We had some internet issues in our hotel last night so I wasn’t able to post this until now.
We were up early this morning so that we could get down to the Train Station for our tour. I’m not one to join an organized tour group (Cindy and I are pretty good on our own) but we had such limited time here in Florence we wanted to see the highlights. One of the great benefits of being on this tour is we don’t have to wait in line at the Galleria Accademie to see the state of DAVID. So, we had a fast breakfast at the hotel and we were on our way.
We met up with our small group and jumped on the bus. The first stop was a drive along the Vaile dei Colli up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to admire the most incredible view of the city.
After spending some time up here, we returned to the bus to head to the old city centre. Once in the centre, we got off the bus and continued the tour on foot. Our first stop was the Duomo complex. The Baptistery was the first building we saw – an amazing 13th century structure. It was built so that people could be “baptized” into Catholicism, whether they wanted to or not. Be “Christian” or die. Cindy and I returned here later in the day to go inside the building. It was spectacular – individual tiles and gold leaf formed the ceiling murals.
Our next building at the Duomo complex was the Cathedral – once the largest church in the world. The Giotto’s Bell Tower is the largest containing the largest bell in Europe to ring in case of invasion and to call worshipers from the fields. This is a great picture of the Cupola del Brunelleschi.
And Cindy and I standing outside of the Cathedral. It is so big there is simply no way to fit it all into a single picture.
From here, we walked through the historic streets in the heart of Florence. So much history it’s difficult to remember it all but I was especially intrigued by the fact that Leonardo di Vinci learned to paint here; Michelangelo studied anatomy here; Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning lived here for 17 years; and Taichovski wrote music here, among many other things.
We ended our trip at the Balleria dell Accademia where the famous DAVID by Michelangelo and many othe works by the great artists are on display. Seeing DAVID in person, hearing the history of this masterpiece, and viewing these other amazing sculptures and paintings brought tears to my eyes. It was awesome. The state of DAVID was moved here in 1882 in order to protect it from vandalism and the elements. There is a replica of DAVID as well as Hercules and Zeus that have been put in the place of the originals.
After we finished up the tour, we were starving so we found food! Then we did a little shopping and walked back to the hotel. Along the way, we passed the statue of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence.
