Would he go back to Florence?

“Absolutely!” Lane Berg answered without a moment’s hesitation. “I’ll go back.”

He is one of three Vicksburg artists — the other two are Nancy Mitchell and Patty Hughes — who spent five weeks this summer in Europe as participants in a program sponsored by Delta State University.

They stayed in Florence — not the one south of Jackson nor the ones in Alabama and South Carolina. It was Florence in Italy.

But why Florence?

“Because it is the most fabulous place in the whole world,” Nancy said. “Because it is the birthplace of Renaissance art. This is where it really happened.”