Florence, worth knowing.

Fun facts about Florence

1. 1Florence's old palaces have tiny wine windows in their walls, little hatches once used to sell wine straight to the street. During the pandemic some reopened, handing out wine, espresso and even gelato.Source: National Geographic; Wine Windows Association
2. 2The Medici had a private corridor in the sky: a covered walkway running from Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi and right over the shops of Ponte Vecchio to Pitti Palace. Since December 2024, anyone can walk it.Source: Gallerie degli Uffizi; Wikipedia
3. 3Ponte Vecchio used to be lined with butchers. In 1593 the Grand Duke ruled that only goldsmiths and jewellers could trade on the bridge, and its shops still glitter with gold today.Source: Visit Florence; Wikipedia
4. 4Florence's science museum keeps Galileo's actual middle finger, raised upright in a little glass case. It was removed in 1737, when his remains were moved to a new tomb.Source: Museo Galileo; Wikipedia
5. 5Florentines credit Bernardo Buontalenti, an architect at the Medici court, with creating an early gelato in 1565. Gelaterias still scoop a creamy flavour named after him. Ask for Buontalenti.Source: Feel Florence; Wikipedia
6. 6Brunelleschi's dome was raised with no wooden frame holding it up from below, using about four million bricks. Nearly 600 years later it is still the biggest dome ever built that way.Source: Museo Galileo; Wikipedia
7. 7Michelangelo's David was carved from a block of marble two other sculptors had given up on. It sat out in a workshop yard for decades until a 26-year-old Michelangelo took it on.Source: Accademia Gallery Florence guide; Wikipedia

Things to do in Florence

• ◦Piazzale Michelangelo is the terrace with the postcard view: the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio and Ponte Vecchio all at once, watched over by a bronze copy of David. Go for sunset.Source: Feel Florence; Visit Tuscany
• ◦Behind Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens are an open-air museum of statues and fountains, with a grotto of strange, cave-like shapes by Buontalenti, the same man Florence credits with gelato.Source: Gallerie degli Uffizi; Feel Florence
• ◦Meet Il Porcellino, the bronze boar at the Mercato Nuovo. His snout shines gold from centuries of rubbing. Pop a coin in his mouth: if it slips through the grate, it's good luck.Source: Visit Tuscany; Wikipedia
• ◦Climb the 463 steps of Brunelleschi's dome. Halfway up you walk a ledge right beside the giant painted ceiling, then squeeze up between the dome's two brick shells to the rooftop view.Source: Walkabout Florence Tours; European Traveler
• ◦Be brave and try lampredotto, Florence's classic street sandwich: slow-cooked tripe in a crusty roll with green sauce and a dash of chilli, served from little kiosks around the city.Source: National Geographic; Michelin Guide
• ◦Go sign-spotting. Street artist Clet sneaks stickers onto Florence's road signs, turning a no-entry bar into a flowery meadow or a one-way arrow into Pinocchio's nose. Then visit his San Niccolò studio.Source: Florence Is You; AFAR

Questions to bring to Florence

From Sojourn's journeys. Ask one over a long dinner or on a slow walk, and let the place do some of the work.

Going together

• When do you feel most like yourself?
• What does rest actually look like for you?
• What is one thing you wish we did more of?

Going solo

• What is the first thing this place is showing you that you didn't expect?
• What does this version of you know that the home version tends to forget?

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