The rivalry between cities that goes back to medieval times still exists in Italy. It can be seen in sport nowadays, certainly in football.
I like it. I like how your place of birth can give you a sense of pride.
I never feel better than when I return to Florence and walk the historic streets, see the Palazzo Vecchio, cathedral, the city walls and the river.
I will be there in give weeks. October is a good month too.
The man in the Iron Mask died today in 1703.
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On the 19th November 1703 a prisoner, whose identity was hidden by a mask he wore, died in the Bastille in Paris. He had been a prisoner for 34 years. Before the Bastille, he had been sent to the prison at Pignerol by one of Louis XIV’s ministers, with the instructions: “It is of extreme importance that he be closely guarded and that he is unable to communicate by letter or any other means…He must be kept in a completely isolated place, so that his guards cannot hear him… And you will never listen to anything he wished to tell you.”
To this day, despite tens of suggested possibile candidates, all who have been refuted, we still are no nearer knowing who he was. -
Definitely. You can see how easily it could be romanticised and turned into a film.