“This is the fairest picture on our planet, the most enchanting to look upon, the most satisfying to the eye and the spirit. To see the sun sink down, drowned on his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of color that make all the sharp lines dim and faint and turn the solid city to a city of dreams, is a sight to stir the coldest nature, and make a sympathetic one drunk with ecstasy.”

Mark Twain Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1892

“You will begin to wonder what human daring ever achieved anything so magnificent.”

John Ruskin, Mornings in Florence 1875

Florence, and all of Italy, the world’s prayers are with you.

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Carla Gambescia author of La Dolce Vita University