Laura from Ciao Amalfi is back to describe her favorite photo taken in Florence this past May. 

Welcome Laura!!

I started each day by wrapping a scarf around me, grabbing my notebook and heading out to the terrace to hear the church bells ringing and feel the warmth of the springtime sun on my face. The terrace was filled with beautiful plants, and the bright red of this Callistemon plant caught my eye the first morning. I first encountered these unusual flowers, commonly called bottle brush, growing on the Amalfi Coast. It was a little reminder of home for me right in the heart of Florence!

This is one of my favorite photographs from my first visit to Florence, because it reminds me of those early mornings. Just beyond the Callistemon is the Basilica di San Lorenzo, with its beautiful dome and delicate campanile (bell tower). When I see this photo, I remember how each morning, as the church bells rang and Florence awoke to a new day, the sky was full of swallows swirling about over the rooftops. Darting in and out and around the richly colored terracotta tile roofs, they cried out as if the beauty of city was just too much for them, too. Their calls were shrill and as sharply defined as the arch of their wings and the points of their tales.

Watching this morning dance of the swallows over the rooftops of Florence, I had the strange feeling that I was alone. The city sounds were muffled and far below, but from where I stood the sun was warm and the swallows were so close. Somehow it felt as if we were the only ones rejoicing over the beauty of Florence in the early morning light. It was a feeling that will always come back to me when I see this photo or hear the cry of a swallow.

The bright morning sun washed out this video a bit, but you can see and hear the swallows swirling and crying above the rooftops of Florence. (And, of course, the gorgeous Duomo, too!)

Laura Thayer is an art historian and freelance writer living on the Amalfi Coast in Campania, Italy. She writes about travel for MNUI travel insurance and blogs about life on the Amalfi Coast at her own site Ciao Amalfi.