Firenze {Florence, part one}

Spent the day in Florence, Italy yesterday. Our art history professor was nice enough to show us around and show us the highlights of the city. Florence is a beautiful city, full of history and art, and we wore out our walking shoes exploring all there was to see.

We started off at the Bargello, a museum which houses several Michelangelo pieces. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed, but it was a cool experience nonetheless.

After that, we went to check out Florence's cathedral:

Florence's own duomo. We were walking casually down the street, and the all of a sudden
we turn the corner and see this! Takes your breath away.

The duomo's dome. Look how many people are on the streets! Even with the yucky
weather in the morning, there were still tons of people there.

The duomo's bell tower. Standing next to something so intricate and huge really put
it into perspective how small I am! :)

Inside Florence's duomo. Much less decorated than Siena's cathedral.

However, it does have the dome, which was absolutely unreal. Painted by Giorgio Vasari
and Federico Zuccari, it is a depiction of The Last Judgement. If you look closely on the
right and left hand side, you can see hell on the bottom, and as you get closer to the top
it becomes heaven.

Then we went to the Piazza della Signoria:

Vendors line the streets. My purse problem will probably get the best of me eventually,
but so far I have exercised self restraint.

Cool statue in Piazza della Signoria, the political hub of the city

Fountain of Neptune, Roman god of the sea

Clock tower in Piazza della Signoria

Statue of Judith from the Old Testement, who beheads Holofernes,
a general who was a threat to her people

Collection of stautes in Piazza della Signoria

Replica of Michelangelo's David. The original used to stand in this spot, but was moved
indoors to preserve it.

 After the  Piazza della Signoria, we walked down to the Arno river, and saw some cool things along the way!

The streets here are almost as beautiful as Siena's. I may be a little biased ;)

In front of the beautiful archway. Just beyond the archway is the Arno River.

Florence's river, the Arno. This bridge, Ponte Vecchio,  has lots of little shops along it, which sell lots of jewelry.

Picture perfect.

Becca and I are having a great time exploring Italy together. So thankful for her :)

Ponte Vecchio from the other side

Then we headed back to explore the city some more:

Clock tower in  Piazza della Signoria

Becca and I loved seeing the horses, they were so cute. It costs 50 euros for a 30 minute ride around the city. Yikes!

Orsanmichele, a church, which used to be a place where grain was distributed. However,
there was a painting of Mary held there that had healing powers, so eventually it
was converted into a church.

The painting of Mary, which is believed to have healing powers. Standing in front of
something people go to when they have no where else to turn was pretty powerful! I'm not
sure about the painting itself, but I definitely felt God's presence.

 We ended our trip with Santa Maria Novella:

Santa Maria Novella

Statue in front of Santa Maria Novella. The Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of Florence

Courtyard in Santa Maria Novella. After a busy day of running around Florence,
this was a peaceful break.

Courtyard in Santa Maria Novella. 

Inside Santa Maria Novella

Masaccio's Holy Trinity. This painting was extremely influential for future artists.

This was the first piece of art to use correct linear perspective.

Above the skeleton, there is a phrase which means,

"I once was what you are and what I am you also will be." Very eery.

Inside Santa Maria Novella. From floor to ceiling is painted with murals,
depicting Biblical scenes

Stained glass window

Me, outside Santa Maria Novella

I had a great time exploring Florence. It is crazy to be in the presence of works of art that had such an impact on art and the history of the human race. However, it also made me thankful that I live in Siena, where the town is easier to navigate and the crowds are smaller. Next week is full of fun activities, including a trip to Pisa!