Upon our arrival in Florence we dragged our rolling suitcases across the cobblestones for about 20 minutes to our hotel. Even more beautiful than the digs we had in Rome, the Hotel 'de Medici was super fancy for $200/night.
Deb and I strolled down to the main piazza where the Duomo was. The Duomo is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence. Construction of the Cathedral begun in 1296 and was completed in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's "Campanile" AKA "bell tower". The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. The architect, Brunelleschi, went to Rome to study the Pantheon to check out how to build a huge dome made of concrete and brick. If you are taking notes, we went there with Ann and Skip on Day 1. :-)
We should point out something that, perhaps, you already know. Between the time that the Duomo was first started and the time it was completed a significant event occurred in the history of Man. It was called the Renaissance! and the origination point of the Renaissance was none other than Florence! Drum roll!!
Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci, Brunelleschi, Bernini (remember him from the Borghese Gallery?), Galileo, all rose to positions of influence kbecause of financial backers like the Medici's of Florence and the Borghese's of Rome. Of course let's not forget the influence of the Church's Popes who came from the families of the Borghese's and Medici's. How convenient!!
Debbie in front of the Duomo
Bill took this picture from the bell tower after climbing 414 steps to a height of 276 feet.
I was very proud of this photo that shows the tourists who had climbed to the top of the Duomo. We did that four years ago when we were on our Rick Steves tour. I am pictured at the top of the campanile which appears in the video game Assassin's Creed II as part of the landscape of Florence. In this video game it is possible for the player character to scale the building by jumping from the back of the Duomo (catching a window ledge), and performing a Leap of Faith off a beam jutting out from the ledge of the campanile. Executing this move gives the player a PlayStation 3 trophy. I did not make "the leap of faith". However, I was proud of my ability to climb the 414 steps straight up while maintaining my heart rate at less than 170.
Following our jaunt down to the Duomo we stopped at a wine bar for dinner and drinks before turning in for the evening.
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