The flight and fancy that is Florence

Florence, Italy is a gem of a city, having changed very little since the 16th century, and is proud of it. Its art, buildings and even wine and cuisine still echo the distant past in which the city of Florence made its mark in history.

As with many parts of Italy in the 13th century, Florence also underwent a period of civil strife and unrest, and in the process Florence achieved something remarkable: It established the power of the Middle class, an act unheard of at the time. This led to a period of unprecedented economic power, establishing Florence as a center for commerce and art until the 16th century. Since then, Florence has seemingly stopped to care about the time, stubbornly clinging on to the period of its greatest glory.