Day 5 - Florence, Italy (Duomo, Ponte Vecchio)

Our first full day in Florence...there's so much we want to see!


We decided to start with the Duomo at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Hard to miss, as it is HUGE. The exterior is covered in green, pink and white marble with the roof covered in terracotta. The nave is more than 500 feet long and from the floor to the top of dome's interior is almost 300 feet. This particular basilica has a long and storied history (that I'll spare you from) that includes many architects, artisans, and city representatives fighting about what this cathedral should look like. An important competition to design and build the dome includes two famous Florence artisans - Ghiberti and Brunellesci (who finally won the competition). "The building of a stone dome posed many technical problems" (from wikipedia). Construction took more than 16 years to complete.


The interior is very open, and the inside of the dome is painted with the Last Judgement.
See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Florenca122.jpg
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Duomo_(inside)_Santa_Maria_del_Fiore,_Florence,_Italy.jpg


Most exciting - you can climb 463+ stairs to the top of the Dome. The stairs are positioned between the inner and outer dome walls. Narrow, very steep stairs build for very short people. But, the views are worth it!

In front of the Cathedral, is the Baptistry (Battistero di San Giovanni), rumored to be the oldest building in Florence. It's bronze doors are well known. It Lorenzo Ghiberti more than 20 years to complete the North doors, which consist of 28 panels depicting New Testament scenes. Ghiberti spent another 27 years on a second commission for the East Doors which Michaelangelo called the "Gates of Paradise". The interior of this small building is incredible with a full mosaic ceiling depicting stories from the Old Testament.

We decide to walk toward the river, and the Ponte Vecchio, passing the Mercato Nuovo on the way. This area has become a well-known location for leather merchants and shopping. We decide to stop for Gelato. It's so fun to see how they 'decorate' the ice cream with fruit, chocolate, or other indicator of flavor!

The Ponte Vechhio was built in 1345 to replace a wooden bridge that had been flooded out. Originally populated with fishmongers and butchers, in 1593 the Florence government directed gold dealers to occupy the stores along the bridge. Some of the jewelers are decendants of the original gold-dealers' families.

For lunch, we head to Coquinarius Wine Bar (thank you to the MapEasy Guidemap!). The food is wonderful, the wine is spectatular, and the atmosphere is classic Italian.

For dinner, we end up at Ristorante Buca Mario, which has been in business since 1886. Their wine cellar is well known, and they serve typical Florentian food. The food is INCREDIBLE, especially their Gnocci with Gorgonzola and Nuts which just melts in your mouth. As we're leaving, they give us boxes of their chocolate chip biscotti cookies!

We're visually and physically exhausted from yet another wonderful day in Italy, but can hardly wait for the next day

Pictures from Day 5 are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtbcolorado/ItalyFlorenceDuomo02