The Etruscans ruled this land for many centuries until the conquest by the Romans who founded the a "Muncipium" known as Florentia. By XI th century, Florence, or Firenze as it also called, achieved a remarkable degree of economic welfare. It was during this period that the Baptistry, the first architectural masterpiece of the town was built. During the following centuries, Florence became the cradle of renaissance, and the center of European civilization. Nowadays Florence is a wonderful city spreading along the banks of the river Arno surrounded by fertile hills covered with orchards, vine and olive-groves.
The Giottos' Bell-Tower is a splendid example of Gothic Florentine Architecture for it elegance, refined marble panelling and plastic decoration. The Bell-Tower work was started in 1334 by Giotto and was completed after his death by Andrea Pisano in 1359. The picture of the tower shown below was taken in 1993 and it was real fun top climb all the way up to have a beautiful view of the surroundings including the adjacent Duomo.
The Duomo, the central attraction in Frienze, was built during the period 1296-1461; the work being initiated by Arnolfo di Cambio, carried on Francesco Talenti and completed by Brunelleschi, who built the dome with the lantern and ball at the top. The problem of this building was infact the dome, which was built in a daring and anti-traditional way by Brunelleschi who raised this dome without any centring, for the first time.
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On the inside of the facade, there is the stained glass window of Ghiberti, Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno. In the center of the octagon there is the choir and high altar with a crucifix by Benedetto da Maiano.
Piazza della Signoria has been the greatest square in Florence for many centuries owing to its monuments and works of art. This square is dominated by the imposing Palazzo Vecchio , the Loggia della Signoria, and the fountain "Fonte di Piazza" by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1563-1575), with the gigantic statue of Neptun. Adjacent to this is the Uffizi Gallery that houses one of the world's famous art galleries (medici and Lorraine collection). After every second column of the portico there is a pilaster with a niche containing a statue of outstanding Tuscan personalities, from Dante to Petrarca, from Leonardo to Michelangelo. from Cosimo to Lorenzo if Magnifico. The gallery and the adjoining Palazzo Vecchio is seen in the picture below.
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A few meters away is the Arno river and the bridge across it, Ponte Vecchio, which has withstood the world wars. The important aspect of this bridge is that one can find shops selling various kinds of gold jewelry and diamonds on either side of this narrow bridge, through which vehicles are not allowed at all. This is a great meeting place for youngsters and elders and the picture below shows the architectural beauty of the bridge and the shops over it.
One can have a very good view of the entire city from the Piazza Michelangelo on the other side of the river Arno. The picture below taken from the hilltop there shows the Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo.
The life in Florence is great if you got friends to spend time. I had the opportunity to have some great friends in my research collaborator at the Institute of Quantum Electronics, Dr Peiro Mazzinghi and his family (that includes Giovanna Cechi, his wife and his daughters Anna and Clara). We had been to his great farm house for a party and he is seen bringing wood from his farm for making pizzas for us.
Carla Pardini was the secretary at the IEQ at that time (she now works at the Area delle Richerca of the CNR) and she had been to our apartment for a party and this picture was taken then. Farncesco her husband and kids Irene and Michale are also seen with Usha.
If you are in Florence, a must see place for any tourist is Pisa, which is famous for that Leaning Tower. The construction of the tower started in 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower reached its third storey, it started sinking into the ground. It remained like that for 90 years and was completed b Giovanni, Tommaso in the middle of the 14th century. The tower is 55.586 mts high, inside diamter is 7.368 mts and outer diameter is 15.484 mts and inclination 4.551 mts and has 8 storeys. On top of this tower Galileo Galilei carried out his famous experiments regarding the effects of gravity. This picture shows a part of the tower with the adjoining Cathedral and the Baptistry.
When you have seen Pisa how can one ignore mentioning about Venice - the world famous port on the Adriatic coast.. Just Impossible.. To do justice it needs a separate section on its own.. but for the time being here is one picture of the interior of the St Marks cathedral.
Time permitting I will certainly include a lot more information on these places.. You may also see my page on Italian connection for a few more snaps of Venice and Michelangelo's masterpiece - "The David."