Florence - Heart of Tuscany

We arrived in Florence, or Firenze as it appears on road signs, on a warm and sunny day. Despite the fact that it was already the last days of October, one could easily manage without a coat.

We began our guided tour in the company of a local guide at the Basilica di Santa Croce, one of the largest Franciscan churches. The guide pointed out the Franciscan symbol - two crossed arms above a cross. The floor of the basilica is almost entirely covered with grave slabs decorated with the heraldic emblems of various families. There is a sensation of treading across gravestones. Along the sides are sarcophagi and sculptures honouring eminent men - Niccolò Machiavelli, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, Galileo Galilei, and others. Here too stands a replica of the Statue of Liberty. The façade of the white basilica is adorned with a blue Star of David in a gilded frame.

In front of the basilica lies one of the city's oldest squares, along whose edges many small shops and cafés are arranged. African street vendors try to sell reproductions of paintings depicting the picturesque alleyways and house façades of Florence to tired tourists resting on benches. A local has brought out a bucket of soapy water and, to the delight of children, releases enormous soap bubbles of all manner of shapes into the air.

We visit the church of Dante, in which his beloved Beatrice is mentioned in glowing terms, while information about his lawful wife is rather scarce. One draws the conclusion that it is more advantageous to be a muse than to bear the burden of a companion's daily routine.

The streets are cobbled, as are the majority of the city's squares. At every corner or as a decoration on a façade stand sculptures of athletic figures and demigods. There are particularly many of them in the square by the Palazzo Vecchio, or Old Palace, whose tower is decorated with a clock. On the sides of the palace, by decision of the city authorities, two drinking water taps have been installed - plain water and sparkling. Both tourists and locals refresh themselves here; one local even recalled arriving by bicycle with a dozen empty plastic bottles and filling them all up.

One must certainly see the Duomo di Firenze - an impressively large and bright cathedral. Beside it, volunteer medics have been on duty for several centuries, providing free medical assistance to those in need. Here too are horse-drawn carriages in which one can tour the city and spare one's feet. Opposite the cathedral are golden doors engraved with Biblical motifs.

As with any place, Florence has its own superstitions. One of them involves rubbing the bronze pig's snout, having first placed a coin in its mouth, which it then spits out together with a jet of water into its small savings box at its feet. Good fortune in trade and financial dealings is thereby assured. Perhaps it is for this reason that a leather goods market is situated next to the pig sculpture-fountain, where one can purchase, for example, a fine bag or belt.

Time and energy reserves are limited. We do not make it as far as the famous, shop-lined bridge Ponte Vecchio over the Arno river. There is more to see in Florence. Hence the only option - to return there someday.