France to Italy—it was a switch but it was made smoothly. I had never appreciated the little French I knew until I found myself in Italy, without any significant knowledge of the language. It was very humbling to find myself basically dumb to what was going on around me; I was extremely glad that there are a large number of American students in Florence along side thousands of tourists. I was not alone in my ignorance.
Florence is home to the Italian Renaissance and it is completely evident when you look out onto the city—after we arrived on our night train (we were looking good) Robbie Shakelford took us to a point where we could over look the entire city—the view was awesome. The Dumo stood out amongst the other buildings but once your eyes surveyed the mass that floated about the Dumo you could not help but let your mind wander to what used to take place in those streets. The ideas and the men (and women) that walks the streets of Firenze changing history while they lived their lives day to day as they saw fit.
Santa Croce—is an amazing sight in its own accord. Almost every major writer, philosopher or Renaissance man is buried underneath this church. Including: Dante, Alberti, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo; just knowing that these great men of thought and art were buried in this place made the building that much more alluring. Architecturally it was not my favorite but the people of the Renaissance defiantly make this church amazing.
Florence was awesome because of its history and art—but I would prefer the land of the Franks to the land of the Italians any day.
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