Second Ascent Of Brunelleschi's Dome

Daughter Rebecca and I climbed to the top of the Duomo one day. My second time, but ever a thrill. (See http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/10/ascent-of-duomo-cupola.html, and http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/10/ascent-of-duomo-cupola.html). P was too young for this expedition (must be 10), and Jeremy stayed with her. Alas, Vicki's right (natural) knee is acting up, and she did not do the 400+ steps up and down. It was late in the afternoon, the light was brilliant, and the views were spectacular.

Somehow I always find Giotto's tower, a century older, just
as interesting as the duomo

Looking up toward the summit

Closer up

Now inside the building, already up a couple hundred feet, looking at Vasari's
ceiling of the dome, from its base

Looking down

True Vasari design, not a square inch wasted; a Last Judgment

Now inside...between the inner and outer domes; note curvature; appreciating
Brunelleschi's genius

Staff lounge

View from the top

Michaelangelo Belvedere

Panning

Note shadow of dome

Us, there

Rebecca leading the descent

More of the ceiling figures, which are truly much larger than life

The cracks are a little concerning....

More of the awful things that can happen to you in a Last Judgement

Parthian interior shot

Almost alpenglow

Great place, great experience; thanks, Rebecca

Florence Scenes

It's been a busy 10 days since I last posted. After Siena we drove to Florence, staying at our usual Florence Park Scandicci, and met up with La Familia Sabbatica, who had preceded us by a few days. Our paths converged on a number of occasions in Florence, they doing many of the more obligatory sights than we, and also engaging in a variety of tours and classes. Having been to Florence many times before, and recently, too, we just took in a few favorites, always seeing and learning more than the last time, and enjoyed the ambiance. Below are a few assorted pix. I'll later do posts on the Uffizi, Santa Maria Novella, the Ognissanti, the Duomo, and more. And then move on to Pisa, Padua, Venice, Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, Ljubliana, and the Skocjan caves in Slovenia. It's been a busy 10 days.

At a trattoria one evening together; Rebecca taking the pic

With Penelope on the Ponte Vecchio

Actually we spent more time than usual on the Ponte Vecchio; P's birthday was
approaching, and Vicki had decided a small silver charm bracelet commemorating
Italian sights P had visited was in order

All locked up by night

Arno from the bridge

P with good luck friend

More sights by night

The Ognissanti church...en route to our favorite Ristoro Antico di Cambi

Street scene on the left bank

Love the old towers still around

13th century skyscrapers

And an old favorite in the Vespucci section

At the central market one day for lunch

And pondering our next bifstecca fiorentina

Siena Scenes

We walked about the old city for an hour so, stopping by the Piazza del Campo for a bit. Alas, the city was over-run with high school field trips, Italian mostly , but also from as far away as Spain and the Netherlands. As is nearly always the case, everywhere but France, the kids were not paying the least attention to the city, the artifacts, the buildings, the art.... We tired of all this and were soon ready to move on.

Us, there

In a music center of some sort

Sic transit, Gloria: now an investment bank

Restaurant over-reach

Policeman telling tourists it is not permitted to sit on the Piazza; his back turned
to the 25,000 high school students who are lounging in every manner in the
Piazza

Famous scene

Part of the Piazza

You can still ride in and hitch up in Siena

Moving on

Parking has always been an issue for us at Siena, but here we at last found a
place that was secure and also within 600m (they said) of the city's portal and
escalator, right nearly straight up to the Duomo; the site is reputed to be quite
noisy, but we did not find it so; other campers included French, Netherlandish
and Italian

Siena Duomo

Next stop was old friend Siena, where we wanted to see the cathedral again and just walk around the town and the great piazza. There's plenty more in Siena, but we'd done most of it in 2011 or 2013. The cathedral, the floor, the Piccolomini Library, the Pisano sculpture, the chapel of Bernini figures, all make this a most special place. Apologies for duplicates of previous posts/pix: it's that good.

The nave portion of the great, ancient marble floor was uncovered; and I took pix
of nearly everything that would fit in my lens

Ditto the great Piccolomini Library, here one of the eight large
panels depicting the life of favorite son Pius II

Ceiling thereof all by Team Pinturicchio; some of the best

It is a library after all

Another panel

Unusual dorsal view of the Three Graces; the middle Grace
usually gets so little attention

Back to the floor; the Battle of Romano

Massacre of Innocents

Crossing view

Pisano pulpit; one of the greatest

View astern

Interior cupola

Up closer

Up closest

Pisano pulpit Hell

In a side chapel, exquisite Bernini St. Jerome

Ditto Mary Magdalene, showing lots of leg

Artsy-fartsy view

The massive stern window; not a rose, but, most unusually, the Last Supper

Still processing this one

Another of the floor Sybils; don't ask me why the Roman Catholic world was so
intrigued by them in the Renaissance

A minor Michaelangelo lost amidst all the other brilliance

Complete floor plan poster, showing all the marble inlay figures