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On Look Up!

Do you know the place? I so-much what to visit the small town on the two, adjacent hilltops in the distance. Oh well … next time.

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If you don’t know, let’s move the camera to the left for some familiar places you may recognize.

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These panoramic views are from Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy. Everybody loves Florence! Then again, loving Florence is very easy to do because there is so much to enjoy. I’ve visited twice in the past three years, and I noticed something each time. Most people look left and right to make sure they catch the store fronts. Besides a lot of shopping, one doesn’t want to miss gelato!

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But for me, the window shoppers are missing some of the best things to see in Florence because their heads are swiveling on their spine to catch the shopping windows … therefore they are not looking up. So enjoy this view of Florence … the Look Up Tour!

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“Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice.” (Matteo Renzi, Italian politician)

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“In Florence, classical buildings sit against medieval buildings. It’s that contrast we like.” (Richard Rogers British architect)

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“Florence and art is something that is part of my life and is part of myself.” (Roberto Cavalli
Italian designer)

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Any favorites?

53 thoughts on “On Look Up!”

    • Dale,
      LOL … amazing that you saw the same two creatures in the window. 🙂 … that’s awesome! While also means you took some time to look up in Firenze! … BTW … I’m guessing we were there about 10 days apart.

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  4. My favorite is the photo looking up at the high white tower (what building is that part of?). I also liked the quote under it – “Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice.” (Matteo Renzi, Italian politician)

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    • Tim,
      The white tower is part of the Duomo complex (the Cathedral of Santa Marie del Fiori). Go to Google, search Florence Duomo, then go to Images where you will find wonderful overview pics.

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  6. Oh how wonderful, Frank. Thanks! We visited Florence, but it poured rain the entire week we were there. We didn’t get to look up at all ;( But still we loved it. Italy is magic, no matter what part you’re in.

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  8. aFa, I said I would continue my story (from On the Proud One) when you posted your great pictures of Florence. The four-hour Italian train strike that left me on a rail siding in Genoa caused me to arrive in Florence rather late in the evening in search of lodging. After numerous attempts and failures, I arrived at the pension of the Azzi sisters where I shared a dormitory room for the next several days with four intriguing characters – two art students from California, a record store manager from Kalamazoo, MI and an ex-coal miner from New Zealand. The room fee was the cheapest I ever had – $2.88 a night! The art students helped with the exploration of Florence’s art and architecture but their greatest assistance was knowing the location of the nearest watering hole.
    C-a-L

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    • Mudge,
      Interesting how I unknowingly played into your story with relatively consecutive posts (of this journey) that aligns with your crazy journey. Got to love it! … at least you didn’t turn the Azzi Sisters into a pair of dancing bimbos.

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      • No, the Azzi sisters were very pleasant and industrious ladies who opened their apartment to travelers. The boys’ dormitory room was in the front of the apartment, facing the cobblestone street, so that we were awakened at 5 am each morning of our stay by vendors hauling their wares down to the common market in the open piazza at the end of the street.

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    • George,
      On this trip, I was determined to get to this park … and I can say we definitely took the long way to get there (a story in itself) … but once we arrived … wow to the views! On my next trip, I am determined to go to the hilltop town that is directly across in the opening pic. … the town is Fiesole … and I have a sense that I’ll love it!

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  12. What’s not to admire! I particularly like the rooftop garden and I really like the many small exterior balconies. They are so small, but add interest to the buildings. Again…what’s not to admire! 🙂

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  18. Florence is beautiful and you capture it in your photos. I am American and have been visiting Florence since 1969. I have watched it change so much in the last 47 yrs but it is always beautiful. If you are interested in seeing Italy off the beaten path come to my neck of the woods, Le Marche, Italy. I love Italy and have been coming back and forth since I was a child and this post of yours brought back so many memories, Thank you.

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    • Magic,
      Thanks for wondering around on my little corner of the world. One thing about visiting Italy and other parts of Europe, I’ve learned to “look up” to discover some treasures. Although I’m American, my roots are northern Tuscany, so I am much more familiar with Florence and westward. However, Le Marche is one our ‘want-to-visit’ list!

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      • yes when we look up, there are amazing things to see…. no matter where we are in the world…. but her in Italy there are also amazing statues and faces on the buildings looking down on us

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  19. Pingback: On a Vacation Primer – A Frank Angle

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