As a way of congratulating us for surviving midterm exams, St. John's had a free trip over the weekend of March 22nd to Florence with day trips to surrounding cities. The first day was spent in a walking tour around Florence.
This is the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which was built under Michelangelo. The facade was never completed because Michelangelo was called to Rome for some Papal work and he died before he could return. He happened to do this to a lot of his works because he was under the impression he would never die and so had all the time in the world. Florentine officials have yet to cover the rough bricks in respect to Michelangelo's narcissism.
From there we went to the Duomo. There's an ancient piece of Florentine law that says that nothing can be taller than the Cathedral, and so it can be seen from any point in the city. It was for the longest time the tallest in the world, and the three colors of white, green, and pink are supposed to represent purity, hope, and charity. The bell tower (Giotto) was named for the first architect who died three years in.
The Baptistry has two doors on the north and south sides for the unbaptized to enter through, and the golden door facing the east and the Church for those who have become officially Christian. Originally they only baptized twice a year - once for boys and once for girls - through use of rain water caught from the ceiling and kept in a fountain. To be baptized one had to be fully immersed three times in the fountain if they were a baby, while adults needed to say "Io credo!" (I believe!) three times in between having their head dunked in the rain water.
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| Inside the Dome |
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| Piazza della Repubblica from Afar |
The Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, an ancient market also known as the Pig Market. The stalls here sell the famous Florentine leather and paper, and is the site of the Trevi Fountain of Florence.
The Trevi Fountain of Florence is indeed a boar. What really made the Renaissance such a change in Europe was that it involved a lot of rediscovery of Greek myths, and apparently the Renaissance Florentines really took to the myth of the Calydonian Boar. It's snout is well worn because if you rub it you will return to Florence, like how if you toss three coins in the Trevi Fountain you will return to Rome. You can also put a coin in it's mouth and try to get it to fall in the grate below for good luck; it's actually quite difficult.
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| The Arno River |
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The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is aptly named, as it's the only original bridge left after WWII bombing raids. The only reason it was spared was because there is a passageway on the bridge - you can see it, the space above the yellow colonnade on the left of the picture - that was originally used to the Medici could get from work to home without mingling among the commoners. Hitler loved the concept to much that he spared the bridge.
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| The Arno Riviera |
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| Ponte Vecchio from the Shore |
We finished our tour at the Palazzo Vecchio, which has served as the city hall from Florence since Medieval times. If you saw the movie Hannibal, this was the balcony from where he hung Detective Pazzi. This was a reference to how in 1478 the Pazzi family tried to eliminate the ruling Medici family from Firenze by attacking the two Medici men outside the Duomo. They were unsuccessful however, and the surviving member of the assassination attempt, Lorenzo the Magnificent, repaid the favor by rounding up all the Pazzi men and hanging them from the crenelations of the palace.
Speaking of the Medici, there is an interesting story regarding this plaza and their rule. The Medici were bankers yes, but they began as wool traders, eventually gaining enough capital to become bankers. From there they began inserting friends into the artisan-run government until they simply took over the whole city. When this happened, the original David by Michelangelo stood outside the town hall. Being shrewd
politicians, the Medici didn't move the statue (which was a symbol of Italian independence and freedom) and instead flooded the square with statues. Today, there stands a replica of David, a statue of Hercules (which is so malproportioned musculature that the Italians refer to it as a bag of oranges), a statue of Perseus slaying Medusa, Cosimo Medici on a horse, a fountain with Neptune that has the face of Cosimo, and a whole walkway (loggia) full of just statues. When you're a banker you have a lot of money you see.
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| Loggia della Signoria |
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| The Arno |
Ultimately I found it to be a beautiful city, but it couldn't compare to what was ahead in the next few days: Pisa, Lucca, and Siena.
As a way of congratulating us for surviving midterm exams, St. John's had a free trip over the weekend of March 22nd to Florence with day trips to surrounding cities. The first day was spent in a walking tour around Florence.
This is the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which was built under Michelangelo. The facade was never completed because Michelangelo was called to Rome for some Papal work and he died before he could return. He happened to do this to a lot of his works because he was under the impression he would never die and so had all the time in the world. Florentine officials have yet to cover the rough bricks in respect to Michelangelo's narcissism.
From there we went to the Duomo. There's an ancient piece of Florentine law that says that nothing can be taller than the Cathedral, and so it can be seen from any point in the city. It was for the longest time the tallest in the world, and the three colors of white, green, and pink are supposed to represent purity, hope, and charity. The bell tower (Giotto) was named for the first architect who died three years in.
The Baptistry has two doors on the north and south sides for the unbaptized to enter through, and the golden door facing the east and the Church for those who have become officially Christian. Originally they only baptized twice a year - once for boys and once for girls - through use of rain water caught from the ceiling and kept in a fountain. To be baptized one had to be fully immersed three times in the fountain if they were a baby, while adults needed to say "Io credo!" (I believe!) three times in between having their head dunked in the rain water.
The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is aptly named, as it's the only original bridge left after WWII bombing raids. The only reason it was spared was because there is a passageway on the bridge - you can see it, the space above the yellow colonnade on the left of the picture - that was originally used to the Medici could get from work to home without mingling among the commoners. Hitler loved the concept to much that he spared the bridge.
We finished our tour at the Palazzo Vecchio, which has served as the city hall from Florence since Medieval times. If you saw the movie Hannibal, this was the balcony from where he hung Detective Pazzi. This was a reference to how in 1478 the Pazzi family tried to eliminate the ruling Medici family from Firenze by attacking the two Medici men outside the Duomo. They were unsuccessful however, and the surviving member of the assassination attempt, Lorenzo the Magnificent, repaid the favor by rounding up all the Pazzi men and hanging them from the crenelations of the palace.
politicians, the Medici didn't move the statue (which was a symbol of Italian independence and freedom) and instead flooded the square with statues. Today, there stands a replica of David, a statue of Hercules (which is so malproportioned musculature that the Italians refer to it as a bag of oranges), a statue of Perseus slaying Medusa, Cosimo Medici on a horse, a fountain with Neptune that has the face of Cosimo, and a whole walkway (loggia) full of just statues. When you're a banker you have a lot of money you see.
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