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The Scorpioni
The Scorpioni ("Scorpions") were a small group of elderly English ladies who lived in Florence in the 1930s and 1940s. They were given this name because they were known for their arch humour. Members One of them was an English governess called Mary O'Neill. History The ladies spent their days in Gran Caffè Doney which was a very English cafeteria on Via Tornabuoni. They also liked visiting the Uffizi Gallery and English Cemetery of Florence. When World War II began, the ladies were put under arrest in San Gimignano. This group of women is mentioned in the memoirs of writer Violet Trefusis and also in those of director Franco Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli described the Scorpioni looking after him as a young orphan in Florence. The ladies were subsequently taken to an internment camp by Italian forces, and Zeffirelli never saw them again. Zeffirelli recalled that the leader of this colony was an old dowager who often acted selfishly, but was so rich and powerful that nobody ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palazzo Altoviti Sangalletti, Ex- Caffé Doney
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Roman Empire, Imperial residences. Most European languages have a version of the term (''palais'', ''palazzo'', ''palacio'', etc.), and many use it for a wider range of buildings than English. In many parts of Europe, the equivalent term is also applied to large private houses in cities, especially of the aristocracy; often the term for a large country house is different. Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels, or office buildings. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions such as a movie palace. A palace is distinguished from a castle while the latter clearly is fortified or has the style of a fortification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico anno 2013, datISTAT/ref> Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center. During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond. Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (established in 1861). The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gran Caffè Doney
Doney or Doney's was a cafeteria in Florence established at the end of the 19th century. It was originally located in the in the Cascine Park (19th century), then moved on , near the British Consulate. The Doney was favoured by aristocracy and upper middle-class, particularly by British citizens living in Florence, such as The Scorpioni. When Benito Mussolini attacked Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), the British expressed their public disapproval. This led to some outbreaks of Fascist violence at the Doney in 1935–36. The most famous customers of Doney were socialite Violet Trefusis who was an acquaintance of Mussolini himself, and a group of elderly English ladies called The Scorpioni who resided in Florence between the World Wars. The cafeteria closed down in 1986. Doney is also one of the main settings in Franco Zeffirelli's autobiographical film ''Tea with Mussolini''. See also * The Scorpioni * Tea with Mussolini ''Tea with Mussolini'' ( it, Un tè con Mussoli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cafeteria
A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or lunchroom (in American English). Cafeterias are different from coffeehouses, although the English term came from the Spanish ''cafetería'', same meaning. Instead of table service, there are food-serving counters/stalls or booths, either in a line or allowing arbitrary walking paths. Customers take the food that they desire as they walk along, placing it on a tray. In addition, there are often stations where customers order food, particularly items such as hamburgers or tacos which must be served hot and can be immediately prepared with little waiting. Alternatively, the patron is given a number and the item is brought to their table. For some food items and drinks, such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance. After the ruling House of Medici died out, their art collections were given to the city of Florence under the famous ''Patto di famiglia'' negotiated by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress. The Uffizi is one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public, formally becoming a museum in 1865. History The building of the Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Cemetery Of Florence
The English Cemetery in Florence, Italy (Italian, ''Cimitero degli inglesi'', ''Cimitero Porta a' Pinti'' and ''Cimitero Protestante'') is an Evangelical cemetery located at Piazzale Donatello. Although its origins date to its foundation in 1827 by the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church, the name "English Cemetery" results from the majority of its burials being Protestants from the British and American communities of Florence, and who gave the largest sum of money for the purchase of its land. The cemetery also holds the bodies of non-English speaking expatriates who died in Florence, among them Swiss and Scandinavians, as well as Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christians, among them Russians and Greeks. The cemetery is still owned by the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church, and is open for the interment of Cremation, cremated ashes, now of all Christian denominations, but no longer for burials. History Before 1827, non-Catholics who died in Florence were buried in the Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Gimignano
San Gimignano () is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form "an unforgettable skyline". Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant' Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for saffron, the Golden Ham, and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area. Territory The municipality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Violet Trefusis
Violet Trefusis (''née'' Keppel; 6 June 1894 – 29 February 1972) was an English socialite and author. She is chiefly remembered for her lengthy affair with the writer Vita Sackville-West that both women continued after their respective marriages. It was featured in novels by both parties; in Virginia Woolf's novel '' Orlando: A Biography''; and in many letters and memoirs of the period roughly from 1912 to 1922. She may have been the inspiration for aspects of the character Lady Montdore in Nancy Mitford's ''Love in a Cold Climate'' and of Muriel in Harold Acton's ''The Soul's Gymnasium'' (1982). Trefusis herself wrote many novels, as well as non-fiction works, both in English and in French. Although some of her books sold well, others went unpublished, and her overall critical heritage remains lukewarm. Early life Born Violet Keppel, she was the daughter of Alice Keppel, who was married to George Keppel, a son of the 7th Earl of Albemarle. Members of the Keppel family tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franco Zeffirelli
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same. A member of the Forza Italia party, he served as the Senator for Catania between 1994 until 2001. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations ''The Taming of the Shrew'' (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; '' Romeo and Juliet'' (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director; and ''Hamlet'' (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. His Biblical television miniseries '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. A Grande Ufficiale OMRI of the It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tea With Mussolini
''Tea with Mussolini'' ( it, Un tè con Mussolini) is a 1999 Anglo-Italian semi-autobiographical comedy-drama war film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, scripted by John Mortimer, telling the story of a young Italian boy's upbringing by a circle of British and American women before and during the Second World War. At the 53rd British Academy Film Awards, ''Tea with Mussolini'' won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role ( Maggie Smith). The film also nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design but lost to '' Sleepy Hollow''. Plot The film begins in 1935 in Florence, where a group of cultured expatriate English women – the " Scorpioni" – meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman who's little interested in his son's upbringing; the boy's seamstress mother has recently died. Mary Wallace, the man's secretary, steps in to care for Luca, seeking support from her Scorpioni friends, including eccentric would-be art ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture In Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico anno 2013, datISTAT/ref> Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center. During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond. Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (established in 1861). The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
