We were on bus number 4. Our tour guide was a lovely lady with a great Italian accent who was probably a history major for all the things she knew about Florence and Pisa. We drove for about 45 minutes to Florence and walked into the old section of town. The Medici were the powerful people of the time.We stopped and gathered at the art school that everybody famous seems to have gone to on our way to the first Medici palace which was on the way to the cathedral.I t started to rain so I picked up a quick umbrella for 3 euros at a little shop. very colourful and cheap but it worked.
Wikipedia Says (along with our tour guide) " Florence or Firenze is the capital city of Tuscany. It has approximately 382,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1,520,000 in the area. Florence was a centre of Medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called "the Athens of the middle Ages" A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy.
The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 millions of tourists each year, (you can count us in on that count) and was ranked as the world's 89th most visited city in 2012, with 1.8 million visitors. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. (we saw lots of that) The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Piti and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world."We both agree with Forbes on that one.
The Etruscans ( I love the Etruscans) initially formed a small settlement in 200 BC as the settlement of Fiesole (Faesulae in Latin), which was destroyed by Lucius Cornelius Sulia n 80 BC in reprisal for supporting the populares faction in Rome. The present city of Florence was established by Julius Cesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers and was named originally Fluentia, owing to the fact that it was built between two rivers, which was later changed to Florentia("flowering").
It was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the card and the decumanus intersecting at the present Piazza della Republica Situated at the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the river Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. ( The yellowish arch behind our tour guide is a roman arch and is the road to Rome and she told us all these things with a lovelia italiana accenta)
In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent periods of Ostrogothic rule, during which the city was often troubled by warfare between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, which may have caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 people. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century. Florence was conquered by Charlemagnein 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and Fiesole were united in one county. (I have a lot of reading to do as I did not even know there were such things as Ostrogoths)
Santa Maria del Fiore, the big cathedral in florence, was built on the site of an earlier cathedral dedicated to Saint Reparata. The ancient structure, founded in the early 5th century and having undergone many repairs, was crumbling with age, according to the 14th-century Nouva Cornice of Giovanni Villani, and was no longer large enough to serve the growing population of the city. Other major Tuscan cities had undertaken ambitious reconstructions of their cathedrals during the Late Medieval period, such as Pisa and particularly Siena where the enormous proposed extensions were never completed.
The new church was designed by Arnonolfo di Cambio and approved by city council in 1294. Di Cambio was also architect of the church of Santa Croce and the Palazzo Vecchio. He designed three wide naves ending under the octagonal dome, with the middle nave covering the area of Santa Reparata. The first stone was laid on September 9, 1296, by Cardinal Valeriana, the first papal legate ever sent to Florence. The building of this vast project was to last 140 years; Arnolfo's plan for the eastern end, although maintained in concept, was greatly expanded in size.
After Arnolfo died in 1310, work on the cathedral slowed for thirty years. When the relics of Saint Zenobus were discovered in 1330 in Santa Reparata, the project gained a new impetus. In 1331, the Arte della Lana, the guild of wool merchants, took over patronage for the construction of the cathedral and in 1334 appointed Giotto to oversee the work. Assisted by Andrea Pisano, Giotto continued di Cambio's design. His major accomplishment was the building of the campanile. When Giotto died in 1337, Andrea Pisano continued the building until work was halted due to the Black Death in 1348.
In 1349, work resumed on the cathedral under a series of architects, starting with Francseco Talenti, who finished the campanile and enlarged the overall project to include the apse and the side chapels. In 1359, Talenti was succeeded by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini (1360–1369) who divided the center nave in four square bays. By 1375, the old church Santa Reparata was pulled down. The nave was finished by 1380, and by 1418, only the dome remained incomplete. ( I saw a show on Brunelleschi and the dome which was fascinating but our tour did not take us into the cathedral only the outside. only the highlights of florence and pisa)
On 18 August 1418, the Arte della Lana announced an architectural design competition for erecting Neri's dome. The two main competitors were two master goldsmiths, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, the latter of whom was supported by Cosimo de Medici. Ghiberti had been the winner of a competition for a pair of bronze doors for the Baptistery in 1401 and lifelong competition between the two remained sharp. Brunelleschi won and received the commission. (really beautiful doors)
Ghiberti, appointed coadjutator, drew a salary equal to Brunelleschi's and, though neither was awarded the announced prize of 200 florins, was promised equal credit, although he spent most of his time on other projects. When Brunelleschi became ill, or feigned illness, the project was briefly in the hands of Ghiberti. But Ghiberti soon had to admit that the whole project was beyond him. In 1423, Brunelleschi was back in charge and took over sole responsibility.
The decoration of the exterior of the cathedral, begun in the 14th century, was not completed until 1887, when the polychrome marble façade was completed with the design of Emilio De Fabris. The floor of the church was relaid in marble tiles in the 16th century. ( the green marble signified Hope, the white love and the pink faith)
The exterior walls are faced in alternate vertical and horizontal bands of polychrome marble from Carrara (white), Prato (green), Siena (red), Lavenza and a few other places. These marble bands had to repeat the already existing bands on the walls of the earlier adjacent Baptistery the Battistero di San Giovanni and Giotto's Bell Tower. There are two side doors: the Doors of the Canonici (south side) and the Door of the Mandorla (north side) with sculptures by Nanni di Banco, Donatello, and Jacopo della Quercia. The six side windows, notable for their delicate tracery and ornaments, are separated by pilasters. Only the four windows closest to the Transept admit light; the other two are merely ornamental. The clerestory windows are round, a common feature in Italian Gothic.
Florence is gorgeous with art on almost every building. Frescos on the sides or little shrines of the virgin or a saint on the corners. W loved the layering of the buildings and the narrow cobblestone streets. i saw one lady riding a scooter with very high heels just barley skimming the tops of the cobblestones with the tips of her heels.. a lot of ruined shoes learning that trick I think .
I loved the lion that looked like it was ready to pounce on some tourist children. The outside gallery of the Uffuzi hasis very long and has many statues of the great ones. No... not Wayne Gretzky.... Micheal Angelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci and on and on.
In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, considered rich and economically successful. Life was not idyllic for all residents though, among whom there were great disparities in wealth.
Cosimo de'Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the gente nuova (new people).
The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was an accomplished musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Issac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico).
Following Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realized the size of the French Army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.
During this period, the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola had become Prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He blamed the exile of the Medicis as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his extreme teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498.
A second individual of unusually acute insight was Niccolo Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. In other words, Machiavelli was a sort of political thinker, perhaps most renowned for his political handbook, titled The Prince, which is about ruling and the exercise of power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine histories, the history of the city. Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a republic on 16 May 1527. Restored twice with the support of both Emperor and Pope, the Medici in 1537 became hereditary dukes of Florence, and in 1569 Grand Dukes of Tuscany, ruling for two centuries. In all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence.
After the Ufuzzi gallery we stopped for a few photos at the Arno River where I did in fact sprinkle a bit of mom and dad in the park below the stone wall by the river.Not too hot and not too cool and out of the crush of tourists. Lovely spot.
We headed out into the streets of Florence once more on our way to another square where we could go shopping or take in the church that was there where everyone was buried. Our tour guide kept us informed as we went.
The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a secondogeniture of the Hapsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801, themselves deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France. Florence was the prefecture of the French département of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
We headed out into the streets of Florence once more on our way to another square where we could go shopping or take in the church that was there where everyone was buried. Our tour guide kept us informed as we went.
Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II, then Piazza della Republica, the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city.A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today.
The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south-east of the Duomo, The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories 
The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels many of them decorated with frescos by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun on 12 May 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families. It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV. The building's design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The floorplan is an Egyptian or Tau cross (a symbol of St Francis), 115 metres in length with a nave and two aisles separated by lines of octagonal columns. To the south of the church was a convent, some of whose buildings remain.
I loved this church. the walls ,the floors, the ceiling, the crypts and the pupit where they condemned Galileo. We lit some candles here and said a few prayers for the kids and family back home. The Primo Chiostro, the main cloister, houses the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house completed in the 1470s. Fillip Brunelleschi (who had designed and executed the dome of the Duomo) was involved in its design which has remained rigorously simple and unadorned.
In 1560, the choir screen was removed as part of changes arising from the Counter-Reformation and the interior rebuilt by Giorgio Vasari. As a result, there was damage to the church's decoration and most of the altars previously located on the screen were lost.
The bell tower was built in 1842, replacing an earlier one damaged by lightning. The neb-gothic marble marble façade, by Nicolò Matas, dates from 1857-1863.
A Jewish architect Niccolo Matas from Ancona, designed the church's 19th-century neo-Gothic facade, working a prominent Star of David into the composition. Matas had wanted to be buried with his peers but because he was Jewish, he was buried under the porch and not within the walls.
In 1866, the complex became public property, as a part of government suppression of most religious houses, following the wars that gained Italian independence and unity.
The Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce is housed mainly in the refectory, also off the cloister. A monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Brunelleschi also built the inner cloister, completed in 1453.
After the church we went and checked out a few stores and kiosks in the square. I bought a lovely dress for my daughter Shauna. We met our tour group and then found our way through the streets of florence again to our luncheon spot . A place for fine dining. In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops made its addition to the kingdom possible.
After doubling during the 19th century, Florence's population was to triple in the 20th, resulting from growth in tourism, trade, financial services and industry.
Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the Corridoio Vasariano, was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the Germans executed many freedom fighters and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito.
At the end of World War II in Europe, in May 1945, the U.S. Army's Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilized American service men and women in Florence, Italy. The first American University for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics in Florence, Italy. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the University during its four one-month sessions. (There is still an American Base that we saw on the way back to the port)
We had a lovely lunch at the palace of pasta and salad. Margie had the chicken too.)then we were off to Pisa a mere 30 min drive and 20 minute walk to the leaning tower)
Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Strabo referred Pisa's origins to the mythical Nestor, King of Pylos, after the fall of Troy. Virgil, in Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; the settlers from the Alpheus coast have been credited with the founding of the city in the 'Etruscan lands'. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti, or Pelops, the king of the Pisaeans, founded the town thirteen centuries before the start of the common era.
I think that our tour guide did tell us this but we were starting to go a little deaf to her as she did give us a lot of information and we did not actually see any of the old ruins just the town, the railway and the tower and church. After we arrived there were lots of people along the rail and in the grass doing odd poses. we figured out that they were posing for the cameras holding up the tower. so we did too. if we had have been on the ball we would have gotten a shot of all of them as it was actually interesting some of the poses they got themselves into.
The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the Naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast from Genoa (then a small village) to Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurins, Gauls and Carthaginians. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name in Colonia Iulia obsequens.
It is supposed that Pisa was founded on the shore. However, due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 kilometres (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 kilometres (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 kilometres (6 mi) from the coast. However it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city. After Pisa we drove back to the ship quite exhausted and ready for a nice quiet night. we had a towel elephant on our bed to greet us. we went for dinner and then the art gallery to get our stamp for the free art work a the end of the cruise.
Tomorrow the Vatican.
o Flooded parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point.
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