Location: Tuscany Region of Italy
We were: Sanjeev (with a Canon 550D) and myself. So you know who took the photos here.

One of the most beautiful cities I have been to. Florence. Firenze.
Cradle of renaissance. Capital of Tuscany. Fashion high street. Home to the who-is-who of literature, art and fashion: Dante, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Donatello, Galileo Galilei, Medici family, Guccio Gucci.
When we checked in, our hotel host said that we were in one of the most beautiful cities in the world; I didnt believe him, till I saw it.
Hmmm….indeed!

I had read in school history books about this “cradle of Renaissance”. Whatever I read or heard or seen in any museum, always mentioned this city at some point. Never thought in those days that I would visit this place; never thought when I visited that I would love this city so much. I discovered what grandeur and magnificence means, I discovered the pain and effort that goes into master pieces, I discovered how delicious Pizzas can be, I discovered how a city rich with banking industry can be so artistic, I discovered Michelangelo; a feeling that would remain for some time to come.

Where we stayed
We had booked a room in Careggi Firenze. I would say, avoid it. The room was quite small and bathroom was nothing great. But yes, the breakfast was wholesome.

To reach
It was a disaster.
We were already travelling from Paris to Venice/Venezia. From Mestre station in Venezia, we boarded the train Italia, as per our pre-booked tickets to Firenzi Refredi: intercity train and “Mini” tickets, the most ecnomical! One tip to all European tours, book your tickets well in advance – they even come in half price! We paid around 25 Euros for both of us. I would say trenitalia comes close to Indian train experiences, in comparison with high end TGV trains like Thalys in Belgium or Eurostar. The comfort and feel are just satisfactory,but good enough.

We didn’t have a very good idea about the location and the B&B we booked also did not send us any directions (unlike all others). A mistake, because the first impression in a city adds a lot to how you experience that city. We landed on a gloomy afternoon and instead of walking up 10 minutes to our room, walked in the opposite direction, took a bus in the opposite direction, got completely drenched in pouring rain and almost swam to reach our room. Imagine the disappointment to see a musty small room that awaited us.

Another mistake was our wardrobe – our denims would never get dried, the only pair of shoes we carried were out of shape in water! Luckily we had a pair of easy cotton pants, as we read that some churches in Italy do not allow informal dressing. They do allow jeans, we discovered later; but only denims is not a good option, if we need to re-use the clothes.

I almost wanted to return. So glad we didn’t!

To get around
With lost hopes, we got out. As usual, we tried to get passes for public transport. Firenze is not as touristy as Venezia or Paris. So there were no daily passes available in tabacchi/shops, no English to communicate. After a few miscommunicated attempts, luckily a person offered to help us. With his fluent English he guided us and almost walked with us till the bus stop. So we started towards the historic center.

To see
The historic centre is a common concept in European countries – a place that has been used for a long time as a public space surrounded by the most important buildings of the city. And this is the most beautiful I saw. From the city railway station that was located in a spacious and well planned place; we walked. Rains had stopped and we were fresh in new warm clothes. We didn’t know anything, and what to expect, so we just walked. The streets were well paved – laid by either a piece of history or high end fashion brands.
I was impressed to see the local people, dressed so stylish even for daily routine work. They carried it so well, at least the ones we saw on the street.

We passed through Santa Maria Novella. It was closed and we didn’t go inside. But the open space around it was refreshing. It prepared us to see what was ahead. And ahead was the Duomo.

Duomo – Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flowers is the biggest landmark in Florence, its dome the most prominent in the Florentine skyline. But that’s not what it is famous for. It is an unbelievably impressive master work of art. By the most important architect Filippo Brunelleschi. Still the largest dome in brick in the world. All the domes that were built after, were built to scale up to this dome. Truly, the beginning of Renaissance architecture. We can also walk up inside the dome to have a great view of Florence as well as the mural inside. We couldn’t do it as it was late evening and next day morning, we wanted to spend more time in Uffizi.

The facade is white, green and pink marble. Very ornate. Very impressive. One would sigh, no wonder renaissance happened!

Battistero di San Giovanni

The Battistero or Baptistery for baptisms, just in front of the basilica, is the oldest building existing in Florence. Octagonal shaped with 3 doors, 2 of which are renaissance pieces by Lorenzo Ghiberti.

You must see the doors of Battistero di San Giovanni. Any art history book would tell you that Lorenzo Ghiberti won a competition to build the door. He took 21 years. He came up not with a door, but with New Testament narrative stories in 28 bronze reliefs, that gave space and perspective a new meaning in sculpture. Three dimensional images that stand accuratley in a line of perspective – in 15th century; No wonder Renaissance happened!
There again, Ghiberti won the commission for the next door, obviously without any competition this time. And after 27 years, came what Michelangelo called the “Gates of Paradise”. We were so excited to see, what we have only seen in textbooks so far!

Uffizzi
THE Italian Renaissance collection – our reason to visit Florence. Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt – collected over the years by the Medici family. We walked in through the portico built by Giorgio Vasari. Good that we had booked tickets online to save the long queue. It was indeed a long queue!

No need to say, the master pieces were really impressive; but I was always ready to get impressed with them! What was unexpected was the exhibition “Figures, Memory, Space”. A good curatorial work that presented the painstakingly studied sketches and drawings of Da-Vinci, Michelangelo and others before they started with their master pieces – each hair texture, flowing garments, drapery. The exactness of geometrical calclulations that Renaissance was passionate about, the spatial illusions they could create and the feel of texture in drapery. They were studious!

Piazza della Signoria
To go to Uffizzi, we cross Piazza della Signoria. The political space of the city.

Most prominent here is the Palazzo Vecchio. The town hall, this was official residence of the Medici family, the family that amazed wealth through banking business, but encouraged art and culture and put Firenze in the most prominent spot in the World’s culture map. Renaissance owes a lot to this family. We didnt know that the upper floors contained sculptures by Michelangelo and others. So missed it!

This open space, no doubt is important in Florence’s politics. It is almost an open-air museum with lots of important sculptures placed in open. Michelangelo’s masterpiece in sculpture, the David was originally placed here. Now there is this copy, as the original was moved indoors to Academia for preservation.
I read somewhere that when David was placed here, the front (that is actually the side, as head is turned to a side) with its tensed readiness to fight was facing Rome, the threatening neighbour, and from the other side of the Florentine citizens, he was just a handsome young lad standing casually – Interpretations; that’s what makes a classic work. Whatever, David went on become the Renaissance symbol- common man, confident, Greek, with anatomical precision that was the obsession of Renaissance artists.
Fashion
Amongst history all around you, please do not forget to pay attention to the high end fashion. Florence is home to many a fashion brands including Gucci and Armani. The Tornabuoni street just at the city center throws open all big names in high-end fashion. But more importantly, I was impressed to see that local population is always dressed quite fashionable – somehting that you will immediately notice in Florence, because you get to see more local men and women than tourists around you.

I would like to return to this city. Because each time, I read or hear or see something about it again, I see it afresh. Each time I think about it, I feel I can do so much more in life!