Florence [antikvár]

Introducing FlorenceDeeply tanned, immaculately dressed and good-looking Florentines hang about the town's bars sipping deep red Tuscan wines while chatting over the day's events. Surrounding them is the densely packed old city. Knowing looks and a little chatting up accompany occasionally heated banter. Getting ahead in this town is not always a straightforward business. You have to know people and find ways around a labyrinth of rules. Little has changed since the days of the Medici.Of course much has changed. Florence's short-lived selection as capital of the newly united Kingdom of Italy in 1865 was like a shot of adrenaline. In the last decades of that century the city bulldozed, constructed, rearranged avenues, wiped out whole quarters, tore down the medieval walls. And so the scene was set for the modern regional capital of Tuscany. Along the broad viali (avenues) that encircle old Florence a confusion of endless traffic tears around in chaotic style. Horns honk and brakes squeal as Florentines dart in and out of lanes in search of a break in the traffic. Ignorant of fear, motorini (mopeds) dash in and around larger vehicles, as if protected by some divine force.The once glorious jewel of Renaissance Italy remains what it essentially always was - a busy business centre. Even before the Renaissance was over, the wily Florentines had to concede that their town was on the wane, increasingly ignored on the European stage. But they never forgot their proud heritage and it was rediscovered in earnest by the rest of Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. By then the Grand Tour was in full swing, and Florence joined Rome and Venice at the head of the list for curious and admiring travellers, particularly the English. Locals knew how to cash in, and still do, with utter aplomb.The fortunate few get their first glimpse of Florence from the south. The road from rival Siena leads you to the heights backing the south bank of the Arno. Suddenly, through the trees, the glories of Florence burst into view - Giotto's Campanile (bell tower), Brunelleschi's dome, the Basilica di Santa Croce. Only the hardest of hearts can remain unaffected.The memory of the Medici, who for centuries commanded the city's fortunes and were, as generous patrons, at least partly instrumental in unleashing the Renaissance, lives on. To this day the family crest of six balls adorns many public buildings, although the city's official emblem (the medieval Guelph faction's red lily on a white background) is older still. Thelii 'A