Italy Day Two: Siena and Florence
So, Siena had fought with Florence for many years. According to Rick Steves, Florence won and became the birthplace of the Renaissance, and Siena was pickled in its medieval setting. We absolutely loved our hotel Albergo Bernini in Siena. We got sold on the reasonable price and terrace with beautiful view to enjoy cappuccino or some gelato. Oh, gelato!
While in Siena, we saw our second cathedral in two days. The Siena cathedral was decked out inside and out. The cathedral itself is unfinished. Siena had planned on making the current nave the transept to make theirs the biggest and best cathedral in Italy. They started a new facade, but they got their butts kicked in battle by Florence. Trade went down, the money ran out, and Siena had to make do with the cathedral they already had.
The floor was all inlaid marble some in geometric designs and others with scenes combining biblical and mythological figures.
We were sad to say goodbye to Siena, but Florence was waiting! We took the corse rapide bus straight to Florence. The bus was cool, but the heat outside was killing me! One of the reasons we went to Italy in June was because the weather was supposed to be beautiful, but it was unseasonably warm at first.
On arrival to Florence, we popped by another cathedral. (That's number three in two days in case you were counting.) I thought Florence's cathedral was pretty but a bit too colorful. Our guidebook said it was pajama-y, and after I read that, I could only see green, pink, and white pajamas. We heard a lot about the cathedral's dome. They started building the cathedral thinking they would have the biggest and best dome in the world when completed. Small problem -- they had no idea how to build a dome spanning 42 meters, but they figured someone would come up with something after they finished the rest of the cathedral. As you can see, someone figured it out eventually.
We ended up getting more gelato, our second taste of the day, and taking the bus over to Piazzale Michelangelo. Not only is it a good sunset spot, but it's where TRL Italy films! Luckily the teenyboppers had dispersed, so we could enjoy our paninis and Fanta with a great view of Florence.
While in Siena, we saw our second cathedral in two days. The Siena cathedral was decked out inside and out. The cathedral itself is unfinished. Siena had planned on making the current nave the transept to make theirs the biggest and best cathedral in Italy. They started a new facade, but they got their butts kicked in battle by Florence. Trade went down, the money ran out, and Siena had to make do with the cathedral they already had.
The floor was all inlaid marble some in geometric designs and others with scenes combining biblical and mythological figures.
We were sad to say goodbye to Siena, but Florence was waiting! We took the corse rapide bus straight to Florence. The bus was cool, but the heat outside was killing me! One of the reasons we went to Italy in June was because the weather was supposed to be beautiful, but it was unseasonably warm at first.
On arrival to Florence, we popped by another cathedral. (That's number three in two days in case you were counting.) I thought Florence's cathedral was pretty but a bit too colorful. Our guidebook said it was pajama-y, and after I read that, I could only see green, pink, and white pajamas. We heard a lot about the cathedral's dome. They started building the cathedral thinking they would have the biggest and best dome in the world when completed. Small problem -- they had no idea how to build a dome spanning 42 meters, but they figured someone would come up with something after they finished the rest of the cathedral. As you can see, someone figured it out eventually.
We ended up getting more gelato, our second taste of the day, and taking the bus over to Piazzale Michelangelo. Not only is it a good sunset spot, but it's where TRL Italy films! Luckily the teenyboppers had dispersed, so we could enjoy our paninis and Fanta with a great view of Florence.