Alter meraviglie Firenze

Basilica of Santa Croce Opera is our first stop of the day (after we catch a wedding on the way, love love love weddings 💗). Santa Croce has about 4000 works of art ranging from the 13th to the 20th century. I have only included a few below. It is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its construction started on May 12, 1294. It finally opened its doors in 1442.

Many very famous Italians are buried here. They include Leon Batista Alberti, Michelangelo, Vittorio Alfieri, Leonardo Brunei, Gioachino Rossini and Galileo. Hence it is sometimes referred to as “The temple of Italian Glories”.

Tomb of Dante Alighieri, poet, writer and philosopher.

The story of Machiavelli is fascinating. It’s a tale of love, professional success, imprisonment, torture, exile, censorship and an apparently unwavering devotion to Florence. Except for the unwavering devotion to Venice bit, his story doesn’t include rodents of unusual size. As far as I am aware, it also doesn’t include giants. This could be the story of the Princess Bride I know 😃. Today there is a tomb celebrating Machiavelli in the Croce. This was only created 250 years after he was initially interred. He was initially interred without any recognition or celebration in his family tomb. His like many, is a complex story entwined with the ever present Medici’s. It’s well worth hiring the audio tour here just to hear more about the sad story of Machiavelli.

This reads “For so great a name, no equal eulogy: Nicolavs Machiavelli”.

This is a thing – should St Francis have a beard or not ? There were many discussions about this during the Renaissance period.

There is so much to see here in Florence. We can only spend a few short hours at this beautiful church/museum. As we walk through the many treasures in this remarkable city, I am reminded of how great Italians are at parking. We see their skill in every street. This is certainly a life skill here. The streets are incredibly windy and very skinny, shared by cars, buses, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians alike.

A quick lunch in a fab piazza. Then we headed to Giardino di Boboli. It is part of the Uffizi tickets we bought. What a stunning garden. It was originally designed for the Medici family, and it is a delightful way to spend an afternoon.

Nysiad nymph nursing the infant Dionysus in her grotto

Asclepius resuscitating his young son of Theseus,, Hippolytus who had been swallowed by the waves by order of Poseidon.

In front of the statue of Abundance ( some say Peace )

It’s been a busy day and we deserve a drink !

Aren’t we lucky we are in Florence and there are buchette del vino (wine windows). According to the association dedicated to this historical (and gastronomic) gem, there are more than 180 wine windows in Florence. However, only 7 or 8 are easy to find and use.

And we found one… There was a wait of at least half an hour. We were determined to engage 🍸🍸. It was a hoot. I could do a full post on this experience alone. For me this was a real highlight.