I persevere.
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Florence 52 years ago
When ladies wore hats and white gloves. And I am betting the heat was just as unbearable then as now.
Firenze. Interno del Ponte Vecchio. Cart. Inv. nel 1966.
How the Germans left Florence in August 1944
Firenze, 3 agosto 1944
All the bridges in Florence over the Arno, except for the Ponte Vecchio, were destroyed by Germans as the Allied Forces took Florence. While they didn’t destroy the Ponte Vecchio, they bombed the north and south ends of the bridge, destroying everything.
Un ufficiale Inglese osserva i danni sul Ponte Vecchio. An English officer observes the damages wrought by German forces as they were driven out of Florence.
È finita la guerra
La resa della Germania all’America, all’Inghilterra,alla Russia
Mostra il Corriere.
My personal mirage
What to read before coming to Florence
I love to read and I like both fiction and non-fiction. When friends ask me what they might read to prepare for a visit to Florence, I always recommend R.W.B. Lewis, The City of Florence. It’s a passionate paean to the city, both scholarly and personal at the same time.
The author, Lewis, who died in 2002, won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Edith Wharton. You can be sure his book on Florence is a beautifully written tome. Highly recommended.
Piazza Beccaria, Firenze, and the former Alhambra Theater
Here’s an aerial photo of Florence’s Piazza Beccaria, taken sometime between 1945 and 1980.
The photo can be dated because on the left we see the home of the G.I.L. (Gioventù Italiana Littorio) and, on the other side of the avenue, the Alhambra theater. Both structures were demolished in order to build the Archivio di Stati, constructed in 1980.
The Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (Italian Youth of the Lictor) was the consolidated youth movement of the National Fascist Party of Italy, established in 1937 to supervise and influence the minds of the young. The GIL was in particular established to counteract the influence of the Catholic church. You can read more about the organization and the building in Florence here:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_della_Gioventù_Italiana_del_Littorio.
The Teatro Alhambra was built in 1889 and demolished in 1961. Here are a couple of vintage photos of the theater:
Il famoso teatro, al suo posto ora c’è il palazzo del giornale La Nazione.
And here’s a program from the Alhambra:
ALHAMBRA. Programma. Lunedì 2 giugno 1890.
More on Alhambra theater here: http://www.chnt.at/wp-content/uploads/eBook_CHNT19_Bardi.pdf
Italy is going to space!
Looking for a light-hearted movie set in drop-dead beautiful Italy?
That was exactly my goal recently, longing to go back, even just for a couple of hours, to a simpler time when better men were President of the USA and the world seemed full of possibilities.
That’s a lot to ask of a film, but I found one when I stumbled upon It Started in Naples. Starring Clark Gable and Sophia Loren, and set in gorgeous southern Italy, what could be better?
Gable is perfect for his role in the movie and Loren is, well, Loren. Thanks to the advancement of women that has happened in the past 60 years, the silly woman Loren plays is a thing of the past. I must admit I cringed a few times with the actions and words required for her part.
I am able to overlook those weaknesses for the chance to travel, vicariously, to Naples and environs. The child actor steals the show, as does the scenery.
St. Mark’s, Venice
It’s time for a break from all the Florence posts!
LCA-F-002093-0000
Horses of St. Mark, San Marco, Venice, Italy, 19th Century Engraving
Mandatory photo credit:
Liszt Collection/Alinari Archives
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Collection:
Liszt Collection/Alinari Archives
My faith is restored!
The young man was reading, yes reading, at a party last night! Not texting or playing games on a cellphone, but READING! In 2018 people! Amazing!
get back, lauretta! 
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