Today was our last day in Florence and we made the most of it! After a sleep in we made up for the lack of Church visits in Florence and headed to the Duomo and Santa Croce.
You may remember the Duomo - Santa Maria del Fiore - from an earlier blog...
Given its over the top exterior we were expecting an interior to match! Imagine our surprise when this is what we found...
It's almost as if the Duomo is inside out! But it does contain many important pieces of art by artists such as Donatello, and has a beautiful frescoed dome.
After exploring the lovely but crowded Duomo, which was built in the late 13th century, we headed downstairs where excavation works have uncovered sections of the original 5th century Church of St Reparta. It was amazing to see what has survived after all these years and to imagine the kind of people who may have worshiped here over the centuries.
Second stop for the day was the 700 year old Basilica of Santa Croce, which is similar to the Duomo on the outside...
...but jam packed with sculpture and paintings and frescoes by many, many artists including Donatello and Giotto who played a large role in the decoration of the Basilica. The Church also contains Michelangelo's tomb...
...as well as the tomb of Galileo.
After a very quick lunch in Piazza Vecchio (which was crawling with polizia of all types due to an EU meeting that was being held in the castle) we boarded a train to...
Venice!
Posted with Blogsy
What I have learnt today
ReplyDelete1) I didn't notice when I was there, but the Duomo would make a great jigsaw.
2) The Ninja Turtles feature heavily in Florence's churchscape. Looking for Leonardo and Rafael. Isn't Giotto the woodworking guy in Pinocchio? Already had the Magic Faraway Tree. Covering all the classics. Picture of a Ninja Turtle STANDING NEXT TO A BOND GIRL would be something.
3) You boarded a train to Venice. Could have just gone to Charlton. Wonder if they have gondolas in Charlton. Could we have a picture of BOND GIRLS IN A GONDOLA? Seeing you're not talking to us any more you could send more photos?? Just sayin'.
Song for the day: The Water is Wide
Picture Jo and Collette in a Gondola singing merrily:
The water is wide, I cannot cross over
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I
What about "Row row row your boat"?
ReplyDelete