The Duomo cathedral and opera house next to our hostel. It is the largest (non-sports) dome in the world and the largest building made of its material.
I snuck a picture in the Accademia. This is Michelangelo's the David- upon first glance, it was perfection. The head is actually bigger than a proportioned head is because it was supposed to be posted at an extremely high point.
Ok, so this is one of the oldest leather stores in Florence. Only 25 people in the world know how to craft real Italian leather- that's why it's so expensive. The only way to learn how to craft the leather is through apprenticeship. Actually, the leather isn't Italian, its the craft that is- the Italians buy the leather from Australia and New Zealand. We walked into this shop and got a leather demonstration and information session. It was shockingly fascinating- showing the dedication and time spend in the craft. The most interesting thing we looked at was the Florentine box. When Florentine married Henry II in France, she wanted to take with her something to remind her of home.She took the box. These boxes took months to make layering layers upon layers of leather. The boxes are one piece of leather soaked and then formed around a wooden mold. After the months of layering, crafters used a specially heated instrument to imprint a gold design on the top of the box. If the gold design got messed up- the whole box was a waste.
The box was originally shaped like a saddle because she had to sit on it on her way to France. Now various designs have been recreated.
View from Ponte Vecchio
Statue of Jason slaying Medusa
Basilica San Croce: where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried
Galileo's tomb
Michelangelo's tomb
The Medici Chapels
The big market in Florence
And here's my favorite part: The view from Michelangelo's Hill. Simply stunning...
1 comment:
beautiful photographs!
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