Before the imagination of a thirteenth-century poet, one of the sweetest singers of the dolce stil novo, there rose a vision of a transfigured city — transformed into a capital of Fairyland, with his lady and himself as fairy queen and king:

"Amor, eo chero mea donna in domino,
l'Arno balsamo fino,
le mura di Fiorenza inargentate,
le rughe di cristallo lastricate,
fortezze alte e merlate,
mio fedel fosse ciaschedun Latino."

📖 Translation (Lapo Gianni, via Rossetti)

"Love, I demand to have my lady in fee,
Fine balm let Arno be,
The walls of Florence all of silver rear'd,
And crystal pavements in the public way;
With castles make me fear'd,
Till every Latin soul have owned my sway."

🌸 A poetic dream where Florence itself becomes a land of enchantment — silver walls, crystal streets, and the Arno flowing like balm.

Source: Lapo Gianni, translated by Rossetti