"Florence was founded in 59 BC as a settlement for former soldiers who were allotted land by Julius Caesar in the rich farming valley of the Arno River..."
More info here:
As we walked from the train station to our hotel we encountered the stunning view of The Baptistery of St. John and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
Here is a pic of the oldest remaining structure in Florence circa 6th century, Torre della Pagliazza.
These small towers out in the open were needed to protect the wealthy families not only from raiders but also from other warring families. Entry was originally made by climbing a ladder through a 2nd or 3rd floor entry. Must have been hellish conditions.
Of course we saw Michelangelo's David and and many other statues that were moving to see in person.
There is debate about why Michelangelo made David's right hand out of proporportion to his body. Some same it was large in order to have the strength to slay Golaith. Eric think's Michelangelo wanted it to reflect the hand of God. Wasn't David's hand at all. You decide. Hope the nudity doesn't offend anyone. Context is everything.
There is debate about why Michelangelo made David's right hand out of proporportion to his body. Some same it was large in order to have the strength to slay Golaith. Eric think's Michelangelo wanted it to reflect the hand of God. Wasn't David's hand at all. You decide. Hope the nudity doesn't offend anyone. Context is everything.
The holes in these plaster statues were used by the sculptor to transfer the art to marble. The plaster sculptures were actually the originals. The final art was in marble.
Our best dinner was in Fiesole, just outside of the city. We took bus route 7, a 20 minute ride and explored. This area was first settled by the Etruscans in 9th century BC.
Dinner reservations were at 8 pm. Daylight savings ended the previous morning so we had 2 hrs of waiting in the dark and cold and nowhere to go as things closed up earlier than we thought. The city is on a hill so the temperature plummeted and then the wind came up. We visited some stores that were open until they closed. We even considered huddling together in a public bus stop!
It was very cold and breezy. We went up to the top of the hill near the restaurant to view the sunset and realized that a very small Franciscan church was open. We went in out of the wind and discovered this jewel. Apparently one of the walls was actually built by the Etruscans.
The church closed at 7 pm so we went to the restaurant to see if they could take us early. They did. Here are pics of our meal.
The meal was fantastic with commensurate price. We had a view of all the lights in Florence.
After the meal we had a limo drive us back to the hotel. A great experience.
Here are some more pics around Florence:
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| She climbed the tower and took a selfie! |
On to the Amafi Coast...
