Italy Photo of the Week: Florence Sunbathers

For this Italy photo of the week, we’re in Florence:

Ordinarily, the Piazza della Signoria (pictured here) is one of those places that Italian decorum dictates should not be thought of as a place to sit around or sunbathe. This grand piazza is always great for people watching, but the few uniformed police officers who regularly patrol it should, if they’re strictly following orders, be telling these loungers to move along. But they weren’t. On this trip I spent four days in Florence, and I never saw people lounging around like this except on the occasion when I snapped this photo – so whether the cops were taking a break themselves or whether they were just allowing a bit of sun-worshipping on a chilly day in March, I can’t say. All I know is if you want to try to duplicate this scene, you’d best be prepared to move along quickly if the police do show up.

Check out my other Italy photos and the other photos of the week!