Firenze

Valentines in Florence was a dream...
Florence was originally established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers. It was named Florentia (Flourishing) and built in the style of an army camp. It is a centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
First Stop Santa Maria Novella - it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. On a commission from Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, a local textile merchant, Leone Battista Alberti designed the upper part of the inlaid black and white marble facade of the church.


Next Santa Maria del Fiore- Dome done by Filippo Brunelleschi. Though Brunelleschi drew his inspiration from the great dome of the Pantheon in Rome, the formula for concrete had long since been forgotten. He would have to build the dome out of bricks. Brunelleschi's solutions were ingenious and unprecedented. I paid 6 euros to climb 463 to what I thought was just the top of the interior of the dome but ended up being the top of the exterior of the dome, so amazing, Best 6 euros of my life! The cityscape of Florence was breathtaking!


We couldn’t go all the way to Florence with out seeing the emfamous pair of David’s nuts now could we!!?? So we visited the Firenze MVSEI museum and marveled at the 17 ft wonder!! I personally think the man needs a pedicure. Unlike previous depictions of David which portray the hero after his victory over Goliath, Michealangelo chose to represent David before the fight contemplating the battle yet to come.
It was phenomenal, so much precision and detail in one huge sculpture depicting so much meaning!

Expensive Dinner at Gobbi 13 with yummy wine and Tortellini then we called it a night at around 230 am. Ready for Venice at 8!