Florence

(Newser) - Looking to mend a well-trodden heart with a solo adventure? From serene fishing villages to culture-packed cities, several destinations can be just the ticket. For those who prefer to go it alone, IgoUgo readers recommend:

1. Vienna
2. Rio de Janeiro
3. Florence
4. Parque Nacional Volcan Baru, Panama
5. Marseille, France

(Newser) - Florence's Santa Maria Novella church has an intriguing sideline: It's home to one of the world's oldest pharmacies, which today churns out tonics and perfumes made according to medieval recipes. Smithsonian profiles the church, where Dominican monks began concocting herbal remedies and rose water, used to clean plague-touched homes, more...

(Newser) - An art diagnostician so inventive that he was mentioned in The Da Vinci Code—the only real-life character in the book—will beam neutrons at a wall of Florence’s famous town hall next month, hoping to uncover a hidden Leonardo fresco. Maurizio Seracini has been waiting three decades to...