Florence and Fiesole Trip

Chris and I went to Florence and I have to say that it was gorgeous and probably my favorite place out of all of Italy that we traveled too....it had so much history dating to B.C., Florence's origins date back to the Etruscan era when Fiesole dominated the valley. Before conquering Fiesole in the first century B.C., the Romans set up camp by the River Arno in place that then became Florentia "destined to flower". Florence survived the dark centuries of the Middle Ages, and then became an important city, until it became a Municpal Borough in 1115.

In 1865, Florence was chosen to be the capital of the kingdom of Italy, and remained capital until 1871. In later years and until the beginning of the twentieth century. Florence was famous for its literary happenings, that produced works such as Pinocchio and which brought writers such as Paoine, Palazzeschi, Pratolini to the fore, who were all members of the historical literary"Caffee" group the "Glubbe Rosse".

Art and Culture were in great ferment and the people's desire to educate themselves gavev rise to the first work in the vernacular language, in the poetic style of "Dolce still nevo", which then brought the Humanist Age to Florence, together with the wonderful architecture by Bruneilleschi. After Lorenzo il Magnifico's death (1492), and in later centuries, the city oscillated between Republican agitation and Medici revenge, while genuises such as Michelangelo and leonardo Da Vinci became famous names in art and literature.

Olive trees in Fiesole that were all over the place, they were gorgeous....by the way, they serve Olive Oil in and with everything.

This is the oldest bridge in Florence, where blacksmith's, cobbler's as well as other workers lived and worked to this day...we actually didn't get to go through it, but it was absolutely gorgeous to look at.


Lots of bikes all through Italy, could be the reason they are so fit and can eat all that they do.