Florence 2010, I remember it as if it were today. It was very cold and that day I decided to leave my colleagues to go for a walk.
I decided that it would be a relaxing afternoon without a predefined itinerary. I had a fever, I was very tired, but I took an aspirin and from the hotel in the city center, I began an afternoon of exploring Florence, one of those cities which you will always return with pleasure (I had been there four times already!), but you never get tired of visiting it.
Museums are truly treasure chests of art and beauty. So after a stop on the terrace of the Uffizi, admiring the imposing walls of what used to be the Palagio dei Priori ( today Palazzo Vecchio), I walked along the principle access road to the historic center of Florence, Via Cavour. I was immediately struck by some paintings of women, their eyes seemed to guide me inside this extraordinary historical café, where Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas had their discussions; the Caffè Michelangiolo.
I walked a few more steps, I glimpsed something….. I walked over and looked up, I was electrified!!! I stood still under this gigantic prototype that represents one of Leonardo’s obsessions with flight, but I didn’t know it yet. I can’ t explain what happened even now. I wonder if beauty can be so overpowering!! Stendhal syndrome? Most likely yes, somewhere between ecstasy, celestial sensations, nausea and intense vertigo.
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