VIVA FIORENZA = Long Live Florence!*
* A Pedantic Footnote: The historically accurate formula is actually "Evviva Fiorenza".
The Florentines pride themselves on being a tough-minded, no-nonsense race. But still, they often wear their hearts on their sleeves - or else directly inked on their arms and other body parts.
Above, we have a friend and neighbor of mine - and a proud Bianco di Santo Spirito - a bit worse for the wear, after the finals of the Calcio Storico (historic football) in Piazza Santa Croce on 24 June 2012 (the Feast of John the Baptist, Florence's patron saint.)
Below, another proud Bianco after the match.
Angels, anyone?
exposed work of art. So, rather than showing its most famous detail for the umpteen-millionth time, I am offering an exclusive scan of my very own mousepad.
Below, Florence Stadium on 15 July 2013. A mythic tribal event - the presentation of a newly acquired football star, Mario Gomez ... the Man of Our Dreams.
La Nazione, front page, 16 July 2013.
"The parents with their children on their shoulders were screaming, as were the ultras (hardcore fans), their backs marked with tattoos."
But not just backs...
The non plus ultra (no pun intended) of Florentine tattoos. A veritable greatest hits album. Clockwise, from the upper left:
Michelangelo's David
The Giglio (Florentine Lily)
Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus
Florence Cathedral (featuring Bunelleschi's Dome)
Ponte Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio
And all of this superimposed on yet another Giglio - evidently deemed insufficiently expressive on its own.
BONUS!
Not a tattoo, but still an indelible expression of the Florentine Spirit.
If Destiny Is Against Us, That's His Problem!
Florence Ultras
More Mysteries of Florence?
PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS:
Photos 5, 6 &7 from my scanner
The others, Lyle Goldberg (all rights reserved)
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