Piazza with the Loggia dei Servi di Maria (now the Loggiato dei Serviti Hotel) in the background.

I worked in Geneva, Switzerland for eight years and during that time I had regional responsibilities covering to various degrees offices in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, as well as some former Soviet Union countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. One of the offices that fell into my domain was in Florence, Italy. It’s located in a renaissance palace (some say the original renaissance palace) on the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a short walk from the famous Duomo. I had the onerous task of going down to Florence a couple of times per year to work on common projects and to generally review what was going on in my area. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. Twelve years after leaving Geneva I found myself back on Florence for my final trip before retirement. These pictures came from that visit. They are of the Piazza itself. A second post will provide some interior shots of our office.

Facade of the Loggia dei Servi.

Giambologna’s equestrian statue of Ferdinando I de’ Medici

Piazza at night with bicycles – Santissima Annunziata church in the background and Brunelleschi’s Spedale degli Innocenti on the right.