Don't Touch The Peaches!

Welcome to one of my favorite spots in Florence.....just down the street from where I live when I am in my favorite city. 

It is called the Fontana dello Sprone (less romantic translation: Fountain of Sprone ...ugh!) and there is something about that grotesque bearded face spouting (and sometimes just drooling) water day and night that just mesmerizes me. 

Of course it doesn’t hurt that it is right next door to my favorite fruit and vegetable shop. The owners - a very entertaining husband and wife team - will slap your hand if you try to choose your own peaches.  (Which are the best in Florence, by the way) I know better and just let them get on with it ......which always leads to one out of six being less than edible. 

When In Florence 

But when in Florence, the Florentines rule so you just have to go with it.  Back to the fountain:  It was designed and sculpted in the early 1600’s by Bernardo Buontalenti in celebration of the wedding of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena d'Austria.  (If his name sounds familiar to those of you who have been to the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace, he is responsible for the breath-taking and fairytale-like grotto near the exit). 

The fountain has undergone various restorations.....most recently in 2014....but you’d never know it.  Can’t imagine it looked any different from when Cosimo and Maria turned the taps on before heading for the hills of Fiesole to consummate their union! 

Your Next Trip 

So on your next trip to the Renaissance City.....if you feel like biting into a delicious peach after washing off the pesticides in a 17th Century fountain.....the location is the angle where the Via delle Sprone meets the Borgo San Jacopo in the Oltrarno quarter of Florence.

But don’t touch the peaches, per favore!! If you do touch them by chance, be sure to use our artisan luxury soap with the scent of florence.