The Danger of Making Eye Contact in Florence

Two beautiful aspects of Florence are two of the things which when combined can lead to dangerous outcomes. …Now that I think about it, there are probably several combinations of things that would make my previous statement true. For instance: mopeds + too much Chianti = accidents; or excessive gelato intake + too many “café normales” = certain stomachache. However, my original thought was cobblestones + beautiful men. Hear me out on this.
Before I came to Florence an Italian friend gave this naïve biondina (blondie) a few pearls of wisdom about fitting in.

1. DON’T wear tennis shoes and flip-flops everywhere.
2. Locals DON’T actually eat pasta everyday. (WHAT!?)
3. The best gelato is in Santo Spirito. (Gelateria Carraia) 

And above all else: “DO NOT make eye contact on the street.” What? Why? I’m an American and I am friendly – making eye contact with people on the street and saying hello is normal and part of who I am. I am not going to simply keep my head down and be a Negative Nelly all day. Now, I am pretty sure he meant it as advice on how to avoid "followers." Followers are men who, given the quickest flash of eye contact, will turn and talk to you, nag you or even follow you for a few blocks. While this is an unfortunate event, I now see the second and more common reason.

Six months and a few close calls later, and I am officially a firm believer in the “no eye contact” method of walking. First of all, the beautiful cobblestone streets are nothing to mess around with. While they are lovely and charming and have the ability to make you feel as though you are walking on the same stones as Dante Alighieri himself, they are also loose, uneven, porous and deceiving. It takes concentration and balance to make it down a single block. And I don’t even want to mention what can happen with heels on.

Then there are the people. The beautiful Italian men, and women, who pass you by in their tailor-cut Italian suits and leather shoes looking like they just walked off the pages of a magazine. It is truly a thing of beauty to see a dapper and confident heterosexual young man in a suede navy suit with a paisley purple tie rockin’ it as he heads to the corner bar for a cappuccino. I’ll speak for myself when I say it is hard not to stare. And making eye contact with one of these beautiful specimens can be downright unnerving!

So I go back to my original thought when I say that I strongly suggest paying attention to where you are walking when out for a casual stroll from the Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio. Charming cobblestone streets + enchanting Italian men = stumbles, falls, broken heels, twisted ankles and bruised pride. If you want to enjoy the scenery, I suggest choosing a well-traveled cobblestone street, grabbing a sturdy chair and a bottle of wine and making yourself at home for the next few hours.>