Our journey begins on Friday the 24th as we make our way from Franklin, TN to Florence, Italy. An automobile to the airport in Nashville, a plane to Philadelphia, a plane to Rome, a train to the central train terminal in Rome, and finally a train to Florence. As we make our way through Rome, Saturday morning, we see a good stretch of the ancient Roman aqueducts, a taste of what is to come, but for now it is on to Florence - the birthplace of the Renaissance. Florence (or Firenze in Italian) is located in Tuscany region of Italy which is renown throughout the world for its art, history and beautiful landscape. Tuscan history spans at least 3,000 years going back to ancient Etruscans. The list of Tuscan’s native sons includes Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli, Donatello, Boticelli, and Giotto just to name a few.
Our hotel is an ex Franciscan convent dating back to the 15th century. After checking in we began with a Tuscan lunch. That gave us just enough energy for a walking tour of city center. Less than 2 blocks from the hotel is Santa Maria Novella, a Gothic church built by the Dominicans from 1279 to 1357.
Another few blocks away is San Lorenzo - an early Renaissance-style church designed by Brunelleschi and constructed from 1421 to the 1460s, except for the facade, which was left uncompleted. It was the parish church of the Medici family. The dome on the right belongs to Cappelle Medicee (Medici Chapels) and was designed by Michelangelo.
The area around San Lorenzo is a home to a street market - several blocks of stores and street vendors selling leather goods, jewelry, and such.
We continued to Piazza del Duomo. Duomo is the cathedral of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore. It was built between 1296 and 1367. The famous dome designed by Brunelleschi and completed in late 1460s is a wonder of medieval engineering.
The Baptistery is one of Florence’s oldest buildings dating to the 4th century. Michelangelo dubbed the East Doors created by Ghiberti "The Gates of Paradise".
We then walked to Piazza della Signoria. It is home to Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) and unique outdoor sculpture gallery. Palazzo Vecchio was completed in 1322 and still serves its original role as Florence’s town hall.
Neptune Fountain commemorates Tuscan naval victories.
Marzocco (heraldic lion) is Florence’s heraldic symbol.
The original of Michelangelo’s David was moved into Academia in 1873 to keep it safe but the copy in the original position still looks very impressive.
Loggia dei Lanzi was build to protect to protect city’s dignitaries from the elements during processions and ceremonials and is lined with ancient Roman statues. Benvenuto Cellini bronse Perseus holding Medusa’s head was meant to warn Medici enemies of their probable fate.
Next to the Piazza is Galleria degli Uffizi. It was built in 1560-80 as a suite of offices (uffici) for Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. Cosimo’s heirs used this well-lit space to display the Medici family art treasures, creating what is now the oldest gallery in the world. The building has an unusual horseshoe shape: it’s formed by two parallel buildings united by a passageway. The two floors of the building stand over a portico sustained by two pillars and decorated by niches, where the statues of famous Florentines are placed. It also creates a good stage for street performers.
We were really tired at this point but we were so close to the river and Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, is indeed the oldest bridge in Florence. It was built in 1345 and is the only bridge in the city to escape destruction during World War II. There have always been workshops on the bridge. Butchers, tanners and blacksmiths were replaced with gold and silversmiths in 1593. The jewelry shops and stores are still there today.
We walked along the Arno River on our return to the hotel. Our last shot of the day was also an automobile (or fraction thereof).
