Florence, A Walk With A View Poem by Fabrizio Frosini

A walk in Florence.

[English adaptation from my Italian text «Firenze, passeggiata con vista»]


{Note: Heinz Czechowski wrote a poem titled 'Selbstbildnis, Florenz' ['Self-portrait, Florence'], from where the lines: «Wer noch kein / Melancholiker ist, / Muß es hier werden» ['Who is not melancholic / here he becomes such.'}


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1. My line:
'How right [are] those verses from Czechowski' refers to «Melancholiker.. / Muß es hier werden» ['Who is not melancholic / here he becomes such.'].

2. My line:
'The poet of the Death from the sky above Dresden' refers to the fact that during World War II, when yet a child, he survived the allied bombing of his city, Dresden (february/april 1945) , that killed more than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, and destroyed the entire city center. Before its destruction, Dresden was know as Florence on the Elbe (Elbflorenz) .

3. My line:
'Because there is but one path to follow: ' refers to «Denn es ist kein Geheimnis, / dass ein jeglicher nur einen Weg / Zu beschreiten hat: seinen.» { 'Since it is not a secret, / Everybody has only one path/ to follow: his own.' } in Czechowski's «MAN WEISS JA, UND WENN MAN NOCH NICHT WEISS» ['One knows, and if doesn't known, ']

4. Arcetri is a hill, in Florence, where an Astrophysical Observatory stands. It is close to 'Villa il gioiello', where Galileo Galilei lived from 1631 until his death (1642) .

5. Forte di Belvedere is a fortress built (1590-'95) by Bernardo Buontalenti by order of Ferdinando I de' Medici. Located on a hill, right up against the walls surrounding the Boboli Gardens (adjacent to Palazzo Pitti) , from there a spectacular view of Florence and its surrounding hills can be enjoyed.

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(Fabrizio Frosini)