Hello Florence

Lots of people we know who have visited Florence talk about how lovely it is and we weren’t disappointed. On our way to our hotel last night the coach took us to a vantage point above the city where we could take in a spectacular view of the whole city. This morning though it was a walking tour through the narrow cobbled streets.

Our first stop was the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (St. Mary of the Flowers). Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the biggest churches in the world and contains the best of Gothic-Renaissance architecture and art. The cathedral was begun at the end of the 13th century and the dome was added in the 15th century. The facade of this stunning building features pink, green and white marble patterns which complement the design of the cathedral’s 14th century bell tower. The church, its bell tower and dome dominate Florence’s skyline and were easily identifiable from the vantage point last evening.

Our next stop was the Galleria dell'Accademia to see the statue of David which is much more impressive than I thought it would be. It is amazing to think that Michelangelo carved the statue from a single piece of marble. David was created between 1501 and 1504 and is 5.17m tall. The statue of the Biblical hero David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, but was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence. The statue was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia Florence in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica.

Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolise the defence of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were fixated towards Rome. One thing that I didn’t know is that the pupils in David’s eyes are actually heart shaped.

Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is the main point of the origin and history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political focus of the city.  It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists who visit the city. The Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) is the town hall of the city.

Walking on a bit we came to the river and our first glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River. It is noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops however the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. We window shopped for a little while before wandering back to the cold of our hotel.

 

The Ponte Vecchio's two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie.

We enjoyed lunch in the beautiful restaurant in our hotel and dinner was in a ristorante down a cobbled laneway. It was very busy and vibrant and the food yum!!!