Florence

“Florence stands close under the Appennines, and seems every way else, to have   a large plain enclos’d with hills ; in  which are an infinite number of villas,  and some of them very fine, as that of  Poggio Imperiali, the great duke’s by the  town wall, which has delicate walks of Elci, fine gardens, fountains, &c. near  it is a fine Mall, set with trees by the  river which runs through the city ; and  on the other fide of it, has a quantity of  meadow-ground well wooded, with a  farm-house upon it, where the great  duke keeps his dairy, and in the summer is very pleasant.”

— A tour in France & Italy, made by an English Gentleman, 1675. by John Clenche

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called “the Athens of the Middle Ages”.  A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. — Wikipedia