Florence

Michelangelo's David
Originally uploaded by radix999

A pleasant 4 hour drive from Rome to Florence, or Firenze as the Italians call it. First off up to the top of the hill for a view of the whole of Firenze. Great lookout point, with a copy of the statue of Michaelangelo's David on top. Then we headed into the city to meet up with the loca tour guide for a tour of the city.

We start out at the Accademia Museum, where Michaelangelo's work is on display. Michaelangelo had quite a few unfinished pieces of work there, marble statues that were only partially finished. They've nicknamed them "prisoners". as they will never be "released" from the marble. Even unfinsihed, you could imagine the potential those sculptures had. And then we were shown the original statue of David, as in David and GOliath of the Bible.This stand as a symbol of justice for the Florentines in the town square, Piazza del Signoria. It stands in front of the old Medici Palace, now the town hall and mayor's office. The original is in Accademia Museum to protect it from the elements. The details on the statue is amazing, muscle tone, veins on the hands, tendons showing on the legs, absolutely stunning! And its all made out of one single piece of marble. It is also well balanced, the tree trunk on the bottom serves to help stabilise the whole statue.

Then we head out to see the Bell Tower and church. The church is made out of five different types of coloured marble. It is not painted at all. The dome is accessible by over 400 steps, with air vents in the dome for archetectural reasons. Next to the church is a Baptism building. The door is made out of 24ct gold, with eight panels, each depicting a story from the Bible. The original has since been removed and placed in a museum, with a replica in the Baptism building now for tourists to admire.

Florence is famous for its leather works and gold filigree. We visited Peruzzi leather factory, large store but bad service! Also look out for Chianti wine in the Florence region. It is very nice, but watch out for the rooster symbol for the genuine stuff.

- YM