Florence is a beautiful city, busy, bustling and full of people, walking, riding bikes, Vespas, motorcycles and driving cars. The Arno River runs through the city and under several bridges that were built in the 1200-1300”s. Only the Ponte Vecchio bridge survives to this day. The others were damaged by floods or destroyed in WWll and rebuilt.
Santa Croce is a lovely church located just around the corner from our hotel.
Many famous Florentines have magnificent tombs there, including Dante, Galileo and Michelangelo. (Dante has a tomb, but he is not buried there). We’ll begin our “tour” with Santa Croce. (and no…we didn’t see Jim!)
Santa Croce door
statue of Dante outside of Santa Croce
interior of Santa Croce… very dark inside.
interior of the Santa Croce doors.
One of the chapels in Santa Croce. Beautiful frescos line the walls.
Exquisite frescos on wall. Please excuse blurriness. It was hard to hand hold my camera in the cathedral’s darkness and get a clear photo.
Part of the cloisters at Santa Croce.
I love arches of all kinds! This is the walkway outside Santa Croce.
a bike leaning against our hotel..
The Arno River taken from the Ponte Vecchio bridge.
The famous Ponte Vecchio bridge with its famous jewelry stores, which began as butcher shops. The top windows were along a private walkway for Ferdinando l. He evicted the butchers in the 16th century because he couldn’t stand the smell as he walked overhead. Jewelry has been sold in the shops ever since.
A set of arches near the Ponte Vecchio.
“A trattoria is usually a family-owned place that serves home cooked food at moderate prices.” ~Rick Steves
a series of smart cars line up near the Piazza della Signoria
Apartments and shops surround the sculptures at the impressive Piazza della Signoria
The Uffizi from the other side of the Arno River. Wonderful works of art, treasured pieces and sculptures fill this building. The Uffizi is treasure itself, as a beautiful architectural work of art.
A view from Piazza della Signoria to the streets of Florence.
You find gardens where you can!
it just takes a little sunshine….
a raft moves lazily along the Arno on a sunny afternoon….
The perfect end to a great day….
I hope you enjoyed this part of the “tour”! I have more of Florence to show you. The next time we meet, we’ll be climbing the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo (Dome) of the Florence Cathedral, the Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore. Make sure you bring your climbing shoes! The view is fantastic!
Thanks for coming back to see me after 2.5 weeks! I appreciate your support!
Judy
I remember your writing a post about Michelangelo once – I’m sure you loved being back in his beloved city of Florence. Your images are beyond beautiful.
Elisa….thank you so much! I did love seeing Florence again…and Siena, Assisi and a new one for me: Rome! But not enough time…is there ever enough? 🙂 I want to go back!
Yes they are! They almost make me giggle when I see the tiniest ones. But the Italians really need them. When we filled our rental car, it was about $9.00 per gallon! yikes! It cost $50.00 to fill a half tank on a Ford Focus!
I feel exactly the same as you do, AD! Just so full of art, and gorgeous architecture…..it’s almost overwhelming! My first trip, we were there 7 days, and I felt we could have stayed longer. This time it was 3.5 days. Not enough time at all.
Great post Judy. Some lovely images here that give the “feeling” of the place. One of my favourites is the one inside the chapel. The frescos are superb. The colours are stunning. I also love the image of the small cars and scooters which is very typical of Italian cities and towns. Makes me feel back in the 60s. And of course your image of the little trattoria, which brings back memories of great food and wine and the friendly atmosphere.
Superb!
Beautiful – thank you for the tour! I love the Arno River one and the Ponte Vecchio bridge – and that’s really interesting about the butcher shops interferring with the enjoyment of the private walkway.
Florence looks so beautiful, the architecture is superb ! The Santa Croce church is something, wow ! It looks so big, and the frescoes are marvelous. I really loved the photos of the Arno River and the ones of the bike and cars. Well, I loved them all and through your photos you really get the feel of the place. A really great post Judy ! What a fantastic trip you made !
Thank you Jocelyne, what kindness you’ve given me! I really want to go back! There is something very wonderful about Italy. (and every country!) I adore Paris too, and I’m looking forward to our trip south to Provence someday. But Italy keeps calling me back…. 🙂
Jocelyne….I didn’t comment on what you said about Santa Croce. It’s one of my favorites too. It’s just a lovely church, with a beautiful cloister, surrounded by arched walkways. I really didn’t do that photo justice. They were working on many of the chapels when we were there. I just keep thinking of how many years ago all these sculptures and frescoes and paintings, and buildings were created. It just amazes me.
Beautiful photos! I loved the old bridge!
God Bless You!
Bless you too, Lady Deidre! Thank you very much!
I remember your writing a post about Michelangelo once – I’m sure you loved being back in his beloved city of Florence. Your images are beyond beautiful.
Elisa….thank you so much! I did love seeing Florence again…and Siena, Assisi and a new one for me: Rome! But not enough time…is there ever enough? 🙂 I want to go back!
Oh Judy, how divine! Thank you so much for the trip, I enjoyed visiting Italy so early on a Saturday morning! 🙂
You are so cute, Zelmare! I love the way you put things into words! Thank you!
Those little cars are so cute 🙂
Yes they are! They almost make me giggle when I see the tiniest ones. But the Italians really need them. When we filled our rental car, it was about $9.00 per gallon! yikes! It cost $50.00 to fill a half tank on a Ford Focus!
Wonderful gallery of pictures. Thank you; it’s quite a tour, Judy.
thank you, Tess. You are so kind!
Florence is a beautiful and busy place! Your pictures are wonderful and I’m looking forward to your next post 🙂
thank you so much, Meg! You inspire me!
Florence is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. 🙂
I feel exactly the same as you do, AD! Just so full of art, and gorgeous architecture…..it’s almost overwhelming! My first trip, we were there 7 days, and I felt we could have stayed longer. This time it was 3.5 days. Not enough time at all.
Great post Judy. Some lovely images here that give the “feeling” of the place. One of my favourites is the one inside the chapel. The frescos are superb. The colours are stunning. I also love the image of the small cars and scooters which is very typical of Italian cities and towns. Makes me feel back in the 60s. And of course your image of the little trattoria, which brings back memories of great food and wine and the friendly atmosphere.
Superb!
Thank you so much, Jim! Ah the frescos…I just love them too. We have nothing to compare this to in America, so it’s just amazing to see. Thanks again!
Beautiful – thank you for the tour! I love the Arno River one and the Ponte Vecchio bridge – and that’s really interesting about the butcher shops interferring with the enjoyment of the private walkway.
Yes, isn’t that funny? You’re welcome for the tour. I’ve got to get editing my third set now..but this week has been incredibly busy.
Florence looks so beautiful, the architecture is superb ! The Santa Croce church is something, wow ! It looks so big, and the frescoes are marvelous. I really loved the photos of the Arno River and the ones of the bike and cars. Well, I loved them all and through your photos you really get the feel of the place. A really great post Judy ! What a fantastic trip you made !
Thank you Jocelyne, what kindness you’ve given me! I really want to go back! There is something very wonderful about Italy. (and every country!) I adore Paris too, and I’m looking forward to our trip south to Provence someday. But Italy keeps calling me back…. 🙂
Jocelyne….I didn’t comment on what you said about Santa Croce. It’s one of my favorites too. It’s just a lovely church, with a beautiful cloister, surrounded by arched walkways. I really didn’t do that photo justice. They were working on many of the chapels when we were there. I just keep thinking of how many years ago all these sculptures and frescoes and paintings, and buildings were created. It just amazes me.
Outstanding!
Wow! Thanks for the kind word, Naomi!