Walking Around in Florence (Feb 2, 2025)

Our first full say in Florence was a Sunday and that's the best time to take a walk around town (IMHO).  Since the city is the birthplace of the Renaissance, there is a lot to see.

View across the Ponte Santa Trinita.  Our place was just a few minutes walk from here.

Santa Trinita Church

View of Florence from across the Arno River

Chiesa di San Frediano

View of the Ponte Vecchio.  I haven't seen anything like this since I was in Bath (England) with my dad in 2010.

Chiesa di Santo Stefano al Ponte

Palazzo Lafrendini

The city is full of art--including modern pieces.  Albero della Pace by Andrea Roggi (2021), in memory of the victims of a 1993 car bombing.

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Orsanmichele church and museum (I went inside later).

Fe and the Palazzo Vecchio

Statues in the plaza

Fountain of Neptune

Entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio

Columns and fountain inside

Another view

Anna Maria Luisa de Medici.  She is credited with making Florence the city of art it is today.

Leather Market

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral)

Side of the cathedral showing the dome

Fe and I in front of Giotto's Bell Tower

Piazza della Repubblica

Fe and the Triumphal Arch in the plaza

Fe and a view along the Via dello Studio

Closeup of the Ponte Vecchio

Walking along the bridge

Monument to Benvenuto Cellini, Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author

All this on the first day and I can't help but think we just scratched the surface.  We both had a great time looking around and I'm thinking that this city is beating out Rome on my favorite list.  Shocking, I know, but Florence is beautiful--wherever we look it's something new to see.  There are a lot of tourists here so it may be geared to that, but I have to wonder what it would be like to see this every day.  Tomorrow, we'll dig a little deeper.