JOHN MAJOR, they were waiting for you. Right outside the nerve centre of this weekend's European summit, the Fortezza di Basso, a group of "European federalists" were ready and waiting for the British Prime Minister, complete with banners urging him to "Opt Out", for good.
The federalists accuse Mr Major of being less than enthusiastic about the European Union, and as soon as his high speed convoy screeched to a noisy halt outside the summit centre, they launched into a rendition of "Major, go out, Major, go out".
There is no faulting the federalists for enthusiasm about European economic and political integration, even if one would have to conclude that linguistic integration is still some long way down the road, judged by their Major, go out chant which, on investigation, revealed itself to be a heartfelt call on Mr Major to pack up his British Bag of Beef Troubles and Smile, Smile all the way back to Albion, never to darken the European Union door again.
A dapper looking Mr Major, in regulation dark summit suit, paid no attention to the hecklers. Upper lip suitably stiff, he marched into the Fortress ready to deal with the beef banning Hun, frog, wop or whosoever might cross his path.
In the end, of course, yesterday was not the day for warlike heroics. The spirit was not so much Dunkirk 40 as Munich 38, not so much wartime retreat as "peace in our time".
Yes, agreement was achieved on a long term framework for ending the EU ban on British beef exports. A satisfied Mr Major was able to save face and announce that Britain was dropping its four week old non co operation policy, responsible for blocking 70 EU measures. Within the EU "Fortezza", all was happiness and light.
An Italian plenipotentiary Eurocrat, Mr Rocco Cangelossi, one of the real powers behind the scenes of Italy's EU presidency, had to admit his satisfaction.
The long running British beef row had threatened to spoil the summit party, ruining what is, among other things, a splendid occasion to strut your country's stuff. Irish delegates, by the way, were expressing much the same sense of relief last night, too.
When it comes to summit sites, of course, Italy is more than well off. Florence, as the centre of Renaissance culture, is an obvious European capital, as well as being one of the most handsome cities in the world.
Reflect, too, that Italy held its last two G7 summits in Venice and Naples and its last EU summit in Rome, and you would have to conclude that the Italians are not short of a decent stage for holding a high profile shindig.
While high profile husbands were at summit work, the wives of heads of government were in downtown Florence grabbing the chance to take in some of the many remarkable sights the town has to offer.
Apart from the staple Florentine diet, including the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno, the Uffizi Galleries and so much else, there are exhibitions timed for the summit which include The Engineers of the Renaissance: From Brunelleschi to Leonardo, Caravaggio's St John Beheaded, The Tapestries of the Renaissance, Era Bartolemeo and the School of San Marco, Etruscan High Relief in Pyrgi, The Neolithic Age in Malta, and Florence in Roman Times.
That would seem to be plenty for the summit non devotee to distract himself or herself with.
For ourselves, we took a quick look at the Renaissance Engineers, which proved to be a splendidly illustrated exhibition that presents both fearsome Renaissance artillery of the huge stone throwing variety as well as intricate cranes used by Filippo Brunelleschi to put the cupola on Florence's famous Duomo. Those who played long and hard with Lego as children will love this one.
We don't know if John Major played with Lego, but he, too, could drop in to take a look, especially at the Renaissance artillery. "You never know how long his peace in our time" with the Union will last.