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My 12th post is about my visit to the city of Florence , the capital city  of  the region of Tuscany.  Florence is a city that sparked The Renaissance and  is also the birthplace of Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Boticelli,  Dante , Machiavelli, Florence Nightingale, the powerhouse Medici family, and  * cough * Gucci, and Ferragamo.  It  was a rich medieval city , the centre of trade and finance during the Middle Ages,  the centre of music ( Florence was where Opera started ) and  was considered the wealthiest city at that time, and today, has been ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  The Italian language used to be just a Florentine dialect,  but was adopted as the language of choice for the whole of “united ” Italy.

We did the city tour on foot. We were happy  we had a   Florentine tour guide  that had a sense of humour v and was  most passionate about the city.  ( Well, he always compared Florence to Rome, Venice, etc.,  )  He was very effusive, lively, and  very demonstrative of his feelings .   Perhaps he was  just being very  Italian.

On the way to Florence…. Behold ! Tuscan countryside !

City of Florence under the Tuscan sun.

.Below was our tour guide. Look at his right hand… he was really emoting, and almost singing his description of the beauty of his city.

.Just to let you know I was at Via Torta…. Hmmm, torta is what I have for breakfast  almost everyday.

.The buildings  look shabby and run-down, but actually , they are just gloriously old..  They are well-preserved 600 year old medieval buildings.

.Above is my group…. Huh ?  My back looks fat ! ! =_=”   ( That’s me in white hat and striped shirt )

Below is the Piazza della Signoria.  On the left side is Michaelangelo’s statue of David, in front of Palazzo Vecchio.

Palazzo Vecchio

. Michaelangelo’s David. That’s a copy. The real thing is in the museum, which is where it should be.

Behind me is the Fountain of  Neptune. This statue was made in 1565, commissioned for the wedding  of one of the  Medici sons. The fountain itself was the terminal of an ancient Roman aqueduct ( like The Trevi Fountain in Rome ) and is still functioning  today.  The  Medici family were the most prominent in Florence. Two Popes came from their clan, but the more famous son, Lorenzo de Medici, was a great patron of the arts. He was an accomplished musician himself, and commissioned works by Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticceli, all Florentines by birth.  Then and to this day, he was known as Lorenzo, the Magnificent.  The most famous political  writing of Niccolo Machiavelli, ” The Prince“, was dedicated to Lorenzo.

I assume we all know of Machiavelli?  His name has become synonymous with opportunism, scheming, deceit, cunning, etc. . In his book, The Prince, Machiavelli emphasized the use of deceit, brute force, elimination of rivals,  etc. to achieve political stability and power . The end justifies the means  neatly sums up the theme of his book.   

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.Above is the Basilica di Santa Croce ( Basilica of the Holy Cross ), built in 1294..  It is a Franciscan Church, and  is the burial place of  Michaelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini, and other notable Italians. On the left, you can see the statue of Dante. The designer of the church’s facade was Jewish. Take note The Star of David  at the top.  He also wanted to be buried there, but since he wasn’t Catholic, he was buried under the porch, and not within the walls of the church.

.The dormitory of the Franciscan friars is now a Leather School. We toured the place and watched how they crafted the purses, bags, etc. We also bought purses. I bought 2 bags. Florence is also known for their leather crafts.

Having lunch. Do you see that small bowl on the table ? That was a bowl of pasta  ( with just white sauce) and it cost $15. The small pizza was $14.  Very expensive.  Below was the open air restaurant where we had lunch.  Oh, by the way, do you see the lady taking a picture?  She kind of looks like a zombie.

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.Do you see the yellow middle building? That was Michaelangelo’s workshop.

.Above is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, also called the Duomo, was built in 1296, and completed in 1436. The design was Gothic. The cathedral complex  , just like in Pisa, includes the the Cathedral, the Campanille ( freestanding belltower) and the Baptistery. ( where people are baptized). Below is the picture of the facade, courtesy of Wikipedia.

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.The Belltower ( Campanille)

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.I’ve said before that the beauty of Europe is man-made, haven’t I ? This is why I want to show intricate details of  these amazings buildings. They are  so breathtakingly beautiful.  Can you imagine if these structures were destroyed by numerous wars , or  by  natural elements ?

.The cathedral ‘s exterior walls are made of white, green and red marbles.

That dome is made of bricks and is the first  octagonal dome that was built with no external buttresses to keep the structure from spreading and  falling.  Lifting over 4 million bricks was an engineering feat by the engineer who built the dome,  Brunelleschi.  He invented the machines to hoist the bricks up to the top.

Above is the statue of  Brunelleschi  outside a palace, just across from the cathedral,  looking up towards  his achievement, which is still the largest masonry dome in the world.

.I  managed to take a picture of an open doorway of a private residence.   That’s a beautiful indoor courtyard.

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Above is another church. On a walking tour, we passed by several more churches like the one above. It’s amazing. These churches are a mere walking distance from each other.  One Aussie guy in our group called it ABC.  Another Bloody Church.  Oy ! o_O”

Walking from 8 to 5 was really tiring. But it didn’t  stop us from taking another walk –  around  at the hotel.

.And relaxing , while waiting for dinner .

The view from our hotel room.

This is it for now. Monaco, Avignon, and Carcassone are next.

Good day to all, and PEACE !  Oh, and it’s December now . Wow !  Happy Holidays to all ! ( I hope I’m first to greet my dear readers )

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