When I saw the signs for Florence, I immediately thought of our own Fiera Firenze! But Florence was an experience like no other! As I was with a larger group, there was a lot I missed seeing. (Walking en masse with numerous strollers and little ones slows a group down significantly!) And if I had time for more thorough research, I'd have had more places on my list of "must see"! LOL But as it was I was able to see the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella:
Backside of the basilica:
The basilica facade:
An obelisk in the Piazza della Santa Maria Novella:
I also got to see The Duomo (The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) and it's baptistery (the San Giovanni Baptistery) in the Piazza del Duomo:
The facade of The Duomo:
The San Giovanni Baptistery:
One of the hexagonal panels on Giotto's Campanile (the Duomo's bell tower) depicting the history of mankind (this one is wool-working!):
The interior of the Duomo was breathtaking! There were stained glass windows everywhere, mosaic floors, indescribable paintings and sculptures lining the walls...my pictures don't do it justice! But here is the largest of the 44 stained glass windows (that I could see) in the Duomo, a shot of a section of the floor, and the vigil candles:
"Christ crowning Mary as Queen," designed by Gaddo Gaddi
Only one small section of the floor (each section was different!):
I just loved the beauty in the way the had the vigil candles set up:
The best pic I could get of the inside of the dome, since they had the altar roped off (There was the option of climbing 400 stairs to see it up close [see that railing up there?], but the boys wouldn't have made it, so I didn't get to go up):
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