Is there a city in Italy that isn't full of city gems? Florence is no different as it scored big on that lottery and is filled with so much history. Said to be one of Europe's great art cities and it not just a city with beautiful art but beautiful architecture at almost every turn. The city that has given birth to many luxury good companies, Salvatore Ferragamo to name a few of my favorite Italian brands was founded in Florence and is still headquartered here. Having searched high and low for where to stay in the shadows of Santa Maria del Fiore's Dome, with no luck we finally found something right by Piazza Santa Croce. Thinking that we were miles from everything, we couldn't have been more wrong.
Piazza Santa Croce is a little gem you need to add to your visit when you Florence. Our apartment in a street right next to Santa Croce church. Two streets over we had the Arno River and close by Ponte Vecchio and right across the river from us is Piazza Michaelangelo offering amazing views of the city vista. Needless to say, we had struck gold! Busy enough with Italian cafes, restaurants, shops, and galleries but quiet enough to enjoy surrounding without hordes of tourists clogging up the area too much. Santa Croce as well as offering a stunning focal point with its beautiful facade is also a place many Italian greats have been buried. Known as Temple of Italian Glorie, Santa Croce is where Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and many illustrious Italians are buried. The church overlooks a piazza. This is also where another Italian sport was born; Calcio Fiorentino
