nearly everyone asks me why I return to Florence rather than try another of the many beautiful cities in Europe: because I'm not finished with Florence!
August 6 I'll be returning to a city that is also a nice place to visit and I do want to live there, for a few months: Florence Italy.
for me scenery is over-rated. I enjoy a drive in the countryside as much as the next person but what I really love is architecture: Renaissance, Gothic, Romanesque, Rococo, Art Nouveau and the other styles, to a lesser degree, that are Florence.
this site shows a whole bunch of Florentine buildings in a number of different styles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Florence
Florence has over 1.5 million visitors a year, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982 and due to the artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
besides architecture Florence is, more importantly, art ... the birth place of the Renaissance in the 14th to 17th centuries; home to some of the world's greatest artists. home also to families like the Medici, art patrons wealthy enough to ensure those artists had the commissions necessary to create the beauty that has been Florence. the historic city center is so small and easy to walk that everything is almost within a stone's throw. seeing this wonderful art is relatively inexpensive: to view Giottlo's crucifix in Chiesa di Ognissanti is free or to see Michelangelo's tomb in Basilica Santa Croce costs only a few euros. the museums that set the standard for many of the museums in the rest of the world have relatively inexpensive entrance fees. the 60 euro (about $80) Amici degli Uffizi membership card gets you entrance to more than 20 museums and lets you skip the lines: http://www.amicidegliuffizi.it/diventa_socio.php?pg=8&ln=en | |
original: Donatello's David in the Bargello museum | though these 3 sculptures in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria are reproductions, they are beautiful. I like to end my nightly walks about 10:30 in this Piazza. |
or for whimsical there is Clet Abraham's alterations of the street signs http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/street-signs-clet/ | "editing" the street signs is not legal and he has been fined. | but it's really fun to spot some of his work! |
I haven't seen the polls, but I'm pretty sure Florence must be at least as romantic as the romantically ballyhooed Paris.
in my first blog post I said I had always wanted to live for a few months in Italy. by "always" I mean even before I ever saw Europe, when as a child I listened to my Italian grandmother tell me about her mountain village, Pacentro. an old village which today looks as if it hasn't changed since before my grandmother was a child. no new or even remodeled buildings in the center though there are a few new houses on the outskirts. an almost fantasy village complete with a castle! (actually a lot of Italian villages have castles)
I have taken over 6000 pictures since February of 2012 but the picture of Florence's new courthouse, Botticelli's Primavera and the picture of Pacentro were not taken by me ... in the spirit of full disclosure!
ciao e visitare Firenze! I'll walk around with you ...