Five reasons
to look away from the masterpieces.

Florence is a city that knows how to make an impression.

The cathedral alone is enough to stop you in your tracks. Then there are the palaces, the paintings, the sculptures, and the rather overwhelming number of people who came here to admire them.

It's easy to feel like every interesting story has already been told.

It hasn't.

Take a closer look, and Florence begins to reveal some rather unexpected women.

There's a biblical heroine whose statue became part of the city's political history. A noblewoman whose death left behind questions that haven't entirely disappeared. And a young woman who, according to local legend, returned home after everyone believed she was dead.

You can imagine the reception.

Elsewhere, two women named Caterina became entangled in the extraordinary world of Renaissance power, where family names, marriages, and convent walls could determine the course of a life.

But Florence isn't only about the Renaissance.

A small piece of metal tells a story about children whose names were never known. And on an ordinary street near the Arno, the memory of a devastating flood reveals another side of the city: one that had to be rescued, cleaned, and put back together.

These aren't the stories you'll necessarily hear while standing in line for the Uffizi.

They belong to doorways, courtyards, old buildings, and details that are easy to miss when you're looking up at the masterpieces.

And that's part of the pleasure of Florence.

There is so much beauty here that you might forget to look at what surrounds it.

The city has had centuries to perfect its image.

You might enjoy discovering a few things that don't fit inside the frame.

You don't need to know what happens before you go. You only need somewhere worth walking toward.

JUNO PORTALS is designed primarily for women traveling alone.

That doesn't mean every experience has to be solitary. It means the product starts from a simple reality: sometimes you're already here, the day is yours, and you'd like a reason to go somewhere you might otherwise have passed.

Read the access note for the portal you choose. Some places are further out than they look on the map, and some are private or working places you only see from outside.

All five portals here are at free, public places.

Curiosity gets you there. Your judgment always comes first.