Florence - A Traveler's Guide to its Gems & Giants

Visit Florence Differently - through the fun backstories of the people that made that city. Fast, Fun & Smart:

- The Pirate Pope
- Execution of a Mad Monk
- Punching Michelangelo
- Where the Bodies are Buried
- da Vinci's Secret Woman
- Skull Worship
- The REAL Bonfire of the Vanities
- Drunken Bacchus
- the Plague Doctor
- Kidnapped into Slavery
- Adoration of Botticelli
- Hide Me, Please!
- Stripping Dante
- Is Machiavelli Misunderstood?
- Her Royally Embarrassed Highness
- Stairway to Hell
and many more tales.

Patty Civalleri, a professional photographer, shows you where to go and/or climb to take the same fantastic photos that are all throughout the book.

BONUS:
Buy this book and get a FREE Gift. Choose either a "FLORENCE Game Pack" or a "FLORENCE Phone App" (avail February 2017.) Both items were designed to 'pair' beautifully with this book.

Microcontent for today's busy traveler:
- Trivia - Backstories - Did-you-knows - Visually Rich: over 450 images!

This book has no restaurants or bars, no metro schedules or 3-days-in-Florence plans. It has what the others lack: the backstories of those famous guys from Florence that made the city look the way it does: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Donatello, Dante, Machiavelli, Raphael, Galileo, the Medici family, and many more. (Note: Did you know that most of these guys actually knew each other?!?)

Think: People Magazine of the Renaissance.

FLORENCE Gems & Giants is the PERFECT Companion to your favorite Florence City Guidebook.

The Story Behind This Book

Years ago, I visited the city of Florence for a few days. For some unknown reason, however, I had a difficult time leaving. Years later, I heeded her invisible call and revisited this ancient and exotic city. Once again, I had to pry myself away. After traveling the globe for 17 years, I have never felt a 'pull' quite like this. It left me curious enough to get it together and go for a third visit. But this time, I stayed for three months. And I fell in love. With the city. With her history. With the fantastic group of real-life characters that stormed out of the Dark Ages and chiseled the western world into an enlightened Renaissance. There are endless reasons why the city of FLORENCE is a favorite destination of so many travelers: the food, the wine, the people, the history, the landmarks, etc. For me, it is the stories. The stories of the people and places that made the city hauntingly interesting. These are the stories of the people I thought I knew plenty about: Michelangelo, da Vinci, Donatello, Dante, Botticelli, Machiavelli, Galileo, the Medici family, and so many more. But as you will see, we were taught very little about these guys. For example, did you know that most of these guys came from the little town of Florence? And that many of them actually KNEW each other? And did you know that it was these guys that unknowingly began that vague period in history called "The Renaissance?" You just learned three key little, albeit important, facts. Ok, so what's a Renaissance? The Renaissance was the 'force' that pulled the Western World out of the Dark Ages and into enlightenment. In fact, Renaissance is the French word for 'awakening' or 'enlightenment.' (Oops, you just learned another fact.) My book is jam-packed with little stories, trivia and factoids. It is super visual (over 450 images) and very easy to read. With this book in your hands, your trip to Florence could become one of the more interesting and memorable trips in your lifetime. And this is my hope: that you experience my favorite city in a way that will make it yours as well.

Praise and Reviews

"With no direct competition in the travel guidebook arena, this is a game-changer for travelers that want to know more than simply where to eat or drink. Patty always has a smile on her face; she put that smile on every page of this book.”    

~ Dr. Zahi Hawass, Former Minister of the Egyptian Antiquities, Archaeologist, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Author of nearly 50 Travel Books

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