By Pamela Goldman

Florence, Italy is the Greenwich Village of the world in my opinion.With all of it’s winding streets and unexpected pockets of beauty, itwas a haven for artists and writers as well as the center of culturalinnovation for decades.

Today, with a population of approximately 383,000 it remains relatively small for a city with such a plethoraof artistic brilliance. Like Greenwich Village, Florence is filled to the brim with art and cultural history. There is no city in the world that compares. After all, it is considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance. Commissioned Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Ghiberti, Raphael and so many others were at the helm of this movement.

I have traveled and lived in Florence three times and studied drawing and art history as well in the city. Visiting the monumental statue of Michelangelo’s “David” at the Accademia Gallery is a profound experience. Being able to circle around it and viewing the sculpture from infinite angles is a gift that all should experience. A short distance away, is The Uffizi Gallery, one of the greatest museums in the world.

Here one can casuallyglance at Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.” I certainly did andwith onlyone other person in the room!As part of the Renaissance, there was a literary blossoming duringthe movement as well. Writers such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, DanteAligheri and political theorist, Machiavelli all thrived at the time. Oneis astonished by the magnificence of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” or the political theories in Machiavelli’s “The Prince.”