It’s a sweltering summer day in Florence, and along the Arno River throngs of tourists are shuffling between the Uffizi Galleries and Ponte Vecchio. Sunburned selfie-takers walk by mid-morning spritz drinkers, and no one seems to notice a square green door tucked inside the walls of the Uffizi. Next to the door’s stone frame is a small sign for the Società Canottieri Firenze—an exclusive, century-old private rowing club—and below it, a metal plaque translating several languages to “Members Only.”
Founded in 1911, the Società Canottieri Firenze continues the city’s rowing legacy, which first arrived on the Arno in the mid–19th century. Despite being a Florentine native and third-generation member of the club, Michele Nannelli, a convivial surgeon who has served as the club’s president since 2021, feels the beauty of experiencing his city through sport has never lost its potency. “Rowing here is like rowing inside a museum,” he says.
