Florentine Sunset

 As I looked out of my window this evening there was a beautiful glow in the sky as the sun was setting out over the Irish Sea. I am so very lucky living on the west coast because I am treated to the most wonderful sunsets and today, after a week of grey cloudy skies it was  great to see the rich colours that I enjoy so much.

As I was thinking about that I recalled the sunset over Florence while I was there with my youngest son in 2018, it was so spectacular viewed from the Piazzale Michelangelo. There are millions of photos of the city from this spot given it is a favourite tourist destination and it is the perfect vantage point to view the city with the famous duomo of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Campanile di Giotto and of course the Ponte Vecchio spanning the River Arno. I have even shared some of these, or similar images in 2018 but today I was inspired to review them and edit them to really bring out the colours of the sunset.

I have also included a shot of a hillside with the old city walls enclosed by trees which have grown up as the wall has decayed.

I have wanted to return to the city because although I have been lucky enough to visit on two occasions I have never really spent enough time there to see everything I want to see. It is possible that I will go back in a few weeks as I will be traveling to Venice again and a day trip to Florence by train is definitely doable however nothing is certain at this stage. Wish me luck.

View from the Piazzale

These five views were taken from Piazzale Michaelangelo on our last evening in the beautiful city of Florence.

The first shot shows a section of the old city wall (Mura di Firenze)that climbs the ridge of the hill and along what is now Via di Belvedere and a view of the Giardino Bardini to the north of the wall.

The next three shots show the calm river Arno with the sun setting behind the mountains and the famous Ponte Vecchio.

Finally you can see the magnificent cathedral with its marble walls illuminated by the lights in the square and with its beautiful golden topped dome.

Sunset over the Arno

I love this shot of the setting sun, low over the Chianti Mountains, reflected in the River Arno and providing back lighting to the Ponte Vecchio. 

I feel so privileged to have been able to capture this scene. I had tried the previous evening when the lighting was almost as good but unfortunately an intermittent fault with my camera meant I couldn't get the shots I wanted. I was so disappointed and didn't know whether I would be able to use my camera any more and we were only half way through our trip.

Fortunately the following day (and for most of the rest of the trip) my camera worked as it should and so I headed back up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to get the shot. I think you will agree it is a fantastic image 

Florence by Night

Following on from yesterday's post I have picked a number of images of Florence at night.

The first of today's pictures is of the Ponte Vecchio from the right bank of the Arno.  One of the things Italy is famous for is Gelato, I lost count of the number of times we heard "You gotta try the gelato!".  To be fair it was really good and it was while I was taking the shots of the bridge that we were eating probably the most expensive ice cream cone we've ever had.  Yummy!

Picture two shows the Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore, the Campanile di Giotto and Basilica di Santa Maria Novella.

The third picture is of the Synagogue 

The next two pictures are again of the Cathedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (il Duomo) and the Campanile.

Apart from the bridge all of the pictures were taken from Piazzale Michaelangelo which overlooks the city on the opposite side of the river.  I hadn't intended to post the statue but it is a bronze replica of Michaelangelo's David and so I thought it fitting to share. 

Classical Florence

Florence is a really beautiful city with some classical architecture and today's pictures show some of the more recognisable sites.  Over the next few days I think I will post some shots of less well known spots and some images of the city at night, but for today you have il Duomo and Ponte Vecchio.  I think today  the fourth picture is my favourite as I like the narrow streets and the glimpse of the dome is quite special.

The Ponte Vecchio seemed to draw lots of visitors to the gold merchants and jewellers and it really is worth visiting.  My son and I re-enacted a scene from Assassin's Creed with me throwing a stone at him, and striking him on the face to enhance the experience.

Did you know that there is a "hidden" tunnel along the top of the bridge? It allowed the Medici access from one side of the river to the other without having to encounter the people of the city.  Originally the shops on the bridge housed butchers and other groceries but the Duke of Medici didn't like the smell so had them all evicted and insisted that the gold merchants move in and that is who is there today.