--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Florence and Milan had given him ideas…" description: "\"Florence and Milan had given him ideas more flexible than those of people who'd stayed at home.\" — Hilary Mantel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg" --- # Florence and Milan had given him ideas more flexible than… ![“Florence and Milan had given him ideas more flexible than those of people who'd stayed at home.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg) > “Florence and Milan had given him ideas more flexible than those of people who'd stayed at home.” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exposure to diverse cultures expands thinking beyond familiar confines. **In simple terms:** Travel broadens ideas. Key Takeaway Seek varied experiences. Themes growth flexibility learning Mood curious inspired Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - career development - creative writing - problem solving - team collaboration Key Concepts Cultural exposure open-mindedness Questions to Reflect On - How can you intentionally expose yourself to new perspectives? - What habits keep you rooted in familiar thinking? A Different Perspective Ideas may still be limited by personal bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Florence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/florence/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Milan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milan/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [I think the real problem is it's easy to persuade young kids of particular kinds of ideas, because they are flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/i-think-the-real-problem-is-it-s-easy-to-persuade-young-kids-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [“Don't give up. Defend your ideas, but be flexible. Success seldom comes in exactly the form you imagine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/don-t-give-up-defend-your-ideas-but-be-flexible-success-seldom-comes/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [Hamilton dabbed a tissue at the cut under his eye. "Except for the time I met the Great Khali, that was the coolest thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-korman/hamilton-dabbed-a-tissue-at-the-cut-under-his-eye-except-for-the-time/) [Gordon Korman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-korman/) > [New England is a finished place. Its destiny is that of Florence or Venice, not Milan while the American empire careens onward toward its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-devoto/new-england-is-a-finished-place-its-destiny-is-that-of-florence-or/) [Bernard DeVoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-devoto/) > [Plans must be simple and flexible…They must be made by the people who execute them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/plans-must-be-simple-and-flexible-they-must-be-made-by-the-people-who/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [It's hard to stay flexible if you don't stretch. I think if you train the right way you'll be flexible. There are people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shahlavi/it-s-hard-to-stay-flexible-if-you-don-t-stretch-i-think-if-you-train/) Darren Shahlavi > [Your processes are amazingly fast, yet flexible, and the people at Screaming Circuits, from finance to the factory floor, are all knowledgeable and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-friedman/your-processes-are-amazingly-fast-yet-flexible-and-the-people-at/) Jonathan Friedman > [The organizations of the future are filled with smart, fast, flexible people on a mission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-organizations-of-the-future-are-filled-with-smart-fast-flexible/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Florence which included diplomatic missions to various European courts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/florence-which-included-diplomatic-missions-to-various-european-courts/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I've always considered Florence as my girlfriend. I don't have to explain my love for this city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-batistuta/i-ve-always-considered-florence-as-my-girlfriend-i-don-t-have-to/) [Gabriel Batistuta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-batistuta/) > [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [And the voices in the waves are always whispering to Florence, in their ceaseless murmuring, of love - of love, eternal and illimitable, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-the-voices-in-the-waves-are-always-whispering-to-florence-in/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [As her time in Florence drew to a close she was only at ease amongst those to whom she felt indifferent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-her-time-in-florence-drew-to-a-close-she-was-only-at-ease-amongst/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There was a pleasantness to the air and a spirit about the town that did not come from its color, but from some inner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/there-was-a-pleasantness-to-the-air-and-a-spirit-about-the-town-that/) [gail carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [Florence is probably one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It's very quiet as well - there's not much nightlife - so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dundas/florence-is-probably-one-of-the-most-beautiful-cities-in-italy-it-s/) [Peter Dundas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dundas/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Florence quotes > [Florence is probably one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It's very quiet as well - there's not much nightlife - so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dundas/florence-is-probably-one-of-the-most-beautiful-cities-in-italy-it-s/) [Peter Dundas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dundas/) > [“There was a pleasantness to the air and a spirit about the town that did not come from its color, but from some inner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/there-was-a-pleasantness-to-the-air-and-a-spirit-about-the-town-that/) [gail carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [As her time in Florence drew to a close she was only at ease amongst those to whom she felt indifferent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-her-time-in-florence-drew-to-a-close-she-was-only-at-ease-amongst/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And the voices in the waves are always whispering to Florence, in their ceaseless murmuring, of love - of love, eternal and illimitable, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-the-voices-in-the-waves-are-always-whispering-to-florence-in/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [I've always considered Florence as my girlfriend. I don't have to explain my love for this city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-batistuta/i-ve-always-considered-florence-as-my-girlfriend-i-don-t-have-to/) [Gabriel Batistuta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-batistuta/) > [“Florence which included diplomatic missions to various European courts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/florence-which-included-diplomatic-missions-to-various-european-courts/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I often compare Margaret Thatcher with Florence Nightingale. She stalks through the wards of our hospitals as a lady with a lamp. Unfortunately, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/i-often-compare-margaret-thatcher-with-florence-nightingale-she/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) > [“at Florence which included diplomatic missions to various European courts. Imprisoned”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/at-florence-which-included-diplomatic-missions-to-various-european/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I was brought up in Florence, a beautiful medieval town whose rhythm is completely in antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/i-was-brought-up-in-florence-a-beautiful-medieval-town-whose-rhythm/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [“Broke your jaw once before Spilt your blood upon the floor You broke my leg in return So let's sit back and watch the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/broke-your-jaw-once-before-spilt-your-blood-upon-the-floor-you-broke/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [Although I studied Dante's Inferno as a student, it wasn't until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/although-i-studied-dante-s-inferno-as-a-student-it-wasn-t-until/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [People think me a sort of Florence Nightingale, but I have no heroic qualities. I simply don’t feel very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-billingsley/people-think-me-a-sort-of-florence-nightingale-but-i-have-no-heroic/) [Franny Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-billingsley/) > [“He was an indecent man, I told myself - prayerfully - and then I prayed for him to become decent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-brickl/he-was-an-indecent-man-i-told-myself-prayerfully-and-then-i-prayed/) [Kelsey Brickl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-brickl/) > [Rome is stately and impressive; Florence is all beauty and enchantment; Genoa is picturesque; Venice is a dream city; but Naples is simply --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-whiting/rome-is-stately-and-impressive-florence-is-all-beauty-and-enchantment/) [Lilian Whiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-whiting/) [Browse all 116 Florence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/florence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Florence and Milan had given him ideas more flexible than those of people who'd stayed at home.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hilary Mantel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-more-flexible-than-those-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Florence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-more-flexible-than-those-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/hilary-mantel-440_florence_florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-m_326147.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Florence and Milan had given him ideas more flexible than those of people who'd stayed at home.” — Hilary Mantel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hilary Mantel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Florence and Milan had given him...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-more-flexible-than-those-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/florence-and-milan-had-given-him-ideas-more-flexible-than-those-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```