Florence



Florence, or "Firenze" in the native Italian, is one of the world's most famous cities. The cradle of the Renaissance, Florence is known in large part for the stunning amount of artwork contained within; Michaelangelo's David, arguably the most famous sculpture in human history, calls Florence home. So does the Uffizi Gallery, one of the largest art museums in the world.

In the Small Reference Pools of pop culture, a fondness for Florence is used as a quick and easy way of demonstrating a character's erudition and culture.

Works featuring this city include:

Anime and Manga

 * Axis Powers Hetalia: Paint it White wherein Firenze is overrun and "drained" by the Pict early on. Apparently, putting white flags over the city didn't help much.
 * Like most famous Italian cities, Florence is the setting for an episode of Gunslinger Girl

Film

 * Hannibal: Lecter had expressed his love for the city in The Silence of the Lambs. Upon escaping from prison at the end of that novel, the doctor headed to Florence and was on his way to earning tenure at a prestigious Florentine university before he was discovered by the FBI and Mason Verger's henchmen.

Literature

 * The Enchantress of Florence. Large portions of the book also take place in India, however.

Tabletop Games

 * GURPS has a supplement describing Renaissance Florence in game terms, complete with descriptions of the Medicis... but without a city map.

Video Games

 * Assassin's Creed II: Much of the game is spent in Renaissance Florence, which is re-created in painstaking detail.
 * It's likewise shown in optional flashbacks in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.