Cathedral & Dome - Florence

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http://www.heygo.com 5th February- Florence



We started our virtual tour today in a place I recognised from all those years ago when I used to visit Florence on business.

Although I remember the statue I remember just as much the market where I would often purchase a nice leather handbag or some beautiful gloves which I still gave today.



Il Porcellino, as the Italians call him, means “the little pig”. However the bronze statue sitting at the side of the New Market (Mercato Nuovo) is really a wild boar, or

cinghiale in Italian. He supposedly brings good luck when visitors rub his snout and put a coin in his mouth. If the water washes the coin from the pig’s mouth and it falls into the grate below, you will have good luck and you will be sure to return to Florence. If not, try again. The coins are used to support an orphanage



The first bronze boar fountain was made in 1634 and rubbing the snout for good luck was mentioned as far back as the 1700s. The one we see today is a twentieth century copy installed when the 1634 bronze one was moved into a museum because his nose was wearing thin. It looks like this one will also probably need to be replaced soon because his snout too is already wearing thin.



Back in the 14th century much of Florence's wealth was dependent on the manufacture or trade of cloth, primarily wool. Wool of superior quality was often purchased unfinished and untreated from England and Iberia. Florentine textile workers then cleaned, carded, spun, dyed, and wove the wool into cloth of excellent quality. They sold the finished material in Italy, northern European cities, and even in eastern countries.



Twelve artist guilds that regulated the trades were the basis of Florence's commercial success. Members of the guilds, who were wealthy and held positions in government, were some of Florence's most influential people in society and politics.

The most powerful guilds were those that represented textile workers.



We stopped an gazed into a window showing delicious pastries. Caffé Gilli, established by a Swiss family, when Florence was still under the Medici Family, Gilli is the city's oldest cafe – opened in 1733.



We arrived at Piazza della Repubblica, one of the main squares in Florence and marks the center of the city since Roman times. The column known as the Column of Abundance marks the point where the cardus and decumanus maximi met and where the Roman forum stood. The present column dates to 1431 but the statue on top is a copy of the original.

During medieval times the area around the column was densely populated with markets, tabernacles and churches...it was the center of the city. It was the location of the market and the Jewish Ghetto.



The Baptistery is one of Florence’s most important religious buildings, dedicated to his patron saint, John the Baptist. Raised on the foundations of a Roman building, it is a characteristic example of the Tuscan Romanesque style.

Its form is octagonal, and the exterior is covered in white marble, quarried from the northernmost of Tuscany,and green Prato marble.

The guild of Cloth-Merchants commissioned the magnificent gilded bronze doors.

The south door consists of panels of Scenes from the life of St John the Baptist, tHe north door consists of panels with scenes from the Life of Christ, the Four Evangelists and the Doctors of the Church.



The Duomo - A committee came up with the ambitious plans to build the entire cathedral in 1293, including the domed rooftop even though no technology to complete the dome existed at the time. They started building the cathedral anyway, but had left the part of the dome’s roof exposed for years which is why, from conception to completion, the process took over 140 years.



With over 4 million bricks, weighing over 40,000 tons, almost the size of half a football field across at the base, and standing over 10 stories high, it is the largest masonry structure in the world.



The dome is double skinned, the internal walls of the dome have a fresco representing a scene of the "Final Judgement”.



We could see the difference in the colour of the stonework, showing which areas had been cleaned and which were still under work.



Another great tour, so I’ll be booking another for Florence .

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