Florence

My heart goes out to Italy during this difficult time with COVID-19. Italy is one of my favorite places I’ve traveled and is my ancestral home. My Nonnie’s side of the family (Pierangelis and Nonis) can be traced to a tiny town called Colognora. I still have cousins there that I have never met! Aaron and I agreed that our first trip abroad will be to take Quincy to Italy. For now, here are some lovely shots of the beautiful Tuscan city of Florence when I was there for a study abroad 10 years ago!

In 2009, my mother, sister, and I were lucky enough to study abroad in Italy and Greece with Angelo State University. We were placed in Verona, but decided to take a short train trip to Florence for a weekend. We left early Saturday morning and spent all day Saturday and Sunday in Florence – absolutely the gem of Tuscany. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but we really got a feel for the beautiful piazzas, sculptures, frescos, and cuisine.

We spent about 4 hours in the Uffizi where Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and the Four Seasons stand. Four hours was not enough time for such a huge gallery, but it was what we could do with the limited time. I did not expect Venus to be as captivating as she was. Botticelli’s art is in one of the first rooms you walk in to in the Uffizi and The Birth of Venus is huge. She stands 5’8” x 9’2”. She is mesmerizing. Right next to her is Primavera, which is also massive. Primavera stands 6’8” x 10’4”. Make sure to give yourself enough time to just be in the presence of those magnificent pieces.

We never made it into see the original Michael, but there are two other exact replicas throughout the city which are easy to find. I feel like we got a very good taste of Florence, though we were there for about 36 hours! Tuscany is where my Pierangeli family is from, so it was a joy to get some views of my roots.