by Aurora, age 8, asks La Befana do you give candy to good children and coal to bad ones?, about the Arno River, and Florence’s role in the Renaissance
Dear La Befana,
My name is Aurora and I am 8 years old. I live in Florence, Italy, where every January sixth my whole street waits for the old woman on the broomstick, and I always leave my stocking hanging by the window just in case.
First, do you give candy to good children and coal to bad ones?
Second, a geography question: what river runs through Florence?
Third, a school question about my country: why is Florence considered the birthplace of the Renaissance?
I left you a slice of panettone and hot chocolate.
Love, Aurora, age 8, Florence, Italy, Florence, Italy
From the Desk of La Befana
Dear Aurora, thank you for the treat, it was wonderful. Now, your questions.
Do you give candy to good children and coal to bad ones?
I do, though the coal these days is usually a sweet, dark rock candy rather than anything unpleasant, a gentle reminder rather than a real punishment.
What river runs through Florence?
The Arno River winds right through Florence, beneath the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge lined with little shops, and the whole city glows warmly along its banks on a clear winter night.
Why is Florence considered the birthplace of the Renaissance?
Florence became the center of a great flowering of art, science, and learning starting in the 1300s and 1400s, called the Renaissance, home to artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci and powerful patrons like the Medici family. That burst of creativity helped shape art and thinking across the rest of Europe for centuries afterward.
Buona Epifania, Aurora.
Ho ho ho, La Befana
