After Venice, the next stop on my mini-Italy tour was Florence. Unlike the canal city I’d never had my heart set on visiting Florence, never dreamed about it as a kid. Still, Florence has a reputation for being well loved, and I stuck it in my itinerary in hopes of getting a picture of what Italy is really about.
Florence is Italy through and through. Venice is pretty, but it’s not essentially Italian- it’s Venetian, an area that was essentially a separate country for much of history.
First stop, just a block from our hostel, was the famous Duomo. Enormous basilicas dot much of Italy, but few are as grand and elaborate as this UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The elaborate paintings inside the dome are intense enough to put the Sistine chapel to shame.
Florence is an art lover’s kind of city; an urban monument to the achievements of the Italian renaissance. The Piazza di Signora is one of the highlights. The square is home to the stunning Fountain of Neptune. I found the god of the sea to be quite hunky:
The Piazza also houses some beautiful and famous sculptures including the Rape of the Sabine Women. Also here: A reproduction of Michelangelo’s David which is less stunning, but more photographable than the original in the Accademia Gallery.
The headquarters of art in Florence, maybe in all of Italy, is the vast Uffizi gallery. It’s one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world and contains far more treasures than I could explore in an afternoon.
Just beyond the Uffizi is the Ponte Vecchio, a beautiful medieval covered bridge over the River Arno. The bridge itself and the view from it are the stuff of postcards and absolutely gorgeous on this chilly December afternoon.
Curious about the rest of Florence, I ventured across the Arno and into a random neighborhood. For some reason all of my random explorations seem to involve me climbing giant hills, but when I reached the top the view was gorgeous.
Exactly how I imagined “real” Italy.
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I’m with you; Florence hasn’t been on my bucket list the way Rome, Venice and the Amalfi Coast have been. Damn you and your gorgeous pictures, now it is.
It really is a beautiful city, isn’t it?
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Haha, I’m devious like that! I still need to get to the Amalfi coast personally.
I have been round the world but I feel ashame I haven’t made it to Florence yet…it seems like a great city, although I am not 100% sure it is totally the “real Italy”…
I don’t really know if anywhere is the “real” Italy, hence the quotation marks. Just the Italy I had imagined I suppose.
“Exactly how I imagined “real” Italy.” That was my *exact* thought while visiting Florence. I was in Milan two weeks before visiting Florence, and was a bit disappointed in the sense that it wasn’t what I imagined. Florence truly made up for that
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I’ve not been to Milan, I’d like to go. It’s funny how certain places match up with our expectations… or don’t.
The third last photo completely transported me back to Italy. It looks like every Italian neighbourhood I’ve ever walked through
Wonderful!
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Wandering into city neighborhoods is the best- especially in Europe!
I love Florence, and your post brought back all my great memories of visiting there. Thanks.
I wasn’t expecting to go to Florence when I spent time in Italy and like you, it hasn’t always been on my list. I loved it any way! I had the best meal and wine of my life there…afteward, we happened to wander to an outdoor music festival in a random piazza and danced all night. Completely unexpected and beautiful nonetheless.
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It’s definitely full of surprises!
Great pics! I love that last shot. I was the same way–wasn’t dying to go to Florence, and it wasn’t my favorite city in Italy, but man does it have some phenomenal architecture and art! The facade of the Duomo and Basilica de Santa Croce blew me away. The history there is also pretty astounding.
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Yeah, it was, and still is, on my middle list. Didn’t love or hate it. But you are right, some parts are just so stunning!
I would’ve just set up my cardboard box in the Uffizi and moved in. Hoping to get there on the next Italy trip, maybe an anniversary.
Your photos reminded me of 3 of my art history classes…Sigh!
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the Uffizi is enormous and gorgeous! I’m sure you’ll love it. And the entire time I was in Italy I just kept spotting things from Art History. It was like a scaveneger hunt.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Viva Italia!
Can’t wait to visit it.
You’ll love it!
I really loved Florence, I found once you walked down the dark alleys (okay not normally recommended) you found some great sites and amazingly cheap places to eat.
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The food there is ridiculous!
I live here! When were you here? I’m glad you liked it, not everyone does… I hosted one guy who didn’t want to try any food nor set foot in any museum. It was quite a bummer. Then again, I’ve taken people around who can’t stop oohing and ahhing over things. All perspective, really =) Did you stop to get gelato, too?
This was several years ago- in 2006. I ate more gelato than I ever thought possible- yum!
Awesome photos, Steph.
Being Italian, I really enjoyed reading your post and the comments. It was interesting to find out how visitors imagine ‘real Italy’. Indeed, I believe it’s very hard to define. Italy as a unified nation is rather young. Over the centuries, there have been many period of domination by foreigners in different areas of the countries. This led to a very rich and varied culture.
Florence is a wonderful city, but I can hardly think at it as ‘real Italy’. At most, it represents a part of Italy. And anyway despite being beautiful, it has lost some if its charm – as many other places – for being too much complacent toward tourists.
Oh and… When you come to Milan, let me know!
Ciao,
Simon
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I agree, it’s always really interesting to see how other people perceive your home country.
I would love to go to Milan at some point!
Ever since I went to Rome, I always fancied going to Florence. The history is so well connected it seems like you can’t complete an Italian Renaissance trip until you visit both.
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They really go hand in hand for learning about the Italian Renaissance.
Steph, my wife and I are going to be in the Florence area in November. We’re looking for somewhere to stay that’s off the beaten path, but won’t break the bank.
Any advice?
We’ll have a rental car, so if it’s outside the city, that’s not an issue.
I stayed at a hostel near the Galleria Accademica so can’t help much I’m afraid. I’ll ask on twitter for you though!