When I first visited Florence in the summer of 1988, I was surprised to find that the city’s most famous square, piazza della Signoria, had been reduced to little more than a gigantic hole in the ground. The purpose of this excavation was to unearth some of the myriad relics that lay below the surface of the piazza, but the project had become open ended when archaeologists discovered Roman baths and three churches, plus towers, streets, walls and cemeteries hidden beneath the city, all dating back centuries. Eventually, an acrylic glass floor was laid over the findings, allowing pedestrians the chance to gaze into this forgotten world. The fact that such endless historical bounty sits just feet below one of the world’s most visited cities is a major reason why Florence remains the only major Italian city without a modern metro system.
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