“The carousel never stops turning…”
repeated over in my head, as I passed what I didn’t know at the time was Piazza della Repubblica for the first time. As one of my first sights of Florence, it’s
maintained a place in both my heart and head as what this city has grown to
mean to me. Life, work, youth, innocence, adventure, culture, and beauty are
splashed across this square in a matter of fact, yet effortless fashion. Like
most things in Florence, it’s possible to discover a new beautiful sight after
every corner. The sense of adventure, of encouraging exploration, and of
independence is inherent to the city’s core existence.
In the culturally rich and historic
centers of the city, it’s easy to find glimpses of frivolousness and
spontaneity. The carousel in the square represents the Italian love for life.
It’s so common to find carousels at home in malls and amusement parks, but to
stumble across one in a busy square? That’s not common at all- you could go as
far as to say it’s not American. Americans tend to squeeze adventure and
spontaneity into small, forced, and acceptable locations. Whether it’s an
amusement park, mall carousel, playground, or beach vacation we only allot a
certain amount of time in our lives for preapproved ‘fun.’ I never realized
this until coming to Florence, because, for me, it was all that I grew up
knowing.
My love of Florence, and this
square in particular, comes from the way that the people go about life. Instead
of parading around cautiously waiting for the right time to adventure and
explore the Florentines attack life in a purposeful way. Life, like most things
here, is an event and an experience. Here, life is constant. There seems to be
no roadblocks whether it is work, family, or money related when it comes to new
experiences. The Florentines carousel is life; it is a constant and directed
movement of experiencing everything around them. At home, a carousel is
distraction; it is preapproved, premade, and accounts for short-term happiness.
I suppose it would be easier to
appreciate the carousel for exactly what it is- a carousel. But for me, it’s a
tangible item that contrasts the differences between the culture I grew up with
and the culture I’m immersing myself in. The only question left is- when will I
choose to get off the carousel?
XO,
Dev
PS more bday weekend pictures here on my VSCO http://vsco.co/devinost
