Florence, Italy – Appleby Photography

You either love it or you hate it.

Florence, Italy seems to stir up strong emotions for those that live there and those that visit. It’s a proud, prestigious, ancient city that was established in 59 BC by Julius Caesar and is considered the home of the Italian Renaissance, with its share of the limelight throughout history.

The view of the city from the Piazzale Michelangelo is among the best from our trip, and my personal favorite sight while we were in Florence. We went there at both sunset and again during the day and were rewarded with a beautiful vista of the city with the Duomo that is iconic to the Florence skyline.

I wanted to love Florence. And, really, I can’t tell you exactly why I didn’t. The amount of art and history, from Michelangelo’s David to the stories of how the Medici family practically took over the world (okay, not exactly- but they did control a lot of Tuscany), are vast and interesting. There were great restaurants and the food was delicious. And I didn’t have the typical complaints about crime or rudeness that haters have. Everyone I talked to was polite and helpful. I thought the city was clean and safe enough, even with riding public transportation and wandering around the downtown streets at 3am.

Of all the Italian cities that we visited, Florence didn’t hold up to my expectations, by no fault of its own. It’s a beautiful city, full of the history that I love. I didn’t hate it, and I wanted to love it, but I left feeling that something was “missing”…. I feel disloyal to Italy enthusiasts everywhere when I say I can’t think of a compelling reason to go back. (But if you ever go, I hope you love it- and I’d be happy for you to tell me why!)

Sunset view of Piazzale Michelangelo David in Florence Italy