A lovely flower box of carnations sits between a set of blue shutters in the old section of the town of Arles, France.
Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time,[3] Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called "the Athens of the Middle Ages".[4] A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions.[5] From 1865 to 1871 the city was also the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy.