Our first view of Florence was one of the 5 David statues that are in Florence. All but one are copies. This copy was made of bronze and was located in the Piazzale Michelangelo where we were dropped off for our day in Florence.
Turning around from the statue and you see all of Florence below. It was a breathtaking way to start the day.
We made our way down the hill and passed through part of the old wall that still stands.
The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) is the only bridge still standing from World War 2. We did not walk through it since it’s full of tourist stalls and was quite crowded.
Artwork along the water.
Newer artwork, the sundial in front of the Museo Galileo was built in 2007.
Heading into the main area of Florence.
We spent some time in the Piazza della Signoria were we saw another copy of David as well as the Nettuno fountain built in 1575. The open air gallery of statues in the last shot had a long line to get up close to the statues. Yes, the crowds here were as bad as they were in Rome.
The Florence baptistery was next to the Duomo and was said to have been built in the 11th century.
Front and back of the Duomo di Firenze that was completed in 1436. It’s amazing to see the different colors of marble and stone that was used so long ago.
We saw many of the famous “wine windows” all around the area. They were started in the 1500’s as a way for wineries to sell from their city homes in Florence without being taxed. During the plague of the 1600’s the windows were popular to sell wine and food through. Then covid brought another resurgence. There are still many in use throughout Florence.
The oldest gelato shop in Florence is the Vivoli shop. There was a long line here so we got ours elsewhere but I did have gelato at the Vivoli in Rome and it was the best I had during my two weeks. They also used their wine window to sell gelato out of during covid.
Taking some time to rest in the Piazza Santa Croce before leaving Florence. Brett and I had an amazing lunch near here and was able to meander through shops and stop for gelato.
Leaving Florence through the Porta Romana which is the best preserved gate of the ancient wall and built in the 13th century.
Linking to Image-In-Ing.
