City of monumental art – June 17 and 18, 2014
PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA
We stayed two nights in a nice B&B just around the corner from this plaza full of art.
ART UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Cookie – speechless in the plaza.
PIGEON ART
This is a copy of the original David which came to live in the piazza upon completion in 1504 just half a mile from where Michelangelo sculpted it. The original went to reside under roof in the Galleria Dell ‘Accademia in 1873. We stalked this replica one afternoon, camera in hand, waiting for a pigeon to land on David’s head and finally settled for this picture of a nearby lion.
TRIUMPH
Power is in the hands of the beheader. In this case Medusa deserved to lose her head after turning all those people into stone.
MURDER AND MAYHEM
As far as we can tell, the stone artists were dealing with a fair amount of pent up aggression. Please note the scale of this art compared to the tiny people beneath it.
ITALIAN DOGS
You could tell the difference between tourists and locals by whether or not they had a dog.
CAR SHOW
Bob took these during his morning wander to a coffee cafe. That copy of David is hanging out in the background.
GOLDEN HOUR
An evening photo.
ON OUR WAY TO THE PALAZZO DELGI UFFIZI
Running with the tourists. For pictures of what we saw on tour, check out Museum Tours
UNDER THE GAZE OF GIANTS
Art was everywhere! Stalking the squares and hanging off the buildings. These fellows are Galileo (far left), Macchiavelli and Dante that peer down upon the hoi polloi.
CATTEDRALE SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE a.k.a FLORENCE CATHEDRAL a.k.a. IL DUOMO
Construction on this magnificent church began in 1296 but it took years before someone would come along who was able to solve the engineering problems and complete the dome in 1436. It was a genius named Filippo Brunelleschi who mastered the design to close the hole in the largest dome in the world.
INSIDE THE BASILICA
Our tour group respectfully admired the marble work and painted dome to the sound of periodic admonitions to be quiet which were whispered over the loud speaker.
GATES OF PARADISE
Golden panels, created by Lorenzo Ghiberti and completed in 1452 adorn the door to the cathedral’s baptistery. Interestingly Ghiberti’s design won the contest against an entry by Brunelleschi, the goldsmith who solved Il Duomo’s engineering problem.
TOWERS AND BRIDGES
A tower at the Piazza Della Signoria and a bridge across the Arno River as seen from the Ponte Vecchio bridge below.
PONTE VECCHIO
The first recorded mention of this bridge was in the year 996. It was built across the narrowest part of the Arno River in Roman times and still supports shops and shoppers. When Eddie Izzard says he grew up in Europe where the history comes from, he isn’t kidding!