

Pineapple palms and water features such as lily ponds add to the exotic nature of the garden.   In fact,  the garden is often referred to as the Ananassi (Italian for pineapple) Garden.

Aquatic Divided Pond

A very unusual feature hidden away in this garden is the Aquarium which was constructed in the late 1800s.  It’s a large circular shallow pond divided into forty-eight cells,  each containing different species and varieties of aquatic plants.

Stairway to Greenhouse

Aside from the array of plants, trees, flowers and shrubs on display in their natural habitat, there are many beautifully crafted stairways,  railings and even a charming old greenhouse, fragile but still standing proudly.

Old Greenhouse

This wonderful space is only open Monday through Friday mornings from 9am to 1pm.  There are usually gardeners at work as well as a few docents, always eager to share their knowledge with you, as you wander through a very unique opportunity to experience green, tranquility and silence in this otherwise bustling city.