In my last trip to Italy, I stayed in Florence for one and a half day. Let me share with you my fantastic experience of Florence.
Florence is the cultural capital in the medieval time, and the key player in the Renaissance movement. A small city it seems, but the home of some of the most famous people in history-Michaelanglo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo etc, just to name a few.
Again with narrow streets and allys, our first stop was a demonstration of leather. Italian/Florentine leather is world famous and shops selling leather cloths and accessories are everywhere. Obviously, I didn't leave without getting some goods myself. After that, we had a walking tour with a local guide.
Best known of all Florence's treasures is the Ponte Vecchio. This glorious bridge was the only one spared by the German attacks in the second World War. Today's bridge, built in the middle of the 14th century, was originally filled with a wide variety of shops that included wool merchants and greengrocers. Nowadays, it's full of shops selling gold and silver and souvenirs.
Our next stop is the Duomo and it's the city's skyline symbol. The legendary duomo is famous above for its dome: Brunelleschi's Renaissance masterpiece, completed in 1436, created a double dome shell so that the dome is entirely self-supporting. The frescoes inside the dome depict the Last Judgement.
Afterwords, we had some free time to wonder around. After having our daily portion of gelato(a must-do thing when you are in Italy) and some souvenir shopping, we headed straight to the Santa Croce basilia. It does not look as magnificent as the Duomo from the outside but the paintings within the church are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. The church contains funeral monuments to intellectual, moral and religious figures from Italy's past, including Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Gioacchino Rossini, Galileo and Ugo Foscolo.
Our day ended with a marvelous dinner in the Tuscan Hills.
The next morning, after some breakfast, we went to the Central market-time for some food shopping. Apart from olive oil, pasta and salami, another Italian delicacy worth getting as souvenir is the porcini mushroom. Most people consider it superior in flavor and in texture. It is described as nutty and slightly meaty, with a smooth, creamy texture. Porcini are eaten and enjoyed raw, sautéed with butter, ground into pasta, in risotto, in soups, and in many other dishes. I got some myself and served it with some risotto-it's indeed nice.
Finally, we went to our last stop in Florence-the Accademia Gallery . The Accademia Gallery is perhaps best-known for Michelangelo's David, removed after four centuries from Piazza Signoria, now exhibited in a specially constructed hall. Other works by Michelangelo include some of his "Slave" series and his sculpture of San Matteo. Also featured is an impressive collection of paintings from the 13th to 16th century.
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Advantages: Truly beautiful and the most Romantic place one can ever hope to visit Disadvantages: Expensive in parts - caution is necessary over pickpockets as well sadly
BIGHORSE 02.08.2000 ·
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Review of Florence (Italy)
![Vista Point Florence Italy [DVD] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/96308028.jpg "Vista Point Florence Italy [DVD] [NTSC]")
Jun 29th, 2008
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