Wednesday, June 11th            98 degrees.    Headed to Florence

I'm the only one who has taken any notes, I think.  Some on our tour want our blog address and others want to know what they have to do to be mentioned in it!

We were only about a half hour from Florence in Monticatini.  On the way there we saw hilltop fortresses.  The guide said the Etruscans used smoke signals to communicate between them.

In town, visited the 3rd largest Church in the world-behind St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.

Leather is big business in Italy and it actually started with the Bible covers with 14 c gold on them,
centuries ago.

Florence was the cradle of the Renaissance and its original name of Fiorenzi means flowers.

1300     The Medici family were bankers.  In 1290 the oldest bank in the world was established.  This family invented the letter of credit, which banks still use, even in America.  If a person had a letter from them, they could obtain money anywhere in Europe.  They charged 70-80% interest, so they became very wealthy.

1492      The first election of a Pope was held in the Sistine Chapel.
              (Funny story:  Lisa, a young woman on our tour thought everyone was saying "the sixteen     chapels")

1870       Italy became a unified nation, after being thousands of independent areas.

The Italian flag:
Comprised of 3 rectangles
    Red symbolizes the blood shed by the soldiers who fought for the unification of the country
    Green symbolizes Italy's vegetation
    White symbolizes the snow on the Alps

1865      The architect,Poggi, visited Paris and decided Florence should look more like it.  He convinced the people to destroy the outer city walls and to build huge boulevards.  Later it became the capital.

While standing in line to enter the Academy of Arts we saw a group of 4 yr olds.  They stayed together by holding onto the shoulder of the child ahead of them.  So cute.

The highlight of the Academy is the statue of David, carved by Michelangelo 5 centuries ago.
It weighs 5 tons and stands 20' from his head to his feet.  It took almost 4 years to make.

Originally it stood outside, in front of the palace here, and served as a warning, like "Watch out, enemies!"  Later it was moved to the inside of the Academy-thank goodness.

He is the symbol of strength.  He was carved naked because he removed his armor in front of the Goliath before fighting him.  Symbolizes God The Father would protect him.

His right leg leans against what looks like a tree stump and it actually provides stability for the statue.

The Medicis were Michelangelo's patrons from the time he was 20.  He lived 1475-1564 and was carving a statue the week he died.

Also in the gallery are 6 other statues he never completed.  We could see his trademark technique of "setting a figure free" from the marble.  They look like they're moving out of the front of the stone.

Another completed statue of his there was of an elderly Mary holding the crucified Jesus, with Mary Magdalene at her side.

Holy Mary of the Flowers Church

We did not walk the 414 steps to the top of the bell tower!  Has the tallest dome in Florence and no structure can ever be built taller than it. 4th largest Church in the world, and of the Gothic style.  Green and white bricks were very dirty from pollution.

 

Construction of the gigantic dome:  no scaffolding was used.  Built on 2 support shelves.  Has a locked structure of bricks that can't collapse inside the Church-Amazing.

Statues of the 12 apostles on facade.

The Baptistry is a 1000 year old Church.  The door represents the gates of paradise and has raised carvings of the ark, Moses, the sacrifice of Isiah, Joshua conquering Jericho, David and Goliath, Queen of Sheba, and others.

The Tower of Florence has a large clock on it.

Stopped for a gelato cone.  Didn't ask price and they were equivalent to $15 each!  Furious!  Just a tapered cone that was full and one dip.  Usually $3 or so.

I was standing by the Wing family and suddenly a woman beggar with a white sheet on and her face painted white, and holding a small cup with flowers in it, came up and tried to kiss 18 yr old Anthony on the cheek.  It happened so fast that I couldn't warn him.  He sensed something and turned his head, just in time to look into that white face and dark mouth.  He jumped and she laughed and ran away.  She scared him, tough football player that he is!

Lots of walking in the heat today, but an "easy" stairs day-only 178!