Second Day in Florence

Our second day in Florence was devoted to seeing the huge and famous Duomo (church) that is one of the great historical glories of Florence and the tomb of the Medici family that is across the street from the Duomo. These two buildings represent the wealth and power that resided in Florence during the Renaissance. Florence is still an important city in Italy, but during the time that these buildings were constructed (the 14th and 15th century), Florence was a very powerful city-state and showed her prestige in the beautiful Duomo that she could afford to build. The church is so huge it makes you feel tiny and insignificant. There is no way to experience the whole building from the ground level which can only be viewed in its entirety from the air.

The Duomo is super eye candy and the carvings and sculptures go on and on around the building, while the inside of the Duomo is a little more subdued, except for the floors that are done in beautiful geometric patterns in black, white and grey marble.

The Medici Tomb across the street is a study in contrast to the Duomo. It is a relatively small, six sided, two story building that is made from black and white marble which makes it stand out from all the buildings that surround it. The most outstanding feature of the Medici Tomb is the famous set of golden doors that grace the side of the building that faces the Duomo. These golden doors are huge and outstanding and a must see for any art history buff. I have never seen anything like them and they are gorgeous.

Another feature on that side of the Arno River, where the Duomo and Tomb are located, is a huge public archway that comprises one side of Piazza della Repubblica. It is a grand structure and it gives the plaza an imposing presence.

After walking around Florence for two days looking at my feet so I didn’t trip on the uneven cobblestones and watching out for all the vehicles buzzing by my shoulders, I looked up on a wall not far from our Bed & Breakfast and I saw a graffiti dog on a wall that I had photographed when I was in Florence 3 years ago. I was stunned that this same strange graffiti dog was still on the 500 year old wall where some frisky young artist had placed it. I was so charmed by this graffiti dog 3 years ago, that I did a series of images based on it. I have included a photo of the graffiti dog from Florence in this blog.

After our day of sightseeing of the great monuments of Florence, we made our way back across the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio, which is better known as the Gold Bridge because it is covered from one end to the other with jewelry shops filled with gold jewelry and precious stones. We walked on until we reached the edges of the Pitti Palace grounds and found a wonderful wine bar where we could buy really good wine by the glass and finish our afternoon sipping Tuscany’s finest wines – yum!