If you have the great fortune of living in Florence and you are not oblivious to your surroundings, you can learn something new every single day. I try to keep my eyes wide open.

On a favorite walk along the Arno River as I walk east of the city, I encountered this sign post in one section of the pretty gardens that align the walkway.

I must admit, I knew nothing about who the Victims of Via Fani were.

So, of course I looked it up.

The Via Fani ambush (or Via Fani massacre) was a terrorist attack carried out by militants of the Red Brigades on the morning of March 16, 1978 in Via Mario Fani in Rome to kidnap Aldo Moro, President of the National Council of the Christian Democrats, killing all the members of his escort. The kidnapping lasted 55 days and ended with the discovery of Moro’s body in the trunk of a red Renault 4 in Via Michelangelo Caetani.

The precise modalities of the ambush (codenamed within the Red Brigades operation “Fritz”), the operational details, the circumstances before and after the attack, the responsibilities, the members of the terrorist fire group, the possible presence of other components external to the Red Brigades or of external connivance and aid, are all aspects of the affair bitterly debated in court, parliament and in the press.

Lessons from the past and memories. It’s all here. Live and learn.

You knew I made it to the wisteria tunnel, didn’t you? Certo!

It just goes to show you that the Bardini is slightly higher than the city of Florence, and less warm, so the wisteria that is blooming all over the city right now has yet to catch up way up here! I was honestly surprised to find that.

But, take heart, the best is yet to come in a week or 2.

Still, I was rewarded 10x over for my trouble. Look at this view!

Passing from the tunnel to the next parterre, vistas galore!

These two guardians of the city stand watch through thick and thin, through winter and summer. Hello old friends!

And you knew, didn’t you, that if there were camellias in bloom, I would find them? They are like a magnet to me. Never prettier than when located in front of the medieval walls of Florence.

And an even better view of il duomo from above the tunnel.

Below, I was surprised to see olives still on a few ancient trees away up here.

Florence. Can it take a bad picture? Not to my mind.

Grandfather and granddaughter? Father and daughter? What do you think?

Above and below, the Lutheran Church of Florence.

Below: I outta be able to paint this kind of version of the duomo!

Below, the horse appears everywhere throughout Florence. Times gone by, still remembered.

My kind of street art!

Many fine homes in Italy have these elaborate grates over the windows. Usually there is a big oval space created towards the bottom, but this building had rather unique round spaces. Have never seen this before.

All over the city, wisteria reigns!

Below, on the fabric of the old walls that once encircled Florence, we find a plaque that moves me very much. In English is says: In this square on the eve of the liberation of Florence, July 17, 1944, defeated fascismn cowardly murdered five innocent citizens: Ivo Poli, aged 8, Igino Bercigli, Corrado Frittelli, Aldo Arditi, and Umberto Peri. Their memory in the climate of the new democracy gives certainty of the advent of civilization of Freedom and Justice. The citizens of the Oltrarno, July 17, 1945.

Wow. Horrendous history. It’s a remarkable testament that the citizens got this plaque up in place in exactly a year when you stop and consider how awful the circumstances of life were immediately following the war. Bravissimo!

A villino (little villa) in the Oltrarno built with a decidedly art nouveau appearance. Surely built between the 2 world wars.

More wisteria. Look at the closeup, with that background!

Lots of interesting shops in Florence. This a a Japanese language bookstore, not something you’d automatically expect!

I spotted some lilac growing above the wall around this palazzo. I adore lilac and there isn’t a big use of it here. It made me think of the bunch of lilac I bought on the street in Paris in April of 2022. Sweet memories of that perfect month in Paris. You don’t see bunches of lilac for sale here.

And, last but most certainly not least, the whole reason I was out in Florence on this gorgeous morning was to attend a lecture on the new scholarly art history discoveries on Florence’s 1000 year old baptistry. It was held in a great space, seen below. The lecture hall had wonderful views! But the talk itself was great and fired my mind! I’m so fortunate to be living here, where this kind of interplay is possible.

Oh, the good fortune to be alive this day in Florence! What a gift!

It’s the very best time of the year for a visit! I’m sure you will agree!

Above is an overview taken from Google and likewise here is a plan of this unusual site.

Once inside the premises, the thoughtful viewer will notice this wonderful lunette-shaped painting by Utens that depicts this unique garden in a most delightful fashion.

The 2 pix below of the Utens painting are my snapshots.

As I have remarked in another post, Florence is above all a city of brown stone and medieval architecture, so the fleeting delicate beauty of a flower blossom is a glorious thing!

One of the first “rooms” one encounters is this lovely landing. It was a little breezy that day! Quel giorno tirava un po’ di vento!

There it is! The dome of Florence cathedral. It looms over the city like a flying saucer. I don’t know why that particular turn of phrase comes to my mind, but it always does.

The first view of the marvelous steps to the top.

The willowy wisps of the yellow blooming shrub.

The steps to the top! Marvelous vista!

Turn around while climbing the stairs and this is your reward!

Turn around again and continue climbing!

There are more cranes in Florence, busy building or restoring, than I’ve ever seen before. I guess the economy post-covid is growling if not roaring.

Now we angle off to this steep incline (steeper than the photo suggests) to get to the wisteria tunnel.

All along the way I am distracted by the gorgeous blooming fruit trees and the views they offer of my favorite city.

Did I make it to the wisteria tunnel? Was it in bloom? Check back soon for Part 2.

Alla prossima!

Did you know that Florence is named for flowers?

There are several scholarly opinions on from what the name of Florence originated, but the theory I like best relates the city to the natural world of blooming.

Here’s what the local English language newspaper, The Florentine, says about the origin of the name:

I also love the fact that the Florence Cathedral is truly called the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower (Italian: Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore). It would seem that in la primavera, the city sets out to show us where its name came from! How can anyone deny it?

These pretty blossoms and blooms speak for themselves. All you need to do is wander around the city and its environs and you will be richly rewarded.

The photos below are from a different tree, although the color of the blossoms is almost identical to the ones above. But the plant’s habit is entirely different.

Then there is this prolific shrub which is so lovely!

Many people have asked me the name of this brightly colored shrub, so here it is:

Above, I love the contrast of the old tree trunk, pruned to perfection, bearing its young branches and veil of blossoms, all set against the old fabric of the city. Florence is quintessentially a city of stone; brown rock quarried locally makes up the fabric throughout area. The juxtaposition of rough stone with delicate, ephemeral blossoms is so fascinating.

And then there is the wisteria. Oh my god, how I do love this vine!

Above, and again, I love the contrast of the old architecture with the delicate blossoms. Here the architecture is tamer, more classically treated, but the poignancy of the flowers against stone remains the same for me. The stems of wisteria tell you that while this plant blooms afresh, it’s actually very old (and probably very wise, I mean, think of what it has witnessed).

To end this post, I’m throwing in a bonus of 2 short videos filled with birdsong.

I didn’t get this posted on April 1, but maybe that was my April Fool’s joke for you? It’s possible.

In France and Italy on this day each year it was a tradition to pin a picture of a fish on the back of an unsuspecting victim. I love this old French greeting card image!

Nobody ever did anything better than the flappers!

And below is a photo from Rome from the 1950s. Think away the red circle.

In the USA, we simply pull little tricks on friends or family members and then when they react, we say April Fool’s! This is especially fun for elementary school children. What a sweet time!

Yesterday.

Look at that stretch of 11th and 12th century tall monuments! Simply incredible!

Nobody does uniforms like the Italians!