What can Florence’s enterprising boutiques tell us about its sartorial habits? There’s an undercurrent of small business owners who keep the fashionistas well-heeled and individual in style. We had a chat with some of them to investigate the secret style life of the city.

British artist Antony Gormley speaks about the viewer's role in his art and art's role in modern society on the occasion of his Uffizi exhibition "Essere".

When we imagine gliding through European cities on two wheels, Amsterdam and Berlin immediately spring to mind. Florence, with its narrow streets, one-way system and uneven paving, twisting the ankles of even the most sensibly shoe-d tourist, is not a city usually associated with cycling.