#7 / A Room with a View in Florence

Let’s go to Florence, a city of art and an essential stop on any tour of Italy, so here we are, with a virtual pair of MarcoMoreo.

Speaking of tours, did you know that between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Italy (and of course Florence) was the destination of young aristocrats on the so-called “Grand Tour”? Florence is in fact the setting of E. M. Forster’s novel A Room with a View: the story of a young girl of the English bourgeoisie on a romantic Grand Tour surrounded by artistic masterpieces and a countryside bursting with flowers.  

But let's get back to our own millennium... The historic center of Florence has as its focal point the beautiful Piazza del Duomo: a perfect balance of shapes and colors between the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, its famous dome, the baptistry and Giotto's bell tower. The latter acts as the sentinel for the whole city. Not everyone knows that, despite the name, Giotto didn’t have time to see "his" bell tower as only the lower part had been built when he died.

For a privileged view of the great dome of the Duomo and the famous "sentinel", we can climb up to Forte Belvedere, on the Boboli hill. A chat on a bench with this amazing spectacle before us will be one of the best memories of our imaginary journey.  

Walking definitely stimulates the appetite. What does Florence have to offer for a quick, local snack? Undoubtedly a panino con lampredotto – a sandwich stuffed with offal cooked in broth, smothered in a green sauce of parsley and anchovies. Challenging but absolutely unmissable!