Day 9 - Sat, Apr 27 - Exploring Florence

At 9:00 a.m. we climbed on the bus with Simone who 30 minutes later delivered us into the hands of our local guide for our day in Florence, Tiziana. Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is often considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance. UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families. Tiziana told us about their power and showed us the many buildings erected under their time of control.

We saw the Florence Cathedral, formally the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, in English "Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower", (Italian: Duomo di Firenze). It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambioand was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white, (red/white/green = colours of Italian flag) and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Considered by many the greatest artist of his lifetime, and by some the greatest artist of all time, his artistic versatility was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival, the fellow Florentine and client of the Medici, Leonardo da Vinci. On Thursday, we saw his scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and The Last Judgement on its altar wall, and one of his most famous sculptures, the Pieta in St. Peter’s Basilica. At the Galleria dell’Accademia, we saw his other famous sculpture - David - a 17.0 ft marble statue of the Biblical hero David (who slew the giant Goliath), a favoured subject in the art of Florence. Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defence of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the power and complete dominance of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome.

Then we had some free time. Doug and I went to the Piazza del Mercato Centrale. The building is surrounded with little stalls selling a huge selection of Italian leather products, beautiful pashminas and lots of souvenirs. We did some shopping there and haggled quite effectively. It reminded us of the suqs that we visited in Dubai last year. We bought some lunch and did some really good people watching as we sat on the steps of the Church of San Lorenzo. We enjoyed a leisurely walk back to our meeting point with Simone, the Ponte Vecchio - an old bridge that crosses the River Arno, famous for its tiny shops selling high-end jewelry. Window shopping only for all of us!

Our last stop was at the top of a hill where we were treated to a fabulous panoramic view over the city. It had turned into a lovely, warm, sunny day - perfect for such a viewing.

Back at the hotel, naps were on the agenda. We met again at 7:00 p.m. Simone drove us to a restaurant perched on a hill. We drank in more fabulous views as the sun was setting. We enjoyed a fabulous 4-course dinner with lots of wine. The main part of the meal featured 5 different types of meat!! Another wonderful evening with lots of wonderful conversation.Read more