Article: Immaculate consumption ; Whether it's food, fashion or football, Italians do it in style. Rory Ross finds all three in Florence, as well as swanky designer shops, classic works of art and love in the air

It was April in Florence and the entire city was basking in the afterglow of "Manchester United 7, Roma 1" and all that it implied for the humiliation of their arch-rivals to the south. In Florence - the cradle of Italian civilisation and crucible of the greatest Western art - sculpting, painting pictures, making clothes and shoes, and producing wine are often dismissed as so much physical exercise. But give a Florentine a really big football result - now that is something he can really appreciate, especially at the expense of a rival city.

I was basking in the afterglow of a perfect spring day, sitting perched on the terrace of the Villa San Michele high above Florence in Fiesole, sipping ...

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