8th edition of Corri la Vita

At 9:30am, thousands of people met in Piazza della Signoria for the 8th edition of Corri la Vita. When we began the passeggiata (walk), we were barely moving. I met up with friends, but after ten minutes they left because we were going so slow. It took at least 10 minutes to walk to Ponte Vecchio with the large crowds and people walking with bambini (babies) in passeggini (strollers) and cani (dogs).

Living in Florence :: 8th edition of Corri la Vita

I was touched to see so many people wearing the purple magliette (t-shirts), taking part in an event, helping to find a cure for breast cancer.

Along the percorso (route), people stopped to take photos, like in front of the Cellini statue on the Ponte Vecchio. The percorso was different from the last time I did the passeggiata, and I was eager to see where it was going to lead us. We walked through Boboli, which was beautiful, and then down via Maggio back to the centro (center) and next to the Duomo. I had seen a few signs on the side of the percorso, but didn’t stop because of the large crowds. It wasn’t until I saw the doors of the San Felice chiesa (church) open that I decided to go for a quick visit.

I was especially interested in seeing places that I haven’t been in before, so I stopped to visit a few palazzi (buildings), like Palazzo delle Missioni and Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni. I read on the sign that the Associazione Culturale Città Nascosta provided guide turistiche (tour guides) to share some information about them.

I didn’t know the actual percorso, but followed the large crowds of people. It wasn’t a problem until the end when I saw people with the purple magliette going in different directions. I headed back to Piazza della Signoria by taking via della Ninna and stood at the arrivo (finish line). I found out later that I was supposed to turn on via della Condotta to get to via Calzaiuoli.

While standing at the arrivo, I overheard a guy say, “Vieni qui...c’è il Mister. (Come here...the Mister is here.)” Being a Viola tifosa (fan), I knew he could only be talking about two men: Sinisa Mihajlovic or Cesare Prandelli. The former is the current allenatore (coach) of the Fiorentina while the latter was the allenatore, but is now the allenatore of the Italian soccer team.

I followed the guy, who wasn’t talking to me, but to his friend, and saw Prandelli on the terrazza (terrace) of Rivoire. When I walked on the sidewalk between the café and the terrazza, a man asked me to take a photo of his daughter next to Prandelli. After I had taken it, I asked Prandelli if I could take his photo. He agreed and so I posted it here. Unfortunately, the little boy wouldn’t move out of the way for me, so he’s in it too.

I went back to the arrivo to look for Alessandro who ran the 10k race, but couldn’t find him in the piazza. I walked home and found him inside waiting for me. It took him less time to do the 10k race than it did for me to do the 5k passeggiata.

We were fortunate to have clear blue skies and a cool breeze because they did predict rain for today. It was a joy to visit the city, see new places, and support a great cause.

Share your comments for this blog post on the Living in Florence's Facebook page. Grazie!

Back to Top