Friday, July 27, 2012

Travelogue: Florence






This is the last of the pictures of my May trip.  Florence is a truly remarkable city: a love letter to the visual arts. Every place you turn you see something beautiful.





I saw this very touching painting of women taking Jesus down from the cross in a small church away from the city center.  

 We stayed at a hotel very close to the Pitti Palace, home to several museums.  We stayed there until our feet were screaming for mercy, taking in as much as we could.




From the Pitti, you access the Boboli Gardens, an extensive formal garden with fountains, a porcelain museum,  and a large collection of statuary.


 It was one of our favorite places.


We did go inside the Duomo, but to see all the artifacts that have been removed from the interior over the years, you must go across the street to the Museum of the Opera del Duomo, which has a wonderful collection of art.


This recumbent Madonna was of particular interest to me.  A number of artists portrayed her lying down after giving birth, something I had not seen before.

The Santa Maria Novella church near the train station has beautiful statuary and frescoes, is not nearly as crowded as the Duomo, and is not to be missed.  We saw so much in the days we were in Florence and I'm anxious to go back and see more.

Plus they have yarn!  I'll be doing a post on the great yarn store I visited, and the purchases I crammed into my suitcase brought back home.

7 comments:

Kay said...

I love your pictures, and also the ones of Nice. I've been to these places, but your pictures are so much better!

Rian said...

Beautiful, beautiful Firenze. I love that city. Thanks for the memory.

Magpie Sue said...

{sigh} I think I'll have to add Florence to my wish list!

Debra Dixon said...

If arches don't show up in some future quilts, I will be very surprised!

Lovely photos. Looks like a wonderful place.

My Crafts said...

I has a envy! Classic architecture is a obsession for me.
I very glad to hear you enjoy yourself.
Cheers!

Judy S. said...

My next post is going to be about our trip to Spokane, but I think yours is much more interesting! Nice photos! Can't wait to hear about the yarnshop! Isn't it great how much yarn you can cram in?

Connie Eyberg Originals said...

Your photos make me want to go there. You took some amazing photos! Thanks for sharing them.

Economy Block and Large-Scale Fabrics

Recenlty I decided to take out and use the stash of Asian-themed fabrics I'd set aside.  Many of them are large scale, so I wanted to fe...