Italy Part 6: Florence (Firenze)

Florence (Italian: Firenze /fiˈrɛnʦe/, Old Italian: Fiorenza, Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is not only a beautiful city along the River Arno, it's filled with art, culture and history too. Bearing the title of Cradle of the Renaissance, the streets of Florence is really an open gallery which is an eye-opening experience to me. The famous people who have come from here and gone on to create history. eg Gallileo, Leonardo Da Vinci. This city was home to Michelangelo too.

A bronze copy of the David by Michelangelo in the Piazzale Michelangelo.

A view of the cityscape of Florence from Piazale Michelangelo. The church that is dominating in this picture is the Duomo, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Saint Mary of the Flower.

The tower on the left side of the photo is from the Palazzo Signoria, (also known as the Palazzo Vecchio or Old Palace), the seat of government in Michelangelo's time.

Vendors sell paintings at Piazzale Michelangelo. I bought one for myself.

The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. . The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile, Rossini, and Marconi, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).

Basilica di Santa Croce is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce.

Statue of Dante Alighieri stands outside of the Basilica di Santa Croce which holds Dante's empty tomb. The pedestal of the statue reads "To Dante Alighieri From Italy 1865" and is flanked by lions, the traditional guardians of the city.

Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His central work, the Divina Commedia, is often considered one of the greatest literary works composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.

From the Basilica di Santa Croce, we walked a short distance to the Piazza della Signoria and it’s Signoria Palace. The was the seat of the early government of Florence.

The "bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I" by Giambologna (1594). Cosimo I was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574, reigning as the first Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569.

The Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575)

The Neptune figure, whose face resembles that of Cosimo I, was meant to be an allusion to the dominion of the Florentines over the sea. The figure stands on a high pedestal in the middle of an octagonal fountain. The pedestal in the middle is decorated with the mythical chained figures of Scylla and Charybdis (a state where one is between two dangers and moving away from one will cause you to be in danger from the other).

Benvenuto Cellini's statue Perseus With the Head of Medusa

"The Rape of the Sabine Women", by Giambologna.

In the legendary history of Rome in which the first generation of Roman men acquired wives for themselves from the neighboring Sabine families. (In this context, rape means "kidnapping")

The Basilica di Santa Maria is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi.

The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was one of the largest in the world, being surpassed in width only by that of the Pantheon in Rome. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

Main portal of the cathedral

The cathedral complex includes the Baptistry and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the Historic Centre of Florence.

The Florence Baptistry or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John)

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Italy Part 5: Pisa, Piazza del Duomo

On the third day of our trip, we moved on to our next destination, Pisa, a city in Tuscany (central Italy). Pisa is known worldwide for its Leaning Tower.  It was built in 1173 and started to lean just after his construction due to settling of its foundations

 

Piazza del Duomo ("Cathedral Square") is a wide, walled area, recognized as one of the main centers for medieval art in the world. Partly paved and partly grassed, it is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Duomo, the Leaning Tower (the cathedral's campanile), the Baptistry and the Camposanto

Filed of miracles Pisa

The slanting tower looks a bit worrying, but it is still safe for people to climb to the top, with a limited number at a time, of course!

It is one of the world's most spectacular tourist attractions.

Walking through the streets of Pisa was a very pleasant experience for me with all the multi-coloured buildings and signboards.

 

The Baptistry of the Cathedral.

Gelato!!

Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant

 

The leaning tower of Pisa was a great place to be. The architecture amazed me!

 

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Italy Part 3: Rome (Roma), Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city. It brings water all the way from the Salone Springs (approx 20km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water.

The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea.

On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing Abundance, the statue

On the right represents Salubrity. Above the sculptures are bas-reliefs, one of them shows Agrippa, the girl after whom the aqueduct was named.

      Trevi fountain by night

The water at the bottom of the fountain represents the sea. You will see people chucking in coin after coin, over their shoulder.

Traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins" of Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.

 

The square was full with students, Romans, cafe owners, guys selling roses and tourists. It was a fascinating place indeed!

 

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