It’s hard for other people to realize just how easily we Florentines live with that past in our hearts and minds because it surrounds us in a very real way. To most people, the Renaissance is a few paintings on a gallery wall; to us it is more than an environment – it’s an entire culture, a way of life. Franco Zeffirelli
Everything about Florence seems to be coloured with a mild violet, like diluted wine. Henry James
In Paris, you learn wit, in London you learn to crush your social rivals, and in Florence you learn poise. Virgil Thomson