Tuscany.. the City of Florence..the next instalment!

When I think of Florence
I think of David.



There he is..David, standing on the hill overlooking this city.
Standing with his slingshot
looking for a Florentine Goliath.

 He stands too, in a city square..
and   in a city gallery 
the original Michelangelo's
David
waits to astonish the visitor.

Florence was originally a Roman city built by Sulla for his pensioned soldiers.
(I came to know Sulla in Colleen McCullough's Rome books I read before the trip)
This is an ancient place..
but today we think of it as the city where the
Renaissance was born.

There is evidence of this in the buildings and the piazzas

where renaissance statues and fountains abound.

In the Piazza del Duomo the beautiful cathedral

of white, green and pink marble is stunning..

with the ornate windows 

carvings and mosaics

and the fabulous golden door.

The Town Hall with its tall crenelated tower
was once the Palazzo Vecchio.

In  the Piazza Della Signoria,
outside the Town Hall,
we come across the fountain of Neptune.

His face is the face of Cosimo Medici..so it is all about power and supremacy really.

Here too is Perseus with the head of the slain monster, the Gorgon Medusa,
from Greek legend,

and the stunning sculpture of the Rape of the Sabine Women
from the legendary history of Rome.
It is said the men of early Rome in need of wives
abducted the women of the neighbouring Sabines.
These statues are copies of the originals now housed in museums and galleries.

After all those naked statues, it was nice to see Pinocchio
was wearing the clothes made for him by Geppetto.
There are Pinocchios everywhere in the markets and stores of Florence.
This city is his home.
The home of his creator, Carlo Collodi.

Beautiful Florence.. Ferenzia

with the Arno River running through.
We loved you....
and your gelato was fabulous too!