<P> Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include Piero Strozzi (1550--after 1608), Giulio Caccini (1551--1618) and Mike Francis (1961--2009). Giulio Caccini's book Le Nuove Musiche was significant in performance practice technique instruction at the time . The book specified a new term, in use by the 1630s, called monody which indicated the combination of voice and basso continuo and connoted a practice of stating text in a free, lyrical, yet speech - like manner . This would occur while an instrument, usually a keyboard type such as harpsichord, played and held chords while the singer sang / spoke the monodic line . </P> <P> Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as Light in the Piazza, Calmi Cuori Appassionati, Hannibal, A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini, Virgin Territory and Inferno . The city is home to renowned Italian actors and actresses, such as Roberto Benigni, Leonardo Pieraccioni and Vittoria Puccini . </P> <P> Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather than rarefied high cooking . The majority of dishes are based on meat . The whole animal was traditionally eaten; tripe (trippa) and stomach (lampredotto) were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city . Antipasti include crostini toscani, sliced bread rounds topped with a chicken liver - based pâté, and sliced meats (mainly prosciutto and salame, often served with melon when in season). The typically saltless Tuscan bread, obtained with natural levain frequently features in Florentine courses, especially in its soups, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro, or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called panzanella that is served in summer . The bistecca alla fiorentina is a large (the customary size should weigh around 1.2 to 1.5 kg (40 to 50 oz))--the "date" steak--T - bone steak of Chianina beef cooked over hot charcoal and served very rare with its more recently derived version, the tagliata, sliced rare beef served on a bed of arugula, often with slices of Parmesan cheese on top . Most of these courses are generally served with local olive oil, also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation . Among the desserts, schiacciata alla fiorentina, a white flatbread cake, is one of the most popular; it is a very soft cake, prepared with extremely simple ingredients as typical of Florentine cuisine, and is especially eaten at Carnival . </P> <P> Research institutes and university departments are located within the Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino as well as in the Research Area of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche . </P>

What type of food is florence known for
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