FLORENCE: Bees that can't be counted...

Strolling through the streets of Florence's historic center, one arrives at Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, which immediately engages with arches, palaces and fountains.

 

Extremely representative of the Florentine Renaissance character, she is the one whose precise aesthetic sense also inspires the rest of the city.

The lodge, in fact, had various practical functions as well as beauty; it could in fact be used for the marketplace, as a shelter for the sick or reception for wayfarers.

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To add to its charm, an imposing equestrian monument dedicated to Grand Duke Ferdinand I de' Medici of Tuscany was placed in the center of the square. A late work by Giambologna, it was later completed by his trusted pupil Pietro Tacca in 1608.

The statue was made through the casting of bronze from the cannons of Turkish ships defeated during the military campaigns of the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen. But the curious singularity of this monument is a swarm of bees present on its pedestal:

The bees, arranged in precise concentric circles, are meant to represent the Florentines who were responsible for loyalty, industriousness, and cooperation with Ferdinand I.

In the center, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and its ruler represented by the queen bee.

Above, the Latin motto "Maiestatis Tantum" or "only for his Majesty," which highlights why this image, also became the heraldic symbol of Ferdinand I.

 

This is not easy to understand because their location makes it difficult to enumerate...

 

In the past, parents used the ploy of making them count to calm their children's tantrums, promising them a reward if they could find the solution.

Counting bees in bronze thus became not only a stratagem or a game but also a real challenge that, coming down to the present day, still involves adults and children: in fact, legend has it that those who manage to count them rigorously withouttouching them with their hands or pointing at them with their fingers could receive a lot of luck...