OoP: Firenze + Portrait of "Snape" link

[Wendy St John]

No: HPFGUIDX 67406

The Sergeant Majorette says:

One thought, and I know I'm being silly, but doesn't 'Firenze' 
basically mean 'Florence', like the city?

--JDR

Now me (Wendy):

Yes! It does. Firenze is what the Italian's call their city; Florence is
the "anglicized" version. I noticed this back while reading GoF, and remain
convinced that there will prove to be some connection between Florence (of
the greenhouse snog) and Hogwarts' new divination teacher. Of course, it
could be a cooincidence, but I'm sure that JKR is well aware of the fact
that Florence and Firenze are the same city, so I wouldn't be surprised if
there's a connection. Maybe Florence will turn out to have been a centaur
as well? Doesn't seem terribly likely, I'll admit. But I really hope there
will prove to be a connection somewhere. Maybe Firenze has such a positive
attiude towards humans (unusual for a centaur) because of a friendship (or
more <wink>) with Florence. Maybe they were the ones caught snogging in the
greenhouse?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this and thought there just might
be more to it! :-)

Wendy
(Who visited Firenze/Florence last year and fell in love. It is an
absolutely gorgeous and friendly city, and I'd move there in a heartbeat if
offered the chance. And the Uffizi ROCKS, but I still prefer the Louvre).

OH - speaking of the Louvre, I've been meaning to say something about this
for the longest time. I have PROOF that Snape is a vampire, and has been
alive for at least 500 years. <G> Check this out - painted by Franciabigio
(contemporary of Michelangelo):

http://mapage.noos.fr/matushan/franciabigio%20louvre.html

When I saw this painting in the Louvre, my jaw dropped - it's Snape! It is,
it is, it IS! <G>