Florence & Pisa

Florence and Pisa were on our original tour list.  On Day...4?...we finally took one of the tours we had originally signed up for.  Florence was terribly crowded.  My camera battery was near dead, and photos?  Well, I just didn't take many.

Florence was the center of the Medici patronage.  Firenze!  Florence!  The home of Dante, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci...it was the center of the Renaissance.  The churches are incredible, the use of marble is gorgeous.  From a distance, we saw the golden doors of the baptistry.  It was heart-wrenching to hear that the Arno flooded in 1966, rising 15' through this cultural center of art and beauty.

 I believe the name of this basilica is Santa Maria del Fiori.

 The dome is enormous.   I think our guide said it weighs something like 39 tons?  And it's a dome within a dome.  I remember thinking that if that thing ever collapsed, it would leave a crater.

We were able to enter Santa Croce, the Church of the Holy Cross.  This is where all the "famous" people are buried.  Or used to be buried.  Our guide said that when the flood came through, many of the crypts were disturbed.  a disturbing thought.  It's been cleaned and restored, after all, it's been more than 50 years, but signs of the flood are still visible.

As we left, we stopped to get a last look at Florence.   We were only there for a couple of hours, so we did not get the chance to see David or explore any of the museums or much of anything, really.  We did enter Santa Croce, but that was it.  We will have to go back again, when we have some time to really explore.

We were scheduled to visit Pisa, but the rain had begun coming down in torrents.  Our tour group was of the elderly variety.  We were the youngest on the bus, by at least 10 years.  Several of them rebelled, and said they had no interest in Pisa.  I really wanted to see that leaning tower.  I mean, I've heard of it forever.  Imagine being so close, and not going to see it?  Luckily people spoke up, and we continued to Pisa as planned.

There is not much to do there, as we did not have the time to climb it or visit the baptistry, but wow.  It is quite impressive, and I was surprised by how beautiful it was.  Perhaps it was the grey of sky that made the marble glow.  I loved it.  At this point in the trip, it was the highlight.

I guess it is built like a banana.  By the time they got to the third floor, they realized it was sinking.  They decided to combat the tilt by building at an angle, trying to make it straighter.  Through the centuries, it has continued to sink.  In the 1800's, they dug down and tried to shore up the foundation.  Our guide said it should be good for another 300 years before they have to do something else to keep it from tipping all the way over.

Next up:  Rome.  Stay tuned!