Part Three - Firence/ Florence

 "Firenze...bella
Firenze..a volte mi manchi...le tue strade, la tua gente, le profile
delle case, il tuo odore....semplicemente bellissima"

Awww, Florence...

I don't know what it is about this place, but it gets under your skin. 

Venice is beautiful, 
Rome impressive, 

but Florence tends to crawl right into your heart. 

There is something like 
a scent which beckons following,

you want to breath it in as deep as you can,
feel it, 
emerge yourself in it.

Florence is this mixture of daring beauty and sophistication,
the old and the new
mingling in a perfect dance,

ancient rocks withstanding time, 
telling a story,
married with modern architecture and fashion-
 
a rich bourquet for the senses-

like a glass of 

full-bodied 

Amarone.

 

Surrounded by gentle rolling pine-tree-lined hills and ancient villages, with the river Arno winding its quiet way through it, she is called the City of Renaissance for a reason.

Soooo, not to disappoint you, 

but these few pictures here do absolutely no justice 

to it's real beauty:

We spend the first evening exploring, as we were so centrally located at the beautiful Casa Santo Nome di Gesu Monastery.

As it was later in the day we lucked out and were able to get in the Galleria degli Uffizi, one of the oldest and most famous art galleries of the Western World, without any waiting times. (can be up to five hours in high season)                      

What a feast for the eyes.

From Boticelli's "Birth of Venus" to works of Da Vinci,

Duerer, Rembrandt and Michelangelo

and many, many others...

I felt like a sponge taking in as much as I could; check out this link for a small impression.

The next morning we were off for a cup of cappuccino at one of the local cappuccino bars and a bite to eat and then off to the
Accademia to see Michelangelo's David ( Truly amazing!) amongst many other pieces. 
We grabbed some homemade Panini's for a quick lunch. 

The famous Ponte Veccio bridge with its stores on both sides. 

First build by the Romans and being mentioned in a document in 996 
(Via Cassia was the name of the street crossimg over the river), 
it was destroyed by a flood and rebuild in 1345. 

It has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises. 
The back shops (retrobottege) were added in the seventeenth century. 

Another piece of information I found interesting is that it is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here: 

"When a merchant could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares (the "banco") was physically broken ("rotto") by soldiers,
and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table; possibly it can come from "banca rotta" which means "broken bank"). 
Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything.

During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat of August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence.  
This was allegedly because of an express order by Hitler. "

Parking in Florence is an interesting affair... 

Very interesting, indeed...



 

This little guy was sitting up on a sign on a busy street, 

...waiting to be fed by mama, when he got spooked.

It turned out he was not able to fly very well yet. 

There he was, in the middle of a cobble stone-road; scooters, cars and pedestrians buzzing all around him.

As one woman (not seeing him) almost stepped on him, Steve jumped in and directed people and traffic until the little guy made it up on a window sill.

Instead of being annoyed by the wait, people were clapping and cheering. 

That they showed compassion for a little feathery friend, touched me. 

Life was valued in its smallest form. 

I liked that. 

God cares about little sparrows as well :)

Palazzo Vecchio 

 Florence's artistic, historic and cultural heritage is phenomenal. 
Here the replica of Michelangelo's David in front of the Palazzo della Signoria





 

In the afternoon we hiked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to get a better view of the city and its surrounding areas

Palazzo Vecchio from up here

Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, 

the fourth largest church in Europe, its length being 153 metres (502 ft) and its height 116 metres (381 ft)




 

The Basilica of Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in the world. 

 Legend has it that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself.

Building of the current church was began in about 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families.

 It is also the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini, therefore known as the Temple of the Italian Glories
(Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).

Even though tired from a long day of Accademia, city walking, a sparrow rescue and climbing up to the piazzale, I longed to see the inside of this church.

I promised my tired husband, who took sat down to rest on its outside steps, to take lots of pictures ...
 

Inside the Basilica Santa Croce


 

The floors are covered with intricate stone masonry work, the ceilings display beautiful fresco's. 

With it's sixteen chapels, it is also lined with massive tombs.. 

Random graves in-ground, this one possible of a Franciscan monk

And more elaborate tombs of the famous and wealthy: 

Bartolini's Tomb: 

Last resting place of Michelangelo: 

And Dante: 

Rossini: 

And Galileo to name a few: 

Documents written by Frances of Assisi:

Part of the cowl and girdle worn by Frances of Assisi 

 

Outside: the church-walkways

Cats are enjoying the evening sun on a neighboring roof

As I continue to explore by myself, I find this underground tunnel- its floor lined with tombstones

I returned to my husband who was thankful for the welcomed break, 
me being thankful for the chance to be here 
and to breathe this all in....




We finished the day with an feast for the tastebuds italian style: 
Paired with some nice wines for our Primi we opted for 
Italian cheeses over truffles, 
Secondi: 
Costoletto di Vitello al vino bianco (veal cutlets in white wine sauce), 
with Spinaci Rifatti and as
Dolce:  
Tiramesu. 


We strolled back along the river, watching our steps on the uneven cobblestones and taking in the sights and sounds of the city by night;
scent of perfume lingering in warm summer air, laughter and chatter around us, vibrant and lively amongst these ancient stones:


A perfect ending to a perfect day.
Sigh.... Hope to be back one day...

Now off into the Tuscan countryside!

One last view from the Piazzale Michelangelo: