When I opened my eyes after a delightful night’s sleep, it occurred to me that this is pretty good living — a four-poster bed, in a 16th-century monastery, a block from Michelangelo’s David, with a farmers market going on just outside my window on the most venerable Renaissance square in Florence (Piazza S. S. Annunziata). I’m in a nice guidebook work rhythm: two or three days spent learning, and a day in the hotel inputting on my laptop before heading to another great city. Today I’m leaving my favorite hotel in Florence (Loggiato dei Serviti). But I’ll be back in September with 25 fellow travelers when I’ll be guiding our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour. If you’re on my tour, I have a hunch we’ll have a great time together.
This is Day 26 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.
At the far end of Piazza S. S, Annunziata stands the church of Santissima Annunziata. The walls of its atrium are decorated with twelve large frescoes (13ft x 11ft.), ten of which were painted from 1509 to 1515. These frescoes offer the viewer an unparalleled opportunity to compare close at hand Andrea del Sarto, Jacopo Pontormo, and Rosso Fiorentino, three of the greatest painters of Renaissance Florence at the beginning of their careers.