Jespers Blog: Florence, Saturday, January 18, 2014

Florence, the home of Dante (father of the Italian language), the city of the Medici (patrons of the arts and literature) and a melting pot of humanist art, Florence occupies a magnificent setting best viewed from the Fiesole or San Miniato hills. The panorama takes in the red cupola of the Duomo, the white and green marble Giotto campanile and the stone bell tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, as well as the Arno river, the medieval Ponte Vecchio and the ochre- and grey-coloured palaces of the city.'

We were staying at Hotel Crocini, situated in an old Palazzo, in walking distance from the center.

At the first morning of our visit, we walked along the Arno to the city center.

Ponto Vecchio

Ponte Santa Trinita

A Ponto Vecchio jeweller outside his shop. The houses on the bridge were initially used as workshops and a diverse array of shopkeepers such as butchers and tanners did business here. In 1593 duke Ferdinand I decided to replace them with goldsmiths, reportedly because the shops produced too much garbage and caused a foul stench – also at this time pollution was a problem.

Placa Signiori with Palazzo Vecchio

Cosimo I at Placa Signiori

The entrance to Palazzo Vecchio

Loggia dei Lanzi

The town hall

The rooms of Palazzo Vecchio was decorated with frescos

Palazzo Vecchio has a collection of old maps, on one of these Lisbeth found the island where we live: Lange Landt (Langeland – The Long Island) – also at that time the centre of the world

We went up the many stairs to the viewing platform of the Campanile of the Palazzo Arno in the foreground Oltrarno (on the other side of Arno) and the San Miniato al Monte church in the background