Florence, part 2 of 2

Open me first & minimize for some Italian background music: http://www.imeem.com/a9nest/music/OGDPCQT0/traditional_santa_lucia/

This photo journal, the 2nd of two in the Florence series, includes my selected photos of piazzas (squares), palazzos (palaces), bridges (pontes) & various other photos that I took in the short time we were there, which was barely a day.

FLORENCE: The cultural & historical impact of Florence (Firenze) is overwhelming. The city still retains a strong resemblance to the small late-medieval ... (more)

Our hotel - Mediteranneo
was centrally located & across the street from Arno River. It...

The Arno River was right across
the street from our hotel.

View from the bridge
in the previous photo.

Spillway view in the other direction

There's lots of graffitti in Italy
Saw this while I was strolling in the river park across from our hotel.

The central library
wasn't far from our hotel.

Closeup

"Palazzo Borghese"
where we went for our optional Renaissance dinner, complete with medieval...

Ornamented ceilings

with Renaissance paintings.

Period furnishings (tarnished)

Part of the troupe.
They urge group members to participate. I declined LOL

The musicians

"Piazza Santa Croce"
This large open square in front of Basilica Santa Croce is surrounded...

Another angle

"Palazzo Vecchio" (old palace),
aka Palazzo della Signoria, takes up one corner of Piazza della...

The palace crest
The highly visited, L-shaped Piazza della Signoria , is one of...

Michelangelo's 'Daivd' on the left,
& the sculpture “Hercules & Cacus” on the right. Both are...

The controversial 'Fountain of Neptune',
also in the piazza, is one of Florence's favorite sculptures to...

The 14th century Loggia dei Lanzi
(aka Loggia della Signoria) is an open-air gallery of sculptures in...

Cellini's 'Perseus'
holding up a beheaded Medusa, one of the 'violent' statues in the...

"Ponte Vecchio" (old bridge)
is the oldest of 8 bridges in the city, & the last remaining...

The Vasari Corridor runs above the shops
Once home to butchers, the bridge was cleared of these 'vile arts' by...

Looking up from inside the bridge

Lots of jewelery shops

Bling, bling

and lots of wonderful leather too......
The smell of leather as I passed the many leather shops in Italy, was...

View of the river bank near the bridge

Miles of parked Vespas,
a common sight.

"Ponte Santa Trinita"
from Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Santa Trinita (Holy Trinity Bridge), named for an...

"Piazzale Michelangelo"
This Piazzale (wide piazza) is an 1865 belvedere overlooking the city...

City view with Tuscan Hills
in the distance. That's the Palazzo Vecchio tower on the left, the...

View 2 - Santa Croce on the left,
& the blue-roofed synagogue center right.

View 3 - Better view of the synagogue
on the left. A little more info: http://www.jewishitaly.org/detail.asp?ID=27

Wanna spend a night in jail?
This 6th century Byzantine tower, which was once a jail, is now part of the 4...

Another colorful produce stand

Electric vehicles getting re-charged.

A nice niche.
I don't remember where I found it ;o)

article published 10/14/2008

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