Today in Florence: I took a walk, over 5 miles long, heading west from my apartment, following the course of the Mugnone, the “torrente” (it’s a big creek, essentially) that streams in front of me 24/7. I knew the Mugnone eventually joined the Arno River, and today was the day I was going to track down that confluence. It was sunny, it rained, the wind bent my umbrella inside out, it spit a bit of hail, and then it calmed down into a gorgeous afternoon.

In another post I’ll write more about the torrente itself, but I saw some beautiful architecture along the way. The palazzi pictured below are all situated on my street, the Via XX Settembre, and I time traveled by studying these lovely facades. My area of town was developed in the late 19th, early 20th century, and I can picture how that development went as I look at these wonderful old buildings. They are, by the way, very much occupied and alive today.

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The inscription of MCMXV over the door tells the story: this lovely old palazzo was constructed in 1915. Before the first world war. Think of what has transpired in the 105 years. WWI, Armistice, the rise of Fascism, WWII, Florence occupied by German forces, Florence freed by Allied forces. All the while, this building sat here. It has seen it all. I suspect Covid-19 will not bother it in the least.

One of the interesting things about Italy is the way the local laws are posted on the street. You see this all of the time.