Impressions of Firenze III: A wild soldier appears! I first noticed the presence of the Italian military when I saw a soldier in the Uffizi Gallery corridor that leads from the bank of the Arno to the Piazza della Signoria. I am not talking about the Carabinieri with their fancy uniforms that are technically part of the Italian Armed Forces but answer to the authority of the ministry of the Interior ("sind dem Innenministerium unterstellt"). I am talking about a soldier of the Italian army, complete with bulletproof vest, helmet and his Beretta assault rifle. He was just standing there, in the middle of the city while waves of careless tourist washed around him. In Germany police and army are two entirely seperate entities. Domestic security is the sole responsibility of the police. The German constitution strictly prohibits the deployment of the Bundeswehr within German borders. There are only two exceptions: emergency aid in case of an apocalyptic catastrophe the police can't possibly handle (as only recently specified by the Bundesverfassungsgericht) and if the democratic constitution or the continued existance of the Federal Republic of Germany are in immediate danger ("unmittelbar gefährdet"). You simply don't see a soldier in his uniform in Germany. Especially not since the suspension of conscription in 2011. The Italians do not seem to share our sentiment though. There were soldiers around Il Duomo and other tourist magnets, too. I quickly noticed that the first soldier wasn't alone either. There were a few more and even a Humvee-like armoured vehicle that was parked right under the watchful eyes of Niccolò Machiavelli. All pictures have been taken by either me or close family members. All rights reserved. I am primarily writing these essays to improve my writing but please feel free to respond with regards to content as well if you feel like it.