Firenze

	Firenze is seemingly the source of all beauty in Italy. Seat of the Renaissance; art museum to the world; capital of Tuscany with all of the bounty of food and beverage that implies. We could have spent the whole 10 days exploring the home of the Medici's. Instead, we had to make do with a couple of day trips in from "Il Giardino" in Acone. < The Palazzo Strozzi is an imposing building built by a rival of the Medici's. Today it houses an art museum where we wandered through an exhibit of paintings by Cezanne inspired by his time in Tuscany. Few realize that Trenton's Kelsey Building (home of Thomas Edison State College) was designed as an homage to this massive edifice.
Il Duomo is Firenze's Cathedral. Officially known as Santa Maria del Fiore, it is the fourth largest church in all of Europe.		Grouped together with the Campanile (Bell Tower; on the right), and Baptistery (left foreground), the Duomo is a pink and green marble clad gothic wonder.
The three images below show details from the front facade of the Duomo.


	< This is one side of the Duomo showing the need for ongoing work to clean and maintain the exterior. It's tough to get a good, clean shot of these magnificent > bronze doors (the 'Gates of Paradise') to the Baptistery opposite the Duomo's main entrance. As with so many works of art, the originals are now inside a museum to preserve them.

This colorful confectioner's window was around the corner from the Duomo. Note the "dome-like" porcelain candy dishes on the shelf. >
	Dante Alighieri, poet and author of the "Divine Comedy" is now one of Florence's favorite sons. < His likeness can be found in paintings and sculpture all around town and beyond. Here he's given a place of honor in a niche on the wall of the Uffizi. This building, known as Casa di Dante was probably not his childhood home. He most likely did reside in the neighborhood and the museum is a draw for Dante buffs from around the world. >


Art and architecture overflow in Florence. In the musuems, on the piazzas and incorporated into the buildings themselves are the artful details that rise above the norm.

This sculpture housed in the Galleria di Uffizi incorporates two different pieces of marble to great effect.	The Piazza della Signora is an oddly shaped plaza adjacent to the Palazzo Vecchio (brown building on the right). It was the original home of Michaelangelo's David and several other notable statues. This view looking North East from the Piazzale degli Uffizi with the Duomo in the background.

If you're standing facing the front of the Palazzo Vecchio, to your right is the Loggia dei Lanceri. This outdoor sculpture garden houses some of the most famous and elegant statutes ever created. While some of these are copies, intense examination and restoration work is being done to stabilize and save the originals that are still in place.	The Rape of The Sabine Women by Giambologna (1583)	Pio Fedi's Rape of Polyxena (1866)

	< Hercules Slaying the Centaur Nessus by Giambologna (1599) Perseus with the Head of Medusa, Cellini (1545) >
Below are three photos of a courtyard we came across while walking to the Galleria del Accademia for our afternoon appointment with "David."

This courtyard caught my eye as we strolled by, so I stepped in. It was obvious that someone was slowly working on saving the details of this once elegant building.	A closer look at the corner shows the faded decorative painting.	A close-up of one panel of the frieze that ran around the top of the arcade.
Santa Maria Novella, Firenze, Italy.	Perhaps the most recognizable statue in the world, Michaelangelo's David (1504) was moved into the Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873 to preserve it. A replica was put in its place at it original location in front of the Palazzo Vecchio on the Piazza della Signoria in 1910. Standing in front of and beholding this iconic figure is an amazing experience (so amazing, I did not snap a single photo and had to cop this one from the Wikipedia article on the statue).
	A fact of life during tourist season is long lines to get into the various galleries and museums. We heeded the advice of others and made our reservations and bought our tickets on line, in advance. Still there was always some sort of wait to get in. On a wall outside the Accademia, some wag scrawled this bit of graffiti.
	San Lorenzo was the parish church of the Medici's. The undecorated brick exterior is actually a refreshing change from the more stylized buildings elsewhere in the city. The interior of the adjacent Chapel (built as tombs for some of the family members) more than makes up for this church's "plain brown wrapper." The San Lorenzo Market hugs the rear of the church and is a mecca for the shoppers in the crowd. Ann and Beth did well there!