Florence, Italy~

Our second walking tour in Florence was with Paul, from The Original Walking Tours company again! We walked to the Piazza del Signoris once again ... Now remember, Michelangelos The David, sits in front of the Plazza del Vecchio...but it is only a copy. We had to travel to the Galleria dell Accademia to see the real thing. Can you take pictures there? NO, of course not. Here is a picture of a picture of The David. It was magnificent! We were told the story of how Michelangelo found the block of stone left behind a church, discarded because it was poor quality, and he asked permission to use it. Once he began sculpting, he found it to be somewhat damaged but he felt he could work around it. That is just what he did!! He made David to be a warrior, with large hands, a man who would kill with those hands. When you stand and look at The David, you will see that his hands are so out of proportion. They seem too big for the rest of his body. His head also looks larger. Standing on the right side of David, his left hand looks so large, yet when you move to the other side, it seems much more in proportion to his body.

Later I will show you where The David was originally going to put... way up high~ which is why Michelangelo had to make the hands so large. You needed to see them from afar..

More on that later...

The Statue of Fiore overlooks the square.
Audrey and Bonnie listening intently to Paul... Frankie, not so much!! She always finds my camera!
We walked through Florence and took in some local sites. We went to a little square that held a church and this building...
It is called the Plazza Del Limbo because when it was built, they discovered a baby cemetery beneath it. Notice the sign under the name plaque, it is showing how high water was on this building when Florence flooded in 1966. Remember that at all? The city officials choose not warn the people of Florence, thinking that it might cause a riot, instead many people lost valuables, including the Uffizi museum.

We walked and walked ...

We took pictures from the Ponte Vecchio!
And had our own pictures taken!

We passed such cute little cafes on the streets.

Here is the Pig... Put a coin on his tongue and you let it roll off. If it drops in one slot you will be back again next year...if not, you must try again!! Sounds like a scam for money to me!!!

See The David? Right in front of the Plazzo del Vecchio.
This is another copy of a statue, in front of the Loggia dei Lanzi.

Here is where The David was meant to be...
The Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. It is breathtaking! You can climb to the top... if you dare!
Giotto designed this cathedral and everyone was amazed at his idea of a DOME.
The stone work is so beautiful. Pale pink and greens adorn the building, that just never seems to end!



We were in awe... You can almost see the height of this building in this photo! I could not manage to capture it!

Now, where was The David meant to be...
See the corner stone here on the level before the dome? David was meant to be placed up there. Lucky for us, he was much to heavy to hoist up there. No wonder Michelangelo had to make his hands seem so large. When we saw The David, there were 6 more projects by Michelangelo there. They were unfinished... men seeming to be rising out of stone. This was incredible to see!

When Michelangelo was called to paint the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel, he was disappointed, for sculpting was his true passion. He feared that no one would ever remember him for a ceiling painting... He was wrong. He is remembered. For Both.