Florence, city of Renaissance ingenuity and urban traditions

One of the jars in the Nutella® Buongiorno limited edition, created in collaboration with ENIT, is dedicated to Florence, telling the city’s story through several distinctive elements - Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio and the Lungarno riverside - accompanied by a recipe inspired by local culinary traditions.

As early as the 14th century, Florence had advanced urban features for the time such as paved streets, which were kept clean and viable, in stark contrast to many other European cities.

Its most famous icons include the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, with its dome designed by Brunelleschi, to this day the largest masonry construction in the world and also linked to one of the most famous stories from the Renaissance. Indeed, Brunelleschi is said to have earned the commission with his design thanks to a simple demonstration - which has gone down in history as the "egg test" - showing how an apparently impossible idea could be realised through an innovative solution. A less evident point of interest is the construction technique used: the dome was built without traditional wooden scaffolding, considered impractical for a work on this scale. Instead a self-supporting system was used, which still constitutes one of the greatest engineering feats of its day.

Alongside this monumental building, Florence has less visible yet equally significant features such as the Vasari Corridor, some 750 metres long, which connected Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti and enabled the Medici family to move around safely without crossing the city. Also less well-known is its usage: the passageway over the Ponte Vecchio was altered over time, with the removal of shops considered less dignified, such as butchers, and replacing them with goldsmiths. The corridor was therefore not merely functional, for safety purposes, but also used to control the urban image in one of the busiest parts of the city.

Another iconic location is the ancient apothecary of Santa Maria Novella, open since the 13th century and considered the oldest pharmacy in the world, where preparations based on historical recipes are still made today.

According to one of the city’s most widespread legends, rubbing the boar’s snout on the Fontana del Porcellino and dropping a coin into the grate below is believed to bring good luck and hasten your return to the city.

On a culinary level, the story is completed by schiacciata alla fiorentina, a cake traditionally made at Carnival time. Originally made using simple ingredients, it is notable for its fluffy texture and decoration with icing sugar. Less well known is its association with popular tradition, this being a cake of the people, rather than of the courts, symbolising time spent together during the festivities. The recipe provided on the jar is a reinterpretation using Nutella®, upholding the tradition while giving it a contemporary flavour.