I’m still organizing photos from our trip to Italy in March. Here are some noteworthy photos from Florence.
Florence is a very beautiful city and not that big. There’s no public transportation, which is no problem. It’s fun to walk and view!
Florence is known for it’s duomo (cathedral) with it’s amazing domed roof. It was the first of its type and was later copied for St. Peter’s Basillica, in the Vatican. However, it’s really hard to get a good shot since the duomo is surrounded by streets and buildings.
This is my best shot showing the front. However, it’s mostly hidden by a separate church building in the foreground. Both structures are built from white and green marble. The dome is brick.
The smaller building is octagonal and has impressive doors. This is the east facing door during a moment of sunshine. Yes, it’s gold.
This shows some of the ABUNDANT sculptural details all over the duomo.
And here’s the “view” from the back.
As an aside, we found THE BEST gelatto at a gellatoria around the corner. (Recommended in the Rick Steves guide book.) We got pistachio, our first time to try it. It was so good we got right back in line and shared another cone. We recommend it!
Off to see some art. First, we went to Academia, which housed an abundance of amazing statues. Of course, we saw David, by Michelangelo, which did not disappoint.
It’s 12′ tall and is mounted above head height, which made for great viewing. There’s room on all sides, so you can move around it to study it. Our tour guide said it depicts David before he killed Goliath, which explains his steely gaze. He seems to be sizing up the situation.
And he still has his stones in his right hand.
Nearby were incomplete works, showing Michelangelo’s technique. (Yes, he chiseled them.)
Later, we went to Ufizzi, which housed mostly paintings. The best ones were very crowded with all of us tourists trying to get a photo. Here’s my best attempt at The Birth of Venus, by Boticelli.
Time for pizza. And gelatto, of course!
Ellen Lindner
P.S. Check out our fun pasta making class in Florence.
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