Mediterranean Cruise 2016 - Pisa and Florence

Pisa and Florence

The ship docked in the port of Livorono. We drove through some of the beautiful Tuscany region. We also saw Darby military community, a US presence near Pisa.

It was raining this morning, that made for smaller crowds at Pisa. In spite of the rain we got some pretty good  photos. Due to time constraints we did not get to go inside the Baptistery, Cathedral or Bell Tower. The Baptistery was quite a mixture of architecture styles. I thought it was beautiful. And the Leaning Tower, what a cool thing to see!

We made the long drive to Florence passing by a few interesting places. We saw this bronze statue of David on a hill outside Florence in the Piazzale Michelangelo. There was a stunning view of the city of Florence from the hill.

Our destination was the Galleria dell'Accademia where the real David stands.

We saw many paintings and statues inside the museum. This is Botticelli's Virgin and Child with two angels and the young John the Baptist.

There is a bust of Michelangelo as an old man done by Daniele da Volterre.

 It was near what is called the Hall of Prisoners. There are several unfinished work by Michelangelo.  The name was given because the sculptures are still imprisoned in the stone.

There were many more paintings and sculptures. Here are some samples in the Bust Room.

 This is a famous sculpture called Rape of the Sabines.

At last we see possibly the most famous statue in the world. This statue is considered one of the most perfect works of art. David was sculpted from a twice discarded piece of marble. The first sculptor to try gave up and the stone was left for 10 years before another tried his hand at it. When he gave up it was left for 40 years before Michelangelo took the challenge. David is almost 17 feet tall and weighs 12,468 lbs. Michelangelo was 26 years old when he started the project in 1501. David was completed in 1504.

This is David concentrating on the upcoming battle with Goliath. His sling is over his shoulder and there are stones in his hand.

Did you know that the pupils of his eyes are heart shaped?

David was originally supposed to stand on a part of the roof of Florence's cathedral, Duomo. At that time they did not know how to raise him up that high. As a result they placed him in front of Pallazo della Signoria. He remained there until 1873 when he was moved to where he is now. As the inaugural event of  the Florens Forum 2010 a fiberglass cast of David was placed on the Duomo.

We went inside the Duomo , the Basilica de Santa Maria. 

We also saw Santa Croce, one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Italy.

As we walked around the Piazza della Signoria we saw the giant turtle by Jan Fabre, the Neptune Fountain, a deluxe pharmacy (Walgreen's could maybe be a little fancier) and had lunch in a street cafe.

We moved on to Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge across the Arno River until 1218. The current bridge was built in 1345 after a flood destroyed the original bridge. Originally all kinds of shops were on the bridge; butchers, fishmongers and tanners. The waste they made polluted the river and caused quite a stench. In 1593 Ferdinand I  decreed that only goldsmiths and jewelers would be allowed to have shops on the bridge in order to improve the well-being and beauty of all.

 Along the Arno River there is an ancient arched walkway. The Vasari Corridor connects the bridge to the Uffizi museum.

In the square outside the museum there are statues of many very famous people. Here is a sample. It includes all but one of the Ninja Turtle namesakes.

There were also a couple of live statues. I captured one.

We saw many more statues in the Loggia dei Lanzi. This was our last look at Florence.

Some interesting things about Pisa and Florence

Pisa is the birthplace of Galileo Galilei
In 1964 the Italian government requested aid to prevent the tower from toppling but they felt it was important to retain the current tilt - so important to tourism
In 1339 Florence became the first city in Europe to have paved streets
Leonardo Da Vinci, Amerigo Vespucci and Florence Nightingale were born in Florence
Pinocchio came from Florence. Le Avventure di Pinocchio was published between 1881 and 1883 by Carlo Lorenzini (pen-name Collodi), a Florentine by birth