Florence, a Tale of Three Piazzas.....Part One..... Piazza della Repubblica

     Florence, Italy.... what an incredible city.  Yes, it's overrun with tourists and students... yes, you hear more English than on the streets of NYC.... and yes, the gelato is overpriced, but it is still the birthplace of the Renaissance.  And nowhere is the glory of the Renaissance felt more powerfully than in three Florentine piazzas.... Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza del Duomo, and Piazza della Signoria.  All three are grand public spaces, just a couple of cobblestone blocks from each other, and they form the core of any visit to Florence.

     Piazza della Repubblica dates to Roman times.  Over the centuries it has housed a Forum similar to the one in Rome, and a squalid Jewish Ghetto.  At the time of Italy's unification during the mid 1800's, the ghetto was demolished to create the large piazza much as it exists today.  The "Column of Abundance" marks the exact intersection of ancient Roman roads.

     We spent three nights at B&B Emozioni Fiorentine in Piazza Della Repubblica, which turned out to be a great place to stay.  We stepped out of our door each morning to see the flower and leather goods vendors setting up their stalls, and city workers busing cleaning the streets.  At mid-day, the cafes surrounding the piazza were busy with people eating and drinking, and the artists were setting up their easels.  And in the evening there were excellent musicians, the brightly lit carousel spinning away, and revelers out enjoying this amazing space.  The first photo shows the location of our B&B, the second one shows our door.....

                                               

     Here are other photos of the piazza.....

 

   
Looking toward the north from the piazza, we could see this great Martini sign.....
   

And this is what it looked like at night.....
     

     Although this was our fourth visit to Florence, I think the memories and images from this trip will stick with us for a long time.  We came here for the first time sixteen years ago, when Mike was doing his undergrad semester abroad, and no visit here will top that one, but this sure was a great experience.

     Next post will cover Piazza del Duomo.....

     Click on any photo to enlarge.....