2018 Italy Vacation - Day 3: Duomo, Baptistry, Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo

Day 3 - continued...

After the our tour of the Uffizi Gallery and the Galileo Museum, we continued north toward the Duomo.  Italy was World Cup crazy and many of the bars and cafe's were trying to draw patrons by advertising the schedule of the games.  It was not uncommon, day and night, to see masses of people stopped to gawk at big screen TVs perched at the entrance of cafes.  In the evenings, national T-shirts, colors, and face paint were in full effect.  

We had stuff to do so we just got a gelato and powered through.  Buon appetito!

Arriving at the Duomo, it's really too much to comprehend.  So big!  Florence's Gothic cathedral, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, has the third longest naive in Christendom (built in 1420  BTW).  It's covered with pink, green, and white Tuscan marble.  So big!  There's no way to fit its enormity into a single picture!

And did I mention the bronze doors?  Good lord!  The intricacy in design, the carvings in the stone and casting of the metal doors.  Simply amazing.

 

Climbing the Duomo dome is very popular so you have to reserve tickets (15 euros) at a specified time so that the number  of people trying to climb doesn't exceed the viewing area at the top of the dome and also so that the majority of people are all heading up and down the narrow steps at the same time.  There's not a lot of room for two-way travel.  We had tickets to climb the Dome at 2:30. 

There was a little bit of a fiasco at the start.  Even though you have a reserved ticket (we purchased ours in advance), you have to wait in line just prior to your appointed time.  When we got to the front of the line, we found out we had a voucher, not a ticket and that we had to go to the Firenze office to exchange the voucher we printed out at home for a real ticket.  Once we did that, we were allowed to return to the head of the line, but again were rebuffed because we didn't have one of the email messages that stated the entrance time.  Luckily, we were able to pull up all the email confirmation documents on our phones, and were able to show the entrance guards the paperwork they were looking for and we were able to proceed. 

Once inside, you make a quick left turn, and immediately start climbing the 463 steps to the top.  It starts out narrow and steep...

... and gets narrower and steeper!

About half way up, you pop out on a narrow catwalk, high above the alter, that circles the dome and you get your first close-up view of the Giorgio Vasari painting of the Last Judgement s on the inside of the dome.  Heavenly!

The feats of engineering and artistic talent that went into crafting this wonder is mind boggling!  Unfortunately, with the bustle of the dome climbers, and the narrow confines of the catwalk, from this perch, there's not much time to leisurely take in dome in all its wonder.  

Continuing on, you finally emerge at the top of the dome where a small terrace allows for some amazing views of the Florence and the countryside beyond.

 The cathedral's Campanile, aka Giotto's Tower, in the bottom left...

The hills of Fiesole in the background (below)...

Descending the steps was easy and after the rush of climbing the dome, it was time to take our time enjoying the inside of the Duomo.  The alter is octagonal, like the Baptistery, and is simple (compared to some others), but magnificent.

 Looking up from the alter, the Brunelleschi dome and Vasari artwork take on a commanding presence.

 Looking towards the back of the nave, it's huge - 500 feet long and 300 feet wide!  Above the main entrance is a clock painted by Paolo Ucello in 1443 that still works.

 It was getting late, but we took a quick spin of the crypt, with its misc historical fragments of an earlier church, Santa Reparta, that was on this spot since the fall of Rome in A.D. 500.  I like this marble slab with the wild boar on it.  Cinghiale!  

The bookstore was closed, so we emerged from the church, retrieved my pocket knife that was forfeited at the door to security, at went in search of a respite.  We stopped at a cafe and Kathi got an aperol spritz before returning to our apartment to regroup.

We had read, and been advised by our world traveling friends, that we should not miss the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo.  So we grabbed our guidebook and headed out for the 20 minute walk across the Arno that would take us to our destination. 

We crossed the Ponte Alle Grazie and passed the Torre San Niccolo before starting our climb up the steps, through the lovely Parco Comunali di Campeggio and reaching the the terrace of the Piazzale Michelangelo.
 

 There were all kinds of vendors selling food and drinks and souvenirs to service the hoards of sunset revelers.  It reminded me of Key West.  Even with all the people, the vibe was chill.  We took up residence on large set of steps at the west end of the terrace and enjoyed the sun-warmed stone on our bottoms.   Here are some of the views from our vantage point looking over the city of Florence in the background.  As the sun set, it was cool to see the Arno "catch fire" with the reflection of the setting sun.    

In no particular order... 

 
 

  

  

 

 
 

 

Kathi captured the photographer...

  We headed out, trying to beat the crowds down the hill.  Likewise, we walked some of the side streets of the Oltrarno and came across a few tiny street-side cafes.  Only one table wide, there was barely enough room for cars to pass.  This would never happen in the US and this is exactly what we love about Italy!

We were famished not having a proper lunch (the most important Italian meal of the day).  So we just found one with an empty table, ordered the house rosso and some pasta to feed our soul.  No Rick Steves, no reviews... it was marvelous!

To reward our long walk to and from Piazzale Michelangelo, we indulged in some late-night gelato.  We earned it!

Back at the Relais Signoria, we hastily washed clothes, ducked under the covers, and dreamed of Florence.