I know what you’re thinking, “Ugh, another Florence post?! This is the 5th one!” Well it’s also the last one, so don’t worry! Our last day in Florence was slow and easy; our class embarked on a field trip to the peaceful grounds of Santa Croce Basilica, then ducked into a traditional Tuscan restaurant to escape the rain. I took the afternoon to rest after my scramble-around free day yesterday, and then while my friends and I were eating dinner at an outdoor trattoria, an impromptu parade of Bandierai degli Uffizi flag-wavers marched right down the street we were on!
Watching this parade was a great way to round off our time in Florence.
Santa Croce Basilica
My first impression of the Basilica di Santa Croce was that it looks like a mini version of the Duomo, with its white facade and olivine/red marble lining. There’s also a blue, six-pointed star at the top, which is a nod to the Jewish architect.
Santa Croce sits on the Piazza di Santa Croce, which is coincidentally right outside of our hotel! The piazza itself is a big one, though it’s a lot calmer than the Duomo’s piazza, making it a great area to stay.
We stood out on the square for awhile in the basilica’s shade for a short history lesson on the church itself, where we learned that this is the largest Franciscan church in existence, and is most famous for being the final resting place of legendary artists and scholars like Galileo and Michelangelo. The tombs lining the walls are elaborate to say the least, with life-sized sculptures of crying mourners and sympathetic angels. There are also 16 different chapels to wander around, all with alluring frescoes by Giotto and his team.
In addition to the church, Santa Croce also contains a Franciscan cloister and garden that you can wander through to get some insight into that monk life. Even though it rained during our visit, I enjoyed the gardens most of all. The barrel-vaulted awnings reaching over from the sides of the church are beautifully ornate, and although I’ve been to a lot of Italian churches, I’ve never seen anything like it!
Trying some Tuscan food
Normally for lunch in Italy, I like to stop at a cafe for a sandwich and eat at the bar, as this is what the Italians do and it only costs a few euros for a sandwich and drink to eat it this way.
However, it was now pouring down rain, and so my friends and I ran into the first restaurant we could find, and ended up with a corner table in a cozy little pasta place.
I was delighted to find out that they served rigatoni with boar meat and truffle sauce, as our professor had told us that wild boar and truffle mushrooms are Tuscany’s seasonal delecasies during the October/November months. Although a bit pricy, it was the perfect hearty and rich meal to go with a rainy day!
Bandierai degli Uffizi flag parade
Although the rest of the day was uneventful, my friends and I decided to enjoy our last night in Florence by eating at one of the outdoor restaurants in the Piazza della Republica.
We were just enjoying the cool night air while munching on some floury tuscan bread when suddenly, I hear what sounds like a marching band off in the distance.
At first, I thought I was hallucinating because two of my sisters are in the marching band at home, but then a team of about a dozen teenage boys in bright red hats and tights came marching down the street, banging on drums and waving white flags with Fleur de Lis on them (a Florentine symbol) in perfect synchronization.
We didn’t even have to get up from our table to watch this impromptu parade, it really was a great case of being in the right-place at the right-time. Then as quickly and noisily as they’d appeared, the paraders turned the corner and were gone.
After getting back to the hotel, I looked up the name on their banners, the Bandierai deli Uffizi or “Flags of the Uffizi”, and discovered how lucky we were to get to see them perform! The flag-wavers of Florence is an old and prestigious society, whose traditions date back to the 16th century when Florence was its own republic, independent of Italy. They are renowned for how historically accurate their costumes and routines are, and they’ve performed all over the world! Supposedly, they mostly perform on religious holidays, which makes the performance even more lucky to have witnessed!
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After dinner, we enjoyed our last walk through the wonderful cobblestone streets of Florence, and packed up to leave for Ravenna in the morning, before moving on to Venice and the surrounding islands.
Fun times are ahead, so keep checking back 😉