Italy part II -- Florence

A quick train ride from Rome and we were in Florence (Firenza). The first thing you notice is that there are statues everywhere! The most famous is Michelangelo's David, which is housed in the Accademia museum but a copy is on display in it's original location in the Piazza della Signoria. The viewing experience in the museum is quite nice, you really have time to admire the statue, unlike the crowded, noisy experience of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. But back on the streets you can barely turn around without seeing some sort of statue or architectural element, which means it's never boring even if you make the same journey many times like we did.

Pictured: David (copy, at night), Statue at the Orsanmichele church, Monument to the heroes of Mentana

The buildings that define the skyline are the Duomo cathedral, the Campanile belltower, and the fortress-like Palazzo Vecchio. The marble-guilded churches are quite unique; the inside of the duomo is quite plain except for the painted dome.

Pictured: Duomo, Campanile, Palazzo Vecchio

A short walk across the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio, brings you to the church of Santa Maria del Carmine. A fire in 1771 all but destroyed the church, but miraculously the Capella Brancacci and it's frescos were spared. Started in 1424 by Masolino and Masaccio, the frescos depict the life of St. Peter and is also famous for the depictions of Adam and Eve before and after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. A counterpoint to the horror of the expulsion is the touch of humor of the sleeping soldier. Also at the church is a fresco of the Last Supper, which like many medieval paintings included cats at the foot of the table ... likely meant as an evil representation due to a cat's independent spirit (as opposed to a dog's loyalty).






Pictured: Adam & Eve (before/Masolino, after/Masaccio), sleeping soldier, cats from the Last Supper


One of our favorite statues was this fountain near San Lorenzo. Reminds us of the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz!



We were really surprised at the numbers of Americans we saw & heard -- on the train, in cyber cafes, and at the art school. There's even an English-language theater company, and we took the opportunity to celebrate the holiday season with a performance of "The Reindeer Monologues." It was pretty funny to hear a wide variety of accents tackling a farce about dissension among Santa's reindeer.


Florence is filled with small alleys/streets and you never know what you'll find when you venture down one. On the south side of the river we were drawn by a unique metal dragon. Inside the shop an old man was metalworking, and his friend offered to let us into his workshop to see some of this creations. He pointed to a board of pictures from San Francisco ... turns out that a rich visitor to Florence saw his work and paid for the artist to go to San Fran and design/build a custom metal staircase. We really liked some of his animal sculptures but got cold feet about asking prices. Florence's association with metalworking is also evident in the jewelery shops on the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The bridge is famous for men who declare their love by putting a lock on the lightpost and throwing away the key as an expression of everlasting love.

Florence was definitely one of our all-time favorite stops, not only because of the art but because of the people, the culture, and the food! We'll talk about our culinary adventures in a separate chapter.