TASTE Florence

There are few cities that have the reputation of Florence. One could rightly claim it birthed the Renaissance. So many factors magically (and monetarily) came together in the 15th century in this urban center. Like Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”, beauty itself was born again in the humble confines of this walled city. To visit it today is to step back into the quattrocento and touch and see the splendor of high art and architecture at its acme.

The short list of sites to see in Florence takes one’s breath away. It is easy to hyperventilate just reading the top ten: Michelangelo’s David at the Academia - I swear you can see David’s chest move in and out ; Brunelleschi’s Duomo - have you ever seen such a layer cake of gorgeous marble; The Baptistry - you will lose yourself inspecting Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise; The Medici Palace - see how the patrons of art lived; Botticelli’s Venus and Primavera in the Uffizi Gallery - larger than life; Donatello’s  David in the Bargello - its erotic and masculine at once; the Ponte Vecchio - the way bridges are meant to support traffic and commerce; the Palazzo Vecchio and the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi - don’t miss the Savonarola marker and his fateful Bonfire of the Vanities; the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens - bring your track shoes to pace yourself; the Basilica of Santa Croce and the statue out front of hometown hero Dante Alighieri. Did I mention Machiavelli and The Prince, Leonardo da Vinci, and more! 

In preparation for a visit to Florence, read and/or watch A Room with a View. Set partly in the ‘City of Flowers’ the novel is a splendid way to introduce the the passion of place.  The English author, E. M. Forster's 1908 novel has been wonderfully made into a romantic film by the team of  Merchant & Ivory. Either form will enliven your heart and feet to see the splendor of Florence.