Florence is over-shadowed by its bigger brother, and the capitol of the ancient world (and modern Italy) – Rome. Yet, Florence in its heyday rivaled Rome as a capitol of medieval capital, and of renaissance art. Art was often expressed in terms of architecture to the greater glory of God.
As you might notice, there are so many spectacular buildings in and around the main areas, it is hard to get a clear unobstructed view.
Spectacular to look at, the Duomo is an architectural wonder of the world. It was constructed with no interior scaffolding. To appreciate what this means, you will have to read a book called, Brunelleschi’s Dome.
We climbed up through a passage way constructed inside the dome, between two layers of wall.
Once at the top of the dome, the climb rewards you with views over one of the most famous cities in the world.
Being the tallest structure in the city, the lantern of the duomo gives unparalleled, 360 degree views of the city.
No view of the city is complete without a panorama.
From the dome, you also get some great views of inside the church.
We were in Florence just days before Christmas and so the city was festooned with lights and decorations.
As noted in the Tuscany blog, we were not quite prepared for the amazing selection of food we found.
Where to go to find all of this.
The best time to eat is when you are in a food market.
Florence sits in a valley surrounded by hills full of luxurious medieval villas and rolling hills full of vinyards.
Lest ye be forgotten, the best bet is to get yourself buried in the local cathedral. Da Vinci shares his tomb with Gallileo, Michangelo, Dante and others.
After a long day’s walking through the streets, crossing different turf…
we retired to a lovely restaurant on the banks of the Arno River, which runs through Florence.
After all that walking, and big meal, what I really needed was a great big, lovely, hot cup of strong coffee. What I got was a tiny, half mouthful of expresso.
Here are a few more shots to finish off this post.
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