Florence for Florentines

On Saturday, May 9, I could resist the siren call no longer. It was time to return to Florence and see history unfolding as the city returned to the Florentines on the first Saturday after lockdown.

No longer the stronghold of tourists, here today and gone tomorrow, instead locals rediscovered their land by bike or on foot as if Florence were a country town, with efforts to maintain social distancing.

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The empty piazzas and streets still surprise and the strangeness of the scenario is still heart-wrenching. Solace is found in seeing these familiar places, however, with a mixture of wonder and romanticism.