Florence by Foot

Florence is an important city but it is a small city, a town really.  You can walk across the entire city, including the suburbs, in under an hour.  You can cross the center of the city, the ancient part, in under 15 minutes.  So, because of winding streets and traffic limitations, the best way to see Florence is by foot.

A while back, we took a walking tour with a local guide who also teaches English as a Second Language.  The tour was called Street and Speak: A Walking Italian Class.  Our guide Chiara, a Florentine originally from Elba, took us on a lovely stroll of Florence while giving us a continuous lesson in Italian.  The lesson has been invaluable to us.  Most importantly, we learned how to order a glass of wine!

Here are a few photos from our walking tour.  Enjoy!

The Davanzati palazzo dates from the late 1300's and was the home of a wealthy Florentine merchant family.  The business was operated on the ground floor and the family lived on the upper floors.  It is now a museum.   

Florentines are proud to claim Dante as a favorite son, even though he was persecuted and exiled from Florence near the end of his life.  Dante wrote the Divine Comedy, which has three parts--the Inferno (Hell), the Purgatorio (Purgatory) and the Paradiso (Paradise).  Near the center of town are a collection of streets that recall Dante's writings. 

Here we are at the intersection of Hell and Purgatory

Nearby is Limbo.  In Dante's writings, Limbo is the first of nine circles of the Inferno, or Hell.  Virtuous pagans and non-Christians call Limbo home.  Apparently, Limbo is a mostly happy place.

If you need to park your car, there is always space in Hell's garage.

In the same neighborhood, there was an eatery called Trattoria Inferno, or Hell's Kitchen.  Our guide told us that the food was very good despite the name; it was to die for.

During our tour, we noticed some street art.  One street artist, Clet Abraham, is known for "enhancing" street signs like the one below.

Before:

Strada senza uscita, or street without exit (dead end)

After:

Part of the language lesson involved translating the name of the popular Florentine restaurant, Coco Lezzone.  Apparently, in Florentine slang, it means something like "dirty chef".  Despite the name, the eatery has a reputation for very good food. 

All around Florence, there are religious artifacts called "edicola" at street intersections. An edicola is a small shrine that protects a religious symbol or picture.  In ancient Florence, many residents were very religious.  The edicola protected travelers on dangerous streets, provided an opportunity for worship and, at night because they were often lit, lighted the way for travelers along dark streets.

Our guide Chiara took us into the garden behind the Florentine home of the Frescobaldi family, one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Florence (and Italy).  The garden was a peaceful oasis.  From the garden, you can see the bell tower of Santo Spirito church. 

Street names often reveal the history of a neighborhood.  Below is a sign for the street where the roof tile makers once lived and worked. 

Before wrapping up tour and language lesson at a local bar, our guide showed us an odd street sign, pictured below.   The street often flooded in the past.  When people walked down the flooded street, their footsteps would make a noise.  In English, squish, squish, squish.  In Italian, sguazza, sguazza, sguazza. 

Thanks for joining us on our walking tour.  Grazie. Arrivederci!