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escapade à Florence I getaway in Florence I
رحلـــة اىل فلـورنـ�س
des ouvriers florentins. L’intérieur est tout aussi intéressant et mérite une petite visite. Enfin, nous arrivons
juste à temps sur la “Piazzale Michel Angelo” pour admirer le coucher du soleil. L’esplanade, très prisée par
les peintres et photographes offre une vue panoramique
sur toute la ville. Florence me paraît tout à coup très petite, au loin je reconnais le Ponte Vecchio puis le Duomo.
Avant de quitter Florence, mon amie tient à me faire
goûter une dernière spécialité italienne : l’aperitivo.
Nous nous attablons au café littéraire El Murate, le
principal centre d’art contemporain de la ville. Son
histoire est singulière puisqu’avant de dev enir un
café, El Murate était une ancienne prison. Cela ne
nous empêcha nullement de passer une très bonne
soirée, à déguster plusieurs petits plats typiques
après avoir bu notre premier verre de vin.
Ainsi s’achevait mon premier voyage à Florence, le
berceau de la Renaissance. Mais je promettais de
revenir bientôt visiter le fameux Palazzo Vecchio
dont m’avait tant parlé mon amie. I
Capital of Tuscany, capital of the Medicis, Florence is an open air museum. It is
considered as one of the most beautiful cities of Italy and jealously preserves its
rich past by hosting 25% of the world’s works of art.
1st day
Donatello Hotel
It is 10 o’clock when I land at the Amerigo Vespucci
airport under a beautiful blue sky. Only 25 minutes and
7km later, the shuttle coach has reached downtown. On
the road, at the end of a street, I catch a fleeting glimpse
of the extremely famous Duomo, but this is not a time
for dreaming, I head toward the Donatello Hotel to drop
off my baggage before meeting my friend for lunch.
Located in an old palace dating back to the 19th
century, the Donatello used to be the home of an
important Florentine family. The mix of lustrous
marble, clay bricks and Murano glass gives great
charm to the hotel, which is completely anchored in
the Renaissance style, the “cinquocento”.
The room is also charming, exquisitely decorated
with marble and an original painting as a headboard. From the window, I can see the garden of the
Piazza Indipendenza.
Entrée de l’église San Spirito
I The entry to Saint Spirito’s
chuch I
I
مدخل كنيسة سان سبرييتو
The San Lorenzo district
La Gazelle 56 I
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I barely have the time to catch my breath, my friend
is already waiting in the entrance hall. She takes me
to lunch at the Trattoria Mario, a small family
restaurant located near the hotel in the San
Lorenzo’s neighborhood. Its friendly tuscan cuisine
is very popular, especially its “bistecca alla fiorentina” .
Then, we go for a short stroll at the “mercato
centrale”, from where all the restaurant owners in
Florence get their supplies. It is a huge shed where
we find everything : fruits, vegetables, meat and
fresh fish are displayed on a hundred stands. In a
corner of the market place, people can sit around
tables and taste the Florentine specialties in a panini
or on a plate : the lampredotto (tripe), the porchetta
(stuffed pork) or the bollito (boiled beef).
The Duomo district
In Florence, you can go everywhere by foot, providing
that you have a reliable map of the city’s historical
center ! We continue our trip toward the cathedral
Santa Maria del Fiore, known as “el Duomo”. Built in
the 13th century for the Archdiocese of Florence, the
monument is a true technical prowess. The renowned
architect Brunelleschi was the first to achieve a
double-vault without formwork, that of the Duomo.
A contradictory feeling invades my heart, which starts
beating wildly, the sensation of being insignificant in
front of this massive cathedral mingles with the
impression of facing a gigantic masterpiece painting.
I remember those words that Stendhal wrote during a
trip to Florence : “I had reached that stage of emotion
where celestial sensations given by art and passionate
feeling meet each other. Upon leaving Santa Croce, I
had heart palpitations, I was totally exhausted, I was
afraid of falling as I walked.”
We continue toward the piazza della Repubblica. We
go on the Via dei Tornabuoni, a road built by Romans
that is now filled with luxury boutiques.
A few minutes later we walk along the Arno River to
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