Let’s start with the story of Pinocchio, which is set in what is described as a small village near Florence. Accordingly, the people have Florence have taken him to heart. You can find him in every shop, in all sizes.
And for what might be the most authentic and lovely experience of Pinocchio, visit Guilio Giannini e Figlio, the shop in the Piazza del Pitti and talk to the owner as Tamara did. That is where we learned that in Pinocchio’s days, boys wore black uniforms with white collars – as you can see here.
Dogs
In Florence there are lots of dogs, with the majority of them being Jack Russells.
On a side note, we saw a dog in a neighbouring town and could not identify the breed. We approached the owners and tried to ask what it was. The reply was ‘Pepe’.
It took a few moments of dawning confusion melting into comprehension for the owners and we to realise that this was the name of the dog and not the breed. It was in fact an Irish Terrier – and gorgeous.
Language
Back to Florence, or rather the Italian language. There are so many words that are similar to English or French words that it is easy to ‘almost’ understand some sentences. One exception was ‘spingere’ (meaning ‘push’) and pronounced spin-jer-i. It is written on every shop door.
Where does the word come from? Spingere comes from a word meaning extinguished. Very strange.
Food and Water
Ice cream is everywhere – stacked in mountains in the display cases. Cakes are everywhere – long lines of wonderful cakes and pastries. Pizza is everywhere. For anything else, you have to hunt.
And ask for ‘just a glass of tap water, thank you’ in a restaurant and you would think that all the taps in Italy had been stolen.
This is the cafe just around the corner from where we stayed. It would have been entirely possible to spend all of our two weeks in Italy sampling the variety of pastries and then rolling out of the door to the airport.
The Duomo
No experience of Florence would be complete without seeing the Duomo. Its full name is the Cathedral of St Mary of the Flowers (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) and it was built over a 150-year period beginning in 1296.
The building stands – an impossibility of white marble in a Square hardly big enough to hold it. The bell tower stands to one side -a separate building not attached to the church.
The inside is bare – bare walls with hardly any adornment – in complete contrast to the exterior.
The Baptistry
And across from the church – a literal stone’s throw away, is the octagonal baptistry.
Exploring Florence
The Duomo feels like the centre of Florence, and to explore the city on foot, we recommend following the streets that radiate out from the rear of the church. Those heading towards the east are worth exploring to find different parts of the city.
When you are standing in the Square, give a thought to 1966 when the flood waters were almost six feet deep in the streets. Look at the buildings facing the Campanile side of the Duomo. On the wall of one of them there is a scribed line to indicate the level of the flood waters.
One motif keeps coming back and that is the glimpses of the Duomo that one sees down streets and alleys as one walks around Florence. This is outside Grom, who make wonderful ice cream.
Observations on Italians
With that introduction, here are some observations from us:
Pedestrians
As pedestrians they are casual about traffic. They stand ‘almost’ on the pavement/sidewalk, oblivious to the nearness of passing cars. It is important to say that they do not do so in a haughty way. It seems, rather, as though years of being exposed to the nearness of traffic has made them casual and relaxed. From what we saw, it made them relaxed to the point of forgetting about it.
Fashion
Italians, both men and women, are very well dressed, and they dress elegantly.
From the variety of fashions on the street, it is clear that when they buy they have lots of choice.
At the same time, we don’t get the idea that Italy is overflowing with money for public services. The Uffizi is in good condition, but some other museums are musty and run down.
Overall from what we saw, personal adornment takes precedence over money for public spending.
Leather
The shops are full of leather bags. There are endless shops devoted to leather bags. It is easier to buy a leather bag in Florence than to buy a loaf of bread.
Fur Coats
We saw several women wearing full-length fur coats. The coats were top quality and in very good condition – a real fashion item. We could not imagine someone walking about the streets of London like that. They would soon be daubed with red paint signifying the blood of the poor animal that lost its life to make the coat.
This photo is not one of the best examples of a fur coat gracing a woman on the street, but it’s one we managed to grab before the scene disappeared.
Travel Tangles 