Florence, Italy: Saturday, July 31, 2004
- Murals on the outside of a building near S. Croce church, somewhat faded.
- S. Croce
basillica - the photographer is titled, not the church. Note that
this church, like everything in Florence, is under construction. The
vivi firezne
guide to florence has a complete description of the church and piazza.
- The outdoor courtyard at S. Croce.
- The
magnificent fountain and statue of Neptune in the center of Florence. It is found in the
Piazza della Signoria, and is the work of Bartolomeo Ammannati, who created it from
1563-1575.
- The Arno
River runs through Florence; there are many lovely bridges over the
river, most famously the Ponte Vecchio, from which this shot was
taken. The Estrucans used the River Arno as far back as the 8th
century B.C., and dominated the river passageway from Florence to Fiesole,
a hill town about 8 km away. The Estrucans were probably originally from
Africa, and settled in Tuscany until conquered by the Romans in the 1st
century B.C. You can still see a lot of Estrucan ruins around Tuscany.
- Hmmm. Some interesting architecture, and some girlberries. It was hot in July/August: usually around 33 celsius (but not humid.) I drank at least 3 liters of fizzy water a day.
- Piazza
della Republica, in the center of town, hosting the main Post Office,
among other things. Much too huge to fit into my camera's view.
Great picture of the square (piazza) and this structure at
http://www.alex4ever.de/italien/florenz/epano2.htm. The Piazza
della Republica was Florence's forum during Roman times. (By the way,
that web site has lots of great Florence pictures.)
- Il Duomo, or
the Cathedral of Florence. This might be the largest basilica in
Italy - don't know about that - it is surely the largest in Tuscany.
Florence is the capital of Tuscany, incidentally. What you see here
is part of the basilica and dome, and the bell tower. I never got
around to climbing the dome or the bell tower; the lines were long and
I didn't feel like waiting in line. Bad of me. The Cathedral was started
in the 13th century and they've been working on it up to the 19th century
(or up to today, since it's under constructin.) The
Florence Art Guide
provides a great history and lots of details about this magnificent church.
This is where I went to Mass on the first Sunday I was in Florence.
- Where I
had lunch - or was it dinner - Za Za Ristorante, near S. Maria Novella and the train
station. Highly recommended.
Marianne Mueller
Last modified: August 16, 2004