A Day in Florence

After spending a few days exploring Rome and the Vatican, we hopped on a high speed train for a day trip to Florence, the capital of Tuscany.

View of Florence from the campanile.

First - a day in Florence isn't enough. That being said, if you're limited on time, it's definitely worth the trip and it's very easy to take the train between cities. The high speed train was really nice. We paid a little extra (about $10 per person) for business class, which has nicer seats, more space, power plugs, and drink/snack service. We had some nice views of the Lazian and Tuscan countryside, but didn't have long to appreciate them as we sped along at 250 kilometers per hour, reaching Florence in just 90 minutes.

One of the high speed trains in Roma Termini.

Everyone looks excited! Actually it was pretty early and people were still jetlagged.

High speed countryside view.

David on the train.

The train station in Florence is right next to the historic center, which is very convenient. There's no need to take a taxi or transit; we walked everywhere. After checking David's parents in to their hotel (since they were staying the night while the rest of us were just on a day trip), we went straight to Il Duomo, Florence's cathedral. It's a masterpiece of architecture, and a widely recognizable symbol of the city. Construction began in 1296, but it wasn't until almost a hundred and fifty years later that they figured out how to build the dome. It was completed in 1436, claiming the record for the world's largest dome. Previously held by the Pantheon in Rome for 1300 years, the record wouldn't be broken again until 1881. Random aside - the Georgia Dome in Atlanta held this record for about a decade after its construction in 1992. The front of the cathedral is covered in green and pink marble, so it looks pretty different than the other churches we saw in Italy. The interior is actually pretty plain, although the inside of the dome is painted with frescoes from the 1550s.

The dome dominates Florence, and is visible throughout much of the historic center.

The view from David's parent's hotel.

It's an imposing and beautiful building.

The front façade of the cathedral.

The baptistery, and the replica doors.

Close-up of a door panel.

The inside of the dome is so high, it's hard to see the frescoes from the ground.

This is when we discovered that just about everything in Florence needs to be booked ahead of time. The tickets to the main museums were all sold out for the day, and tickets to climb the dome were sold out for the next three days. We even checked a "last minute ticket" place that was recommended by David's parent's hotel. We had almost resigned ourselves to skipping these sights, when we found "tour companies" that sold day-of tours... at only four times the cost of normal tickets. It's legal because it's not scalping, it's selling a guided organized tour. It still felt like a bit of a scam, but it was the only way to get in, so four of us signed up for a dome tour. Keep in mind that prices can be negotiated on some of these tours. With only a day in Florence, none of us had all the time to see everything we wanted, and some people weren't too keen on climbing over 400 steps, so we split up. Paul's Mom and sister took an open top bus tour while we climbed the dome.

The last minute dome tour ended up being a great deal. We had a private guide, Eliza, for just four of us. She gave us some history of the cathedral and the baptistery, showing us the replica bronze doors. The original doors, made by Lorenzo Ghiberti over the course of twenty years in the early 1400s, are safe in a nearby museum. From there we began the long climb up the dome - a total of 463 steps. There were good views of the frescoes on the interior of the dome, and then the final steep climb to the top. Our guide made a joke about being lazy, and that the only exercise she gets is while working as a guide, saying "my friends say I have to be paid to do sport." She also noted that regional Italian dialects are quite different, and it's hard for her to understand people from Sicily. We hadn't realized there were such large regional linguistic differences. She also said people in the South tend to be nicer, and the North is stereotyped as being less friendly. It's just one person's opinion, but we enjoyed getting her take on Italians while also learning about the Cathedral.

When we reached the top, the view was amazing. All of the buildings in Florence have red tile roofs and there are no skyscrapers, so it's a sea of historic buildings stretching to the forests and mountains. Climbing the dome should be on your "must do" list in Florence.

Looking down into the scantily clad cathedral...a contrast to the style of church's in Rome.

Close up view of the frescoes on the dome. The top part was painted by an artist who died; the bottom part was completed by another artist.

You can clearly see the difference between the two painters' style...quality.

Not a great fresco...but the painter had imagination! This reminds us of a painting we saw in Fukuoka, Japan! 

View of another church through a porthole. Almost at the top!

The bricks of the dome were laid in a "herringbone" style, to be self-supporting.

It's actually a double dome. Here we're climbing between the inner and outer domes.

The last part goes straight up the side of the inner dome.

The view from the top is incredible.

Looking over at the people on the campanile - we'd be here later in the day.

David's parents at the top.

Looking down the dome to the church and campanile.

Us at the top.

Climbing back down the stairs.

Our next stop was a late lunch at mercato centrale. It's an indoor market with food stalls and a few shops. The market is a little bit gritty and reminded us of a bigger version of the Sweet Auburn curb market in Atlanta. Since it was already mid-afternoon, a lot of the places were starting to close up, but we found a place (called "pork") and had some porchetta and a delicious lasagna made with béchamel. Chris and David E found a place with a good meat and cheese tray. We wandered around the adjacent streets for a bit, which were full of stalls selling leather goods. One great thing about Florence is that most of the center of the city is pedestrian only, so there were a lot of great public spaces filled with artists and tourist stalls. It's clean and pleasant to walk around.

Another view of il duomo down the streets of Florence.

After we pointed David's parents to their hotel, we went with Christina and David E to the Galleria dell'Accademia, a small  museum that holds Michelangelo's David. Again, pre-booked tickets were sold out. There was a long standby line that stretched the length of the block, but we again booked a tour with some guys on the street and were taken directly inside. This time we were in a small group of about 10. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but not as spunky as some of our other guides. There's not much to the museum - some paintings, and a few statues, but the star of the show is clearly Michelangelo's famous David. This statue actually sat outside for over 300 years before being moved inside. It's an amazing sculpture, with incredible detailing. Our guide showed us some close-up pictures in a book that helped us to understand the importance of the sculpture.

Spiderweb on a statue in the museum.

David is surprisingly tall, and of course surrounded by crowds.

Classic view!

The moment before David hurled a rock at Goliath, captured in marble.

Someone drawing David.

Next the two of us walked back to the cathedral. We planned on going in the Museo del Duomo, which was included in our dome ticket, but it had closed early. Instead we climbed to the top of the belltower (campanile) for sunset views of the city. The campanile was actually completed in 1359, a few generations before the dome was completed.

Heading toward the campanile.

Part way up the campanile.

Sunset view of the dome.

Hey, we were there earlier!

Porthole view of il duomo and Florence.

David in the belltower.

The campanile has good vantage points of the detail on the cathedral.

The cathedral at sunset.

At this point we only had a few hours left in Florence. We met back up with David's parents and made our way to the Ponte Vecchio, a medieval stone bridge lined with shops spanning the Arno River. We walked through Piazza della Repubblica on the way, stopping for gelato popsicles. This part of Florence, just south of the cathedral, was full of high-end shops. It was very clean and organized and with very little vehicular traffic - a stark contrast from Rome and especially Naples. It's kind of a Disneyfied version of Italy, but full of real history and incredible art. The twilight views from the ponte vecchio were lovely.

The lively Piazza della Rupublica.

High-end shops in historic buildings.

A gelato popsicle!

Evening on the River Arno.

Ponte Vecchio

Dusk on the river, seen from Ponte Vecchio.

After our stroll, we parted with David's parents and had dinner on the way to the train station. It was a good pizza place, and of course we had an aperol spritz or two as well. We met up with Betsy, Chad, and Paul's Mom and waited for the train, which was delayed by about 20 minutes. What a whirlwind day in Florence!

Pizza for dinner...again.

They brought us some bubbly. Fancy! Business class all the way!

The trains are really fast. We made it up to 300 km/h at one point.

Florence is a cute smaller city with a lot of touristy areas, and most of the big attractions are clustered right in the center. It's definitely much cleaner than Rome and Naples, but also has less of a lived-in feeling and could seem less authentic or local. The architecture is amazing, especially the stunning Il Duomo, and the renaissance art is also incredible. The heart of Tuscany is a place you should definitely try to visit while you're in Italy.

Rome Part Three - Classical Rome

The center of ancient Rome, home to famous sites such as the Colosseum and forum, holds a special place in our imagination. David took four years of Latin in high school, and Paul took Latin and a Roman art and architecture course in college. Going in person is an amazing experience. So much of modern western culture, law and politics flow back to this place. That said, most of it is not in what you would call a state-of-good-repair. Time, thieves, and more than one greedy Pope have laid waste to many of these ancient monuments. Luckily, there is still plenty to see and do and what remains provides a base for your imagination to envision what this great city must have been like 2,000 years ago. Just be prepared to share it with a few thousand other tourists.

To start the morning, we went straight to the Colosseum with David E and Christina right as it opened. Purchasing tickets ahead of time, and going first thing, is almost a must. We arrived and entered the site with only a very short wait. Once inside, there are a few small exhibits explaining the site over time and diagrams of what it would have looked like when the structure was completed in 70 CE. There's a lot of information on the many uses of the Colosseum over the years: from a combat stage for gladiators during the Roman Empire to pasture land and housing during the middle ages when Rome was but a shadow of its former self. Despite popular belief, there is no evidence that Christians were fed to lions here - that's just another example of the church's propaganda machine obsession with martyrdom.

The structure itself is impressive in scale and design. At full capacity the Colosseum held around 50,000 people. Stadiums across the world still replicate the basic design and system of portholes for access/egress. The building was originally clad in marble and statues, and from our pictures below you can see that parts of the walls have fallen or been removed over time. Marble from the Colosseum can be found throughout Rome and elsewhere in Europe, in churches and other monuments. It was a lot easier to just steal the marble from ancient Roman buildings than to quarry and cut it yourself.

The Colosseum from the Palatine Hill.

The Colosseum's facade.

Morning sun rising over the edge of the Colosseum.

The under-structure of the Colosseum where slaves and animals were held for combat.

The empress disapproves....

The remains of the Temple of Venus and Roma as viewed from the Colosseum, with the belltower of the church of Santa Francesca Romana in the background.

Interior of the Colosseum.

The lighting in the morning was great.

The area near the Colosseum is super busy by late morning.

Mandatory Colosseum jumping shot.

After visiting the Colosseum, we made our way down the Via Sacria past the Arch of Constantine towards the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. The Palatine Hill is one of the seven historic hills of Rome. It was home to a variety of temples and the homes of high-ranking Romans. Today there's hardly anything left, unfortunately, but excavations are ongoing and the hill provides good viewpoints over the former site of the Circus Maximus (completely gone now) as well as the Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill.

The Forum sits in the valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. It was the center point of Roman political and social life through much of the Republic and part of the Empire periods. The Forum had the highest concentration of government and religious buildings. It was the site of triumphal processions, criminal trials and religious ceremonies (among other things). Today, the Forum is almost completely in ruins, but - like the Colosseum - enough remains for your imagination to picture the site as Julius Caesar would have seen it before his assassination in 44 BCE.

The Arch of Constantine leading towards the Roman Forum.

Arch of Titus leading into the Forum.

Depiction of a menorah on Titus's Arch, from the sacking of Jerusalem.

The Palatine Hill was mostly empty. A nice break from the crowds!

There are still remains of villas on the hill.

View of the Roman Forum from atop the Palatine Hill.

David and the Roman Forum.

An original bronze door on the Temple of Romulus, now the basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano.

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, also converted into a church.

After walking around the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum for a few hours, it was time for lunch. Unfortunately, all the food around this area of town is pretty touristsy and crappy. We picked a random restaurant (Osteria Maracuja) that had ok reviews on Yelp. It was mediocre, but it was nice to sit and have an aperol spritz - the official drink of the vacation.

After lunch we walked to the Capitoline Museum. This museum is located on its namesake hill adjacent to Piazza Campidoglio and features antiquities and some medieval artifacts and art. The museum also has great views over the Roman Forum from the Tabularium which connects the two separate buildings of the museum. It houses some scale replicas that show how vast the ancient temples in the forum were 2,000 years ago (especially the Temple of Jupiter). It's a can't miss museum when visiting Rome, along with the Vatican Museums, Villa Borghese, and the Palazzo Altemps.

Aperol Spritz...the official drink of our Italian vacation.

Piazza del Campidoglio.

A view from the piazza looking at the Alter of the Fatherland.

Interior hallway of the Capitoline Museum.

The famous Capitoline Wolf in bronze - date unknown.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback in bronze from 175 CE.

Creepy man-baby.

View over part of the Forum from the Tabularium.

David E. being David E. at the Capitoline Museum

The Dying Gaul - An ancient Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic statue.

Lots of statues in the Capitoline Museum.

On the way back to the apartment, we made a quick unplanned stop at the chiesa di Santa Maria in campitelli (you stumble across a lot of impressive churches in Rome), and had some gelato and sticchi (popsicles).

Looking back at the piazza and museum.

Chiesa di Santa Maria in Campitelli, a 16th centure Baroque church.

The interior was impressive.

A view down the streets of Rome.

After resting at the AirBnB for a bit, David took his parents up the Janiculum Hill at sunset to enjoy the view. From there they went to Castel San Angelo - a defensive fortress built over centuries by the Popes around Hadrian's Mausoleum. The site has great views of Rome and the Vatican. Afterwards they walked to nearby Castrani (the fancy grocery store) to get more wine and candy almonds, a favorite of David's Mom.

Castel San Angelo

One of Bernini's Angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo.

The evening lighting in Rome is beautiful!

Views from the top of the Castle are pretty great.

Sunset behind St. Peter's.

Meanwhile Paul went with his mother to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran), Rome's official cathedral. It's a huge and impressive Basilica, consecrated in 324 CE, with the main building completed in 1735 in a Baroque/neoclassical style. There was a mass happening, with about 30 priests taking part and singing. We also saw the Obelisco Lateranense beside the church - the largest standing Egyptian obelisk on earth. It was constructed in the 15th century BCE, and a few thousand years later was moved to Rome in 357 CE and placed in the Circus Maximus. It was restored and re-erected in it's current location in 1588, where it now towers 150 feet above the plaza.

We also tried to enter the attached baptistery (San Giovanni in fonte), but couldn't find a way in. It might have been closed for the day, as evening was now approaching. We took a tram/streetcar back to the apartment.

The obelisk and side facade of the basilica.

The main facade is impressive.

The soaring and highly decorated interior.

A whole bunch of priests doing their thing.

Later that evening we went to dinner with Paul's Mom, Betsy and Chad at restaurant just a block away from our apartment, Taverna Trilussa. This was probably one of the fancier restaurants we ate at while in Rome and came recommended by Paola (the chef in our cooking class). Paola recommended the cacio e pepe here, which had already become one of David's favorite pasta dishes in Italy by his 3rd day in Italy. Paul loved the caprese salad and there was great cheese and wine from Lazio.

Caprese done right at Taverna Trilussa.

Cacio e Pepe!

That wraps up our (exhausting) day touring classical Rome, museums, and churches. Up next - a day trip to Florence!