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Published: November 11th 2005
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Il Duomo di Firenze
The real name of the church is Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. Florence. The city of light, the city of art. The city where the famous dome arches high above cobble streets, and David stands proudly in his piazza. At least his fake, because they removed the original David to a museum where you have to pay a fortune to see him. Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria della Novela, and tons of Renaissance arts and architectures.
But instead of experiencing it all, our day started in Villa Medici (c. 1671) in Fiesole. We were so antsy about having done with school work for the day and exploring Florence that was within our sights. From the Villa, we could see the terra cotta color Duomo in a distance, and like Jason described it, we felt like cats with a little fish waving in front of us. "Duomo ... duomo ... duomo ...".
I have to admit, Villa Medici is a little bit cool for my own reason. It is a private resident, but we had the permission to walk around the villa ground, which overlooks Florence. There were many lemon trees on big pots on the ground, but our attention was to a blue Ferrari parked next door; like fat kids on a
Firenze
Florence in the distance, with the Duomo in the center of it. candy store, we just stared at it in delight. This is what we call Italy. Under the Tuscan sun, living in a Renaissance villa overlooking Florence, and driving around with a Ferrari. Pimp!
We continued on to Villa Gambareira, where our other professor Patricia joined us from Rome to lecture about Italian villas. The emphasis is on the word "lecture". By the end of the day around 3.30 pm, everybody lost interests in any school work and any damn villas for that matter. We all wanted to go to Florence before everything closed down for the day, because this was our only opportunity to experience Florence, since we will be moving up north to Veneto region tomorrow.
Finally we were dismissed and back in our hotel in Fiesole. Almost spontaneously, everybody dispersed to catch busses that would bring us to the city core. We tried to enjoy and see Florence as much as we could before it got too dark, starting with the Duomo complex to check out the ornate architecture of the bell tower, cathedral and the baptistery, but especially the dome designed by Brunelleschi back in 1400s. Of course there were tourists everywhere, so we had
to fight our way around to see the first perspective drawings carved at the baptistery entrance door. We also managed to check out the Piazza Signoria where the fake replica David, complete with his famous penis, is standing. BTW don't get me wrong, his penis is not standing. If you’re big into seeing statues of naked men, well, this piazza is for you. One thing for sure, this city wouldn’t happen anywhere in the States, we would cover up some parts of the statue for our children not too see. But this is what people call art; no wonder everybody loves Italy when they are talking about arts. Who says Italy is conservative country?
Il Pontevecchio (c.1565) was somewhat a disappointment for me, as I have had a huge expectation of it. Most stores on and along the bridge were closed for the day, and not many people were around. We continued walking along the Arno River, and Ponte Vecchio was more impressive from a distance, just like postcards and pictures we had seen all the time.
When we reached Santa Maria della Novela (c. 1360) across the river from the Duomo, it was almost dark, but we
Il Pontevecchio
Ponte Vecchio (c. 1565) over Arno River. still were able to see the perfect squares and forms arrangement of the church façade. This church was the first grand basilica in Florence. In front of the church, across a dirty piazza was the Ospedale degli Innocenti (c.1419) loggia, the first hospital institution in continental Europe, with the arches that make it so famous. Just like Rome, everything in Florence is old and significant; one would never realize it until he learns the art history.
Unfortunately, it was time for us to go back to our hostel in Fiesole, and we are ready to see more of Italy for the next three days.
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