The Società Canottieri Firenze (Florence Rowing Club) has its headquarters in the terrace just below the Galleria degli Uffizi. Like any other private club, it is only accessible for its privileged members. No need to say that it is the best place with a view to Ponte Vecchio in solitude and in all its magnificence, oblivious to the hectic passage of people a few meters above, fighting for a spot from where taking the obvious Florence selfie.…
During the spring and summer evenings, when the Arno River runs low, Ponte alla Carraia grants one of the most picturesque sights of Florence. An isle in the middle of the river called Pescaia di Santa Rosa — between Ponte Amerigo Vespucci and Ponte alla Carraia — stands as a sort of no man’s land and becomes the spot where young people get together for a beer, a chat or share a joint. The water drop reaches three meters, thus the force of the current is considerable. However, whereas the bridge helps to maintain the natural flow of the river, the area close to Oltrarno remains dry and passable. Moreover, here the town flourishes against the light, a top scene for those in love with melancholic sunsets in Florence.…
In the Middle Ages, high constructions became a form of power for the aristocracy. The feudal nobles and their vanity competed among themselves building ‘skyscrapers’ to demonstrate their authority and wealth – as if they were contemporary multinationals companies. Although the Tuscan Manhattan of the Middle Ages is undoubtedly San Gimignano, Florence is not far behind. This city of modest dimensions has currently 70 fortress-houses which could have had a defensive purpose apart from taking advantage of the housing space once the internal wars ceased.…
Florence is a city that kills through strong emotions. There is no need to be accompanied, it is enough with ourselves and our senses. As Singer — the protagonist of the novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers —, when I wander anonymously among the whole crowd during hours through the streets of the city, it always seems that I am the only lonely person. However, it is not adequate to attribute to lonely souls the sorrow of an unhappy life. As I see, Florence is, above all, a destination for couples or groups; few people travel alone. It is the human being’s lifeguard against his own inner isolation.…
The sunsets take on greater symbolism when in the sea, a river or in the mountains. Such moment becomes certainly the excuse to visit any bridge in Florence, go to the Piazzale di Michelangelo or even to the Belvedere of Fiesole in order to contemplate a unique Tuscan dusk. I will never stop saying it: Florence is ideal to take a refreshing walk (both, for body and soul) at any time of the day or night. And maybe that’s what hooked me most about the city: the pleasure of walking, acting as an authentic flâneur, is not just a matter of stale romanticism or acting as decadent esthete. The English skies in the paintings of Joseph Mallord William Turner, the French ones in Paul Cézanne´s or by Pierre-Auguste Renoir´s or Van Gogh´s, have nothing to envy to those portrayed in the thousands of photographs that are taken every day, at that precise time, in Florence.
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Florence has a unique ability to surprise. Until January 6, 2020, the capital of Tuscany hosts the F-light, the yearly festival of lights that animates the Florentine Christmas illuminating more than fifteen monuments and places across the city through light projections, video mapping, artistic installations or complex colourful light games. “Moon Flight” is the motto of the festival and this year pays homage to the 50th anniversary of the arrival of man on the moon. Ponte Vecchio works as a central axis of the festival. Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Basilica di San Lorenzo, Novecento Museum, Piazza Santo Spirito, gates and towers of the city are also the scenarios of this event that also includes cultural and educative encounters.
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In the last few weeks, all the news (economy, politics, sports, society, art, entertainment) from every single medium have been infected with the coronavirus. And the worst: they have turned Italy into a plagued country, which should not be visited and from which one cannot leave. Italian citizens are now considered the absolute culprits of the spread of the virus in Europe.…
Writing about a fascination incites to living it twice. Florence (and all Italy) transmits a special magnetism to me, either at night or in the daylight. Indeed, I feel the more you visit a site, the more your identity will be linked to it. Choosing a place is never incidental, but caused by a wish, a certain object of desire. I have felt in love with Florence just as I could have with a person, thus looking to make the affair last, and staying here forever. Is it a whim? Certainly, one that´s rooted deep inside of me.