Florence: Great City of the Renaissance - Italy - page 136

stars of opera, ballet, and classical and pop music play this venue. Ticket prices are
all over the map, but it's usually possible to snag a seat for between € 10 and € 30.
Going to church might not be your idea of a night out on the town, but it
often is in Florence, where le notti are filled with the sounds of Vivaldi, Bach, and
Mozart, and church concerts are a staple. The majority of concerts take place in
the autumn months, but rarely does a week go by without some house of worship
sponsoring one of these events. To find out which churches are having concerts,
or to book tickets to the Verdi or Comunale, visit the agency Box Office (Via
Alamanni, 39; % 055-210804; www.boxol.it). It's also a good source for the
Maggio Musicale fest, local soccer games, and other events.
MUSIC CLUBS
For some (literally) underground live music, try BeBop

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(Via dei Servi, 76;
% 055-490397), a surprisingly cavernous warren of basement rooms. This is the
sort of place into which local college students take their guitars, with the hopes of
jamming with whoever happens to be on stage. Bands vary from awful Beatles
cover groups, to great funk/folk/rock combos; you just have to try your luck and
see who's playing that night. On weekends the place can get quite crowded, but
on a weekday it could just be you and the family of the band in the audience.
Popular with locals, the cavelike Chiodo Fisso Vini Club (Via Dell'Anguillara,
70R, just behind Palazzo Vecchio; % 055-2381290) features Italian folk singers,
jazz artists, and a variety of other small acts on a tiny stage surrounded by a dozen
or so tables. Performers begin around 10pm, and the bar gets crowded about an
hour later. It's a good peek at a local scene.
Caruso Jazz Café (Via Lambertesca, 14/16R; % 055-281940; www.carusojazz
cafe.com) is the most sophisticated choice. Its live jazz combos play most nights
of the week, beginning at around 10pm. The stone arched stage area is an atmos-
pheric setting for music. You can sit in the front section at the bar for drinks, or
enjoy the tunes with your dinner. A side room has couches for relaxing and a
closed-circuit TV so you don't miss any of the onstage action. They also have an
expensive Internet cafe, just in case you need to look up some jazz scores.
BARS & TAVERNS
About the hippest place in town in recent summers has been Capocaccia

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(Lugarno Corsini, 12R; % 055-210751), which attracts a young and beautiful
crowd drawn by the free buffet treats and the superlative views. Really what could
be cooler than sitting on a beanbag chair, drink in hand, with a view of Ponte
Vecchio on one side and the sunset on the other? A couple of other good aperi-
tivo choices in a chic setting are the loungey Angels (Via del Proconsolo, 29/31R;
% 055-2398762; www.ristoranteangels.it) and the happening cafe Dolce Vita
(Piazza del Carmine; % 055-284595). At the Nova Bar (Via Martelli, 14R; % 055-
289880), for the price of a drink, you can snag a free buffet of Tuscan treats
(6-10pm) in a Los Angeles-meets-the Duomo setting.
Among the dozen or so near-identical Irish pubs in Florence (think dark
woods and lots of Celtic bric-a-brac), I've returned a number of times to the
Dublin Pub (Via Faenza, 27R; % 055-293049) for its well-pulled pints and calm
ambience—quite a contrast to the busy Via Faenza/Via Nazionale area outside.