Florence is a beautiful city and--believe it or not--I think I like it better than Rome. Just barely, though. I spent the morning walking around to see things I may have missed before.
Sculpture in the Garden of Valfonda.
Lots of websites say this is a public garden and I waltzed right through a busy reception area to get in, but I noticed everyone had nametags so I think it's for conference attendees only. Good thing I have practice looking like I belong.
Altar in the Church of Saints Michele and Gaetano. Usually I get a photo of the outside, but for some reason I didn't for this one. The facade was like a lot of others I've seen, so that may be why. Follow the link if you want to see it.
Madonna and Child by Andrea della Robbia, ca. 1480
On one of my earlier walkabouts, I saw an interesting building that was the Orsanmichele Church and Museum. It was eight Euros to get in and there was no time when I saw it first, so I promised to get there later. Today was the day.
St. Anne's altar, ca. 1526
View of the ceiling
The church itself is pretty small, but (as the full name implies) there is a museum, which was included in the price of the ticket.
Christ and Doubting Thomas, Andrea del Verrocchio, 1476-1483
View from the museum window
Walked past the Duomo again--in the morning light.
Display of Moka coffee pots. I learned to use one here and I got one when we got back--from Amazon--I couldn't afford it in Italy!
Colonnade just before the Ponte Vecchio
View of the street where we do our grocery shopping.
Brought back focaccia for lunch before Fe and I head out.
After lunch, Fe and I went out to see one more major site, the Santa Croce church. The draw here is the collection of famous tombs inside as well as the art.
Fe and I outside the church.
Santa Croce altar
Tomb of Francesco Nori
Monument to playwright Giovanni Battista
Galileo's tomb
Altar in the Sancta Sanctorum
Fe in the church courtyard
National Library of Florence. I went in but was told--politely--that it wasn't open to visitors. Too bad, since I like visiting libraries.
After a long day of walking, a gelato hits the spot. If I don't get coffee flavor, I go for staccciatella.
Tomorrow is a long travel day to Bari, so we have to do the unglamorous packing tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment