I am happy to announce that Cheryl Tucker has just published a new article on Florence from the Heart. In her article, she writes about sitting in Piazza della Repubblica where so much happens at any time of the day. I have walked through it thousands of times to get to different parts of the city or to meet people, and I'm always amazed at all the goings-on: from marching bands and parades that traverse it to people meeting up and sitting around it. I admit that it was never my favorite piazza in Florence because I didn't find it as beautiful and inspiring as many of the other ones in town, but one day that all changed.
Last year before I launched the Florence from the Heart website, I was walking around town and suddenly stopped in Piazza della Repubblica and sat down at the base of the column. A few days earlier, I had read about the statue on the top of the Colonna dell'Abbondanza (Abundance column), which I never really appreciated before. I had initially wanted to place a photo of the Colonna dell'Abbondanza as the primary design element of my Florence from the Heart website, but it somehow didn't fit. I have included the picture I took last year when I sat at its base with this blog entry.
For the last couple of years, I have begun to recognize all the abundance I have in my life and have felt such gratitude to my beloved city for helping me to acknowledge it. Before that time I let a couple of tragedies mark my life in such a way that I couldn't see all the good that had come to me. So last summer when I sat at the base of the Colonna dell'Abbondanza, I felt a wave of gratitude come over me. For at least an hour, I sat at its base and began thinking about my life in Florence. I am not only aware of what I have in my life, but also who is in my life. I'm grateful for my marito (husband) and all the friends I've made.
Now when I walk through Piazza Repubblica, I look up at the statue of the woman holding a cornucopia on top of the Colonna dell'Abbondanza and smile. "Grazie," I whisper to her.
Cheryl and I became friends last year after being introduced through a mutual friend. When we get together, we often talk about Florence and how the city makes us feel. We both enjoy writing about our beloved city and besides having her own blog about life in Florence, she too writes for The Florentine about the streets of Florence.
I am also fortunate to have found a kindred spirit who loves Florence as much as I do. I look forward to Cheryl publishing more articles on the Florence from the Heart website because she writes about Florence with such love and appreciation that I can't help but become more aware of different aspects of my beloved city and, in turn, love it even more.
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