Piazzas, Duomos, and Public Transportation

Submitted by Harrison on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 11:46
The landmarks and the frustrations of a less efficient but markedly more picturesque Florence
At first, Florence was a puzzle to my New York grid-oriented mind. Narrow streets, not all marked, some of which cut diagonally through other streets, confused me even though compared to other Italian cities such as Venice, Florence is a piece of cake. While some people orient themselves in terms of cardinal directions, I tend to orient myself in terms of major landmarks, places I have visited, and a general “I know I am here, and I can see the Duomo straight in front of me, so, the Uffizi must be to my right.” Getting to the bus station is definitely easier now that I know how long it takes to get there in the morning, I have found other grocery stores rather than the one I was shown on the first week, and generally know how to not get caught in expensive tourist traps, like a ristorante by the Duomo is going to be far more expensive and worse quality than one that it takes some getting lost to find.

Thankfully, I was able to put an Italian SIM card in my American Droid phone, so I have been able to keep my Google Maps on standby if I ever need it, which sometimes I do. I try not to use it as to better orient myself without the help of technology, but sometimes, I must admit, I take the easy way out when I’m not doing daily activities. For this reason, I don’t use a physical map, but I have still formed a mental image of the city in my mind. The big piazzas definitely help with this mental map. To the upper right of my apartment is Piazza della Signorina and to the upper left of my apartment is Piazza della Repubblica. If I keep walking to the right out of my apartment, I will hit the Arno river and the Ponte Vecchio, which if I cross it, I will then hit Palazzo Pitti. The first two to three weeks I was here, I was still lost and confused all the time and just knew how to get home and to school. Only repetition, time, and exploring on my own has helped me to form my image of Florence.

Public transportation in Florence is a whole other subject. This morning, I get to the bus stop to take the number 25 bus from San Marco, and the sign says it will be there in one minute. “Good,” I think, “Right on time.” Ten minutes later, it’s still flashing “1 minute” and you can feel the growing frustration at the bus stop, namely by the NYU students who are going to be late to class. After about 15 minutes with only 5 minutes to spare before class starts, 3 other girls and I took a cab up to campus to our class. I’m all for the Italian way of not being on time anywhere, but when it comes to public transport, it does make me miss the efficiency of New York (however the L train is another story).