Why Florence? TA Williams on why he can’t resist this magical city

 

THE VIRTUAL ITALY BOOK FESTIVAL day five: Tuscany[image error]
Florence

And now to Florence with TA Williams:

[image error] When Debbie Waterson’s bicycle crashes into handsome Pierluigi she wonders if her luck has changed. Determinedly single after ending a long relationship, at last a man worth bumping into! Inspired to visit Florence, she soon runs headlong into that old foe: reality. But is Pierluigi the man of her dreams? Then there’s the booze-obsessed boss and his forbidding secretary and her noisy, inconsiderate neighbours. But could her luck be about to change? Will she find love after all?

Why Florence?

Thanks to Katy for organising this celebration of the country and the people I love so much, I married one of them (and we’re still married after 43 years).

I spent eight years of my life living and working in Italy and, although we’ve been back in the UK for quite a while now, I still love the place. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that my Italian wife now prefers England, I’d be writing this to you from Tuscany.

I’ve set a number of my books in Italy and the two most recent ones are Dreaming of Venice and Dreaming of Florence. Why these two cities, I hear you ask?

First things first – they say you should write about what you know. I lived for four years in Florence and worked fifty metres from the Duomo. We lived out in the sticks (in an amazing eleventh century convent – long ago deserted by the nuns) and I travelled in and out by train, walking past the Baptistery and the Duomo every day of the week. I got to know the city and its surroundings like the back of my hand so it was an obvious choice for a book.

Apart from the streets, the buildings and the sights, I also got to know the people very well. In fact, some of our best friends even now are Florentines. We were welcomed into the homes of so many wonderful, hospitable people, offered mouth-watering food and drink and treated like members of the family. I will always cherish the memories of those times and incorporating them into my books has great therapeutic value to me and is, hopefully, a little homage to them all.

When my publishers (those lovely folk at Canelo) wrote the blurb for Dreaming of Florence, they described Florence as a magical city and they aren’t wrong. There really is something magical about finding yourself walking along the same streets as Michelangelo, climbing the same staircase as Machiavelli or standing on the Ponte Vecchio, looking up at the secret passage that the Medici used to use to go to and from their palaces. I’ve always had an interest in history and Florence to a historian is amazing. Walking home from work at ten o’clock on a cold winter night, you can almost hear boots on the cobbles behind you, or spurs jingling on the heels of messengers bringing news from the Pope.

Travel Tips for Florence

Most people have heard of the main sights of the city, like the Uffizi or Piazzale Michelangelo, but there is so much more to be discovered. Try looking up as you walk around. You’ll spot little balconies, statues on facades and towers poking up through the mass of terracotta roofs. I’ve tried to convey this in Dreaming of Florence and I hope I’ve succeeded. I would recommend the place to anybody, but just one little tip:

Visit Florence out of season. It’s getting busier and busier, so try to avoid the summer months if you can – not least as it gets suffocatingly hot there. I used to get through three shirts a day some days. My suggestion would be December, before the Christmas rush. Take a good pair of shoes and a warm coat and I guarantee, you’ll absorb so much more of the character of what is, without doubt, one of the most wonderful cities in the world.

[image error]About Trevor Williams

I went to Italy (quite by chance) when I was in my twenties and ended up in Florence, running an English language school. I spent the rest of my working life in Exeter and still live in the Westcountry today. I have written 13 books – mostly romantic comedies – and my next book comes out in May, this time entitled Dreaming of St-Tropez . Nobody can accuse me of writing about nasty places. I am married to an artist, and my daughter is a poet. I love my work – and the tax-deductible “research trips” it demands.

Dreaming of Florence universal link: http://myBook.to/DreamFlorence

Dreaming of Venice universal link: http://mybook.to/Venice

My website: www.tawilliamsbooks.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawilliamsbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrevorWilliamsBooks/