La Mia Città Preferita: Adoro Firenze

Off to Florence we went! The whole school took a collective sigh on the bus ride to the beautiful heart of Tuscany, bracing ourselves for the last school trip. It was going to be an exhausting one in an urban environment, something we hadn't quite done before. One hotel and one city to explore- with a heck of a lot in store.

Tuesday started things off with a bang as we checked in. Immediately we had an introductory tour of Florence (although everything is so concentrated I already knew how toget everywhere from my last 2 trips). Once we got oriented, we went to see La Chiesa di Santo Spirito designed by Brunalleschi - a classic Florentine. The church tour only started there; in the evening we wound up at La Chiesa di Santa Croce. The only things I can actually share about that church (since it was closed...) is that it houses the tombs of many important Florentines like Galileo and Michelangelo, and even better it's close to one of the competitors for best gelato in all of Italy!! It's called Vivoli and it was spectacular.

The next morning, nice and early I might add, I went with a group to the national sculpture museum otherwise known as Il Bargello. It houses many important symbolic artwork of Florence such as the David's of Verocchio and Donatello. There were many impressive works there, but the building itself is nothing to ignore. It's was a palazzo for military personnel back in the day. It was really great to see with my art history teacher, she really knows her stuff!

Following the first museum, pizza from Eataly and more Florentine gelato, we met up alongside the Arno to tour the Museo Galileo that tells the story of the history of science. We saw some really cool lab equipment and talked about some theories- stuff I've missed dearly. 

The tour was followed by a nice "hike" up to the beautiful San Miniato al Monte past Piazza Michelangelo. It was a physical struggle (especially after two museums) but I did it! The church was really peaceful as an organ lesson took place and the view was nothing short of spectacular. 

Before we knew it, we were on the move again. For Italian class, we had to immediately do a scavenger hunt literally all over the historical center of Florence for lapidi of Dante's Inferno. Lapidi are essentially bricks with engravings. However, it was more than your average scavenger hunt. These things are really hidden! We needed to ask help from people on the streets (which is hard in a touristy part of any city, let alone Florence!) and had many many adventures. For one, an old French couple was epically failing at taking our group's photo. Furthermore, one lapido was under scaffolding and we really got down low to see it! Once that was said and done, we were exhausted proprio!

Thursday morning, I couldn't contain my excitement as I waited in front of the Uffizi museum for my dear friend Francesca. She came with her lovely younger sister as guests of SYA thanks to the permission of our director. They were a tremendous help with our Art History treasure hunt and super duper fun. 

In the afternoon we headed up to historical Fiesole. It's a beautiful small town up in the hills of the region that overlooks Firenze. It was an Etruscan settlement before the Romans took it over, followed by a Lombard invasion. In short, it was a very busy place for a long time, and now that is commemorated with archeological ruins of a theater and an Etruscan temple under a Roman one. 

After this adventure, I had to say goodbye to dear Francesca and Frederica. Francesca, grazie mille cara e noi dobbiamo andare subito a Boston insieme! 

A quick stop to the leather market ended the day- this is just a sly hint for some to expect a small present ;)

To end the trip, we started the morning nice and early. We walked all of historical Firenze once again for an archeological tour to imagine how it has changed since it's time as a Roman city. Once that was done, we went to really "experience" David. It is truly a mesmerizing statue. To reward ourselves for a long morning on our feet, we went on over to Gusto's Pizzeria where they shared the love with heart shaped pies.

Stay tuned for where I'm headed next!! I'll give you a hint: not Viterbo!