Let the work begin!

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (aka The Duomo)

View of the Arno River

View of Florence from the top of the Duomo

Boboli Gardens and Piazza Pitti in the background

Ponte Vecchio

After a weekend of getting acclimated to our new home in Florence, we dove into our schedule for school at full force.  We have been seeing so much, so I will do my best to recap some of it!  On our first week here we visited the following:  Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (aka the Duomo), Galleria Dell'Accademia, Santo Spirito, Palazzo Pitti, Giardino di Boboli and more!  The Duomo was quite amazing... 3 different types of marble were used in the composition of the facade and exterior of the building.  Brunelleschi, the architect, designed the dome to be 1.5" larger than the Pantheon.  Also, flying buttresses (which were in many of the gothic cathedrals I saw in France) were not to be used in the design.  This was another issue Brunelleschi had to overcome and he solved it by using iron rods to support the interior structure against lateral forces. 

Boboli Gardens (set behind Piazzo Pitti) were beautiful, encompassing both Renaissance and Mannerist style gardens.  The very top of the gardens (part of the renaissance design was to bring individuals from a lower point to the highest point) gave an excellent view of the city. 

Ponte Vecchio is the famous bridge in Florence.  Built with Roman principles, it was placed at the most narrow part of the Arno River.  It is connected to the Vasari corridor which was built in the 1500's when the Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici began to fear for his safety.  It connected his residence and the government palace so he could avoid contact with the people of the city.  The Ponte Vecchio was at one time a meat market, but when it turned into the Vasari corridor, the meat was removed and replaced with goldsmiths.  There are still jewelers there today.  I think all the little stores sticking out from the bridge are incredibly neat.  The colors make it even more interesting to look at! 

Spending many more hours wandering the streets of Florence won't be a problem at all!