If you are in need of access to the Internet while you are in Florence you have plenty of options. Most hotels provide some kind of Internet access, often Wi-Fi, but cost may be a factor here.
If your hotel does not offer Internet services or if you are renting an apartment there are a certainly many places where you can easily connect to the web. It should be noted that the further you get away from the historic center of the city and the University facilities in downtown Florence the fewer access points you will probably find.
Just to give you an idea of what’s available, I checked out the web access points in our neighborhood, which runs from where my wife’s school is located at the western end of Via Guelfa to the eastern end of Via degli Alfani (they are in fact one and the same street), both of which skirt the northern section of the historic center (and are just about 5 minutes north of the Duomo). In the space of an easy 10-minute walk I found no fewer than 7 Internet access points (not including several other locations just off the cross streets as well).
There was NetGallery, 63 Via Guelfa, with some 12 computer stations and 4 laptop access points; some additional services; coolest layout with lots of local art on the walls. They have clean facilities, relaxed atmosphere, and friendly staff.
Heading east you will come across three tiny "International Phone Centers" whose major preoccupation is, you guessed it, making cheap phones available for “inexpensive” long distance calls abroad. These will have between 2 and 5 computers, usually in the back with severely limited additional services and spotty staff assistance.
Next is Internet Train, one of the if not the largest Internet access point chains in Italy, at Via Guelfa 54/56. In fact they have twelve franchise operations in the city of Florence and vicinity. The Via Guelfa location is one of the largest shops with 40 PC workstations and 3 laptop access points. The cool thing about IT is once you register you can use your IT card at any of their facilities in Italy. They also provide extensive shipping services. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff.
Almost right next door to IT at Via Guelfa 50 is the Firenze Internet Point, a much smaller facility. It has laptop access points as well as some 11 PC stations.
At no. 8 Via degli Alfani is a small internet access point with 6 PCs but no laptop access; they do have the cheapest cost found in the area at 1.50 euros per hour.
And speaking of cost: an hour of online time will run you from more than 4 euros to less than 2, if you’re a student. Anyway, 2 euros is about standard student rates.
Most of the larger Internet access shops are open seven days a week with long hours. Evenings tend to be the busiest.
If you have a laptop you might want to think about getting a PC card, and all the major telecom companies offer them through their dedicated stores: Vodaphone, TIM, Wind. But unless you are fluent in the language and can understand the nuances of the various subscription plans and can deal effectively with the erratic service support you might opt for one of the local companies which can help foreigners make the transition to Wi-Fi in their home.
There are one or two places in Florence that offer foreigners the convenience of wireless access “from their apartment” and allow for multiple users – clearly targeting the foreign student population. Webpuccino is one such place. However you're going to be paying a bit more for the convenience and ease of setup than going directly through a company such as Vodaphone or TIM.
In any case, remember that the connect speed of using a PC card will be somewhat lower than using an Ethernet connection at one of the Internet access points.
Another option for anyone staying in Italy for an extended period of time would be to use their mobile phone as a modem for their laptop or desktop computers. While this is only good for dialup band-with it can be useful in many parts of the country. Most of the larger, dedicated mobile stores such as TIM or WIND carry all the necessary adapters to get you up and running. Since this is similar to a dialup connection the access speed is going to be quite slow.
It all boils down to how much time you spend online, how much money you want to spend, and your computer configuration (for example I have found that the Mac OS presents a number of challenges in setting up both PC cards and in finding modem adapters). And of course you need to decide how much of a hassle you can handle in getting and staying online.
Ciao,
Steve
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