Before you get busy with tongue-twisting title of this post, go back to the fancy first word – Florence.
Nice as it sounds, the city of Florence is a vast and breathtaking monument to the Italian Renaissance. Firenze in Italian comes from Florentia, the city of flowers. The city has witnessed a string of influences in the fields of knowledge, art, literature and philosophy, that turned Florence into one of the world’s greatest artistic capitals.
Florence is best known as the city that was patron to writers like Dante and Petrarch, and artists like Michelangelo, Donatello and Botticelli and their works can be experience at this old World Heritage City.
The Colorful Steets of Florence
Much as we would’ve loved to spend more time in a place of this stature, our trip to Florence was one of the briefest I did to any city – about 5 hours, lunch included. But since it was a guided tour, we should believe that we managed to cover the highlights of the city – mainly the domed cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, the Campanile tower, the Baptistery and the famous Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) on River Arno.
The Duomo
We went to Florence by road from Rome, it took us about 4 hours to cover the 173 miles (278 kms) and we were in the city, just by the lunch time. After a sumptuous Italian Lunch we rushed to the Duomo. The cathedral is notable for a huge brick dome on the top, placed on green and pink colored marble panels that form the exterior walls. It has been constructed in various phases in gaps of centuries, aspiring th stature of basilicas like St. Peter’s in the Vatican and the Milan Basilica. While the exteriors are a perfect display for Italian marble in various shades, placed most aesthetically, the interiors display murals, mosaics and stained glass art in the classic Gothic designs.
The Bapistry and the Campanile Tower
The Dome from Inside
Stained Glass inside the Basilica – more than 5 centuries old!
After gaping at the breathtakingly beautiful pieces of art, we were asked to step out to see the campus from outside. And just to pay an ode, there was a group of three young (at heart) men, who decide to climb all the 450 stairs to the top of the dome where the whole city of Florence could be seen. While they all were young (at heart), I wonder which one was actually young (at lungs)!
Panoramic View of Florence city atop the Dome
Another point-of-view
The Young at Lung
So we all went to the Gates of Paradise – the beautiful, descriptive, golden doors of the octagonal baptistery. They were beautiful and were given this name by none other than Michelangelo. They were not the originals, since there were various floods (the most recent one being in 1960s), and the original gates of paradise could not be risked any further. We could not go inside for a reason, I seem to have forgotten.
The Gates of Paradise
After passing by various designer stores in the Piazza that fell on the way, we reached Piazza della Signoria. Piazza is the Italian for Plaza, and this one was an L-shaped open area in the front of Palazzo Vecchio. Palazzo is Italian for an old palace and this Palazzo Vecchio is an old Town Hall of the city of Florence. It has now been converted into a museum and houses the original David by Michelangelo, amongst the other original sculptures. We did not go inside, but were free to ogle at the open air museum that had all the replicas and more. Here are some pictures of the monumental art.
David stands tall at Palazzo Vechhio
Palazzo Vechhio – the open air Art Gallery
The Bell Tower
We then walked another half-a-mile to the Ponte Vechhio. Ponte, Italian for Bridge, are very common all over Italy, as there are many rivers and like all the other architectural masterpieces here, the bridges, too, have been restored over the centuries. The Ponte Vechhio was made on River Arno some 22 centuries ago first, and got destroyed twice over. The structure now standing, has been around since the 14th century. It was definitely old world, and romantic as well – to see an old narrow boat, oared by a man standing on one corner of it, waving at the passers-by.
Ponte Vechhio
And before we could realise, our time was up and we had to once again assemble at a point to head back. There was an overdose already, and we still craved for more.