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| Sun on the facade of the Chiesa Santa Croce |
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| Flag and drum corps in the Piazza della Signoria |
It's carnivale time, there are a lot of kids in costumes roaming about, and the streets are sprinkled with confetti.
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| Along the Arno, a large rainbow with a strong dose of violet touches down in the weir near the ponte di San Niccolò. |
A sunny Sunday I am walking around Florence with Erling, listening to him talk about Dante, whose name and remarkable profile mark everything from 2 euro coins to statues and pizzerias. Ah, eternal fame. Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita... as recited by Ruth Draper, naturally.
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| belltower of San Giuseppe |
Today I am once again in mourning over the loss of someone from my past and taking it a bit too hard. What this is, I tell myself, is nostalgia. I miss being young and audacious, careening around Florence late at night perched on the handlebars of a rented bike recklessly peddled by my lover. Seeing the places where I once cavorted so freely breaks my heart. What is the source of the sadness in nostalgia? Is the loss of my first true love, or merely the loss of my youth that I mourn?
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Now I watch my step on the stone pavement, holding Erling's hand to steady my balance. The bells in the campanile of the Badia are ringing. Someday I will be nostalgic for this moment.
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Now I watch my step on the stone pavement, holding Erling's hand to steady my balance. The bells in the campanile of the Badia are ringing. Someday I will be nostalgic for this moment.
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| History in the walls of the Badia Fiorentina |
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| Dramatic and beautiful, Vespers in the Badia sung by the Fraternità di Gerusalemme |
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The darker side of Sunday's outing by Erling Wold.
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What an interesting blog: I ambled onto your site while looking for something else and have now bookmarked it as I will be in Florence and Lucca for a heritage conference later in the year and have been looking for quirky places to visit - not the usual sites but places that leave you with momentoes of a visit (purchased or just in your own head) - even underground places will be on my list. I see you have done doors of St Germain but you missed something fantastic at 151 Rue de Grenelle although admittedly its in the 15th e...(lizards from memory). Anyway your blog is fantastic as it goes off like a tree, follow a branch here, then another - and it leads to a golden apple in the end.
ReplyDeletehoo roo
david wixted
heritage architect, melbourne australia