Ciao!

Firenze

01.01.2005

The following's a synopsis of my two days in Florence (19-20 December) w/ my cousin Kathira. I landed in Rome late Friday night, took a brief spin through the city on Saturday, before heading out north early Sunday, w/ Trenitalia. The thing that most impressed me about Italy was that one could easily travel from any little town to anywhere else, by train.

Arrived in Firenze (Florence), after a morning nap in the train. Checked into the Casa Madonna del Rosario, a travel hostel maintained by Franciscan nuns. After a quick shower, and a shave, Kathira & I headed out to see the sights. For much of the trip, she'd lead me around, w/ her fluent Italian (we both had pocket maps of most places).

We made our way downtown to the Duomo, a quick short stroll from the Battistero (where Dante was baptized). Then wandered about the streets, admiring the city's architecture & narrow medieval streets. Through the Piazza della Signoria, and out onto Ponte Vecchio. The oldest bridge across the Arno's the only one to survive the Second World War, since it's too narrow to allow tanks over. It's also much nicer than the overrated, Michelangelo-designed Ponte Santa Trinita — meticulously rebuilt piece-by-piece after the Germans blew up the city's bridges during their retreat.

Across the covered Ponte Vecchio in a drizzle. All along were clusters of locks — there's a tradition that couples who set locks on the bridge, stay together forever. Lunch at Osteria Vasari for Florentine steak & Tuscan wine. Nice enough, but overpriced. We split a salad & steak, w/ a half-bottle of red table wine. We didn't leave hungry, but at over €60, the most expensive meal of our entire trip.

Walked through a quick sunset along the Arno, and over the Ponte Santa Trinita. Somehow stumbled by a little chapel called Chiesa San Firenze. We entered, surprised to find a free concert by the Orchestra Geiminiani di Follonica. After enjoying the string & voice concerto, we made our way back to our room for the night. Stopping only for Italian hot chocolate (thick & rich) at the nicest little café.

Next morning, we headed down for breakfast, then left our packed bags w/ a friendly nun while we headed out before our afternoon trip to Lombardy.

I hoped to find Machiavelli's tomb (yes, I'm a polisci dork). So we headed towards Basilica di Santa Croce. To my pleasant surprise, the founder of political realism wasn't buried in a cemetery, but inside the thirteenth-century basilica itself — alongside Dante, Michelangelo, Galileo, and several other notables. The building itself, of course, was inspiring, w/ its Gothic & Renaissance interiors & exterior patio.

From there, we stopped at a supermarket for sandwiches & drinks, before walking back across the Arno, and up San Niccolò, a hill park overlooking the city. After a breather from the uphill climb, we went back for our packs, then headed out to the train station to the tiny Lombard town of Sanazzaro. But I spent two days & one night in the capital of the Renaissance, and understand exactly how so many fall in love w/ it.

Posted by Miguel at 09:38 PM

Comments

Posted by: Nenad at January 2, 2005 12:36 AM

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