← 2023 Italy, Greece, & Poland

Florence

Florence opens on Piazza della Signoria, where Palazzo Vecchio's fortress tower rises above the Fountain of Neptune, the sea god flanked by his usual retinue of tritons and sea-horses. A few steps away, Rivoire keeps its marble counter and gilded interior much as they've looked since it became official chocolatier to the House of Savoy. Behind the Pitti Palace, the Giardino di Boboli rewards a slow walk: a cherub fountain pours from a fish, a statue of Abundance lifts gilded wheat sheaves overhead, the Fountain of the Artichoke fills the palace's own courtyard, and a knobby citrus fruit hangs heavy from a garden tree, with the Tuscan countryside rolling out toward the hills beyond the walls. Back in the city, the Duomo's marble facade and Giotto's Campanile still dominate the skyline as they have since the Renaissance, and the Arno slides past the color-block facades lining its banks, a bridge arching over the water in the distance.

A close-up of the crowned, bearded Neptune statue at the fountain in Piazza della Signoria — Neptune, crowned and bearded, at the fountain in Piazza della Signoria

The marble counter and gilded interior of Rivoire, a historic chocolatier in Florence — The marble counter and gilded interior of Rivoire

A view over the Tuscan countryside from the Giardino di Boboli

A cherub fountain statue pouring water from a fish in the Giardino di Boboli — A cherub fountain statue in the Giardino di Boboli

A statue of Abundance holding gilded wheat sheaves and fruit in the Giardino di Boboli — A statue of Abundance, wheat sheaves and fruit in hand

The Fountain of the Artichoke in the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti — The Fountain of the Artichoke, in the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti

A knobby citrus fruit growing on a tree in the Giardino di Boboli — A knobby citrus fruit growing in the Giardino di Boboli

The facade of the Florence Duomo alongside Giotto's Campanile bell tower — The Duomo's facade, with Giotto's Campanile alongside

The Arno River lined with Florence's colorful buildings, a bridge in the distance — The Arno, lined with Florence's colorful buildings

← 2023 Italy, Greece, & Poland