Day 14
Another gorgeous day in Florence. We have had remarkable weather here … we are so fortunate. Today we had a tour of the Duomo scheduled at 2 pm so we took our time in the morning, heading out about 11 am and explored a bit before making our way to il Mercato Centrale for lunch (what else – pizza! we are doing a very scientific study of as many different pizza shops as possible). We met our guide Natalia at 1:45 pm outside the Duomo’s Porta della Mandorla (12 o’clock on the picture collage), where she told us much about the cathedral’s history. We entered the church and took the picture at 1 o’clock on the collage from the ground floor – we would eventually climb past the frescoes! The 463 steps we climbed we constructed for the workers who built the cupola designed by Filippo Brunelleschi (a bit of trivia: it took 16 years for just 60 workers to build the cupola). Brunelleschi lived to see the cupola finished and consecrated by the bishop but died before the lantern (very top) was completed. Brian and I are pictured with the campanile ion the left (Brian might climb that on Monday – I’m done!) Since the cupola is the highest point in the city, the views are stunning – pictures is our neighborhood with Santa Croce visible. After taking the 463 stairs back down, we headed to il Grande Museo del Duomo where they have on display some truly amazing works including the enormous statues depicting (7 o’clock on the collage on around) biblical events, original Duomo works, a stunning altar with immaculate detail, an original gold inlay door to the Baptistry, and (in the center of the collage) the Pietà Bandini by Michelangelo. What a day!
Brian’s gelato excursions: among his very favorites are 1) Vivoli – flavor: lemon and sage; 2) Santa Trinita – flavor: black sesame; 3) Perche no? – flavor: rose. He also had a good coconut gelato at a small place that he really liked.