Travel adventures - Florence - Day 2

We are having the best time in Florence and I'm happy to share our journey with you and I hope you'll be able to enjoy the atmosphere of the old city a little bit through the pictures and my story.

Let's start our Day 2 adventure!

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Our apartment is located on Piazza Santo Spirito in the part of the city called Oltrarno. It is a great place to be as there are not many tourists crossing the streets and exploring this part of the city so you can enjoy the 'real' Florence with locals. There are many restaurants directly on the square and you can get there all sorts of pasta and pizza. When we got back to the apartment last night we were surprised to see that the quiet square during the day has changed into a lively place full of people. All restaurants were booked out and it was so nice to see people enjoying their meals and having passionate conversations (if you know anybody who is Italian then you know what I'm talking about 😊)

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In the morning there are different markets every day right in front of our accommodation.

Today there was a farmers market and we have also spotted a few stands selling handmade jewelry.

Veggies in Italy are amazing! They are so colorful, juicy and delicious. What I appreciate the most is that they are not perfectly shaped and clean. I like to have some soil on my veggies!

Can you see the yellow bell pepper? They are as long as zucchini! I have never seen such bell peppers in my life. And all veggies are so cheap!

You can also try them. The farmers will happily give you a piece of whatever you choose so that you know what you're buying.

I have never seen so many different legumes in such volumes. There were stands offering only legumes. You can take as much as you want, put it on the weight and pay. I love such way of selling fresh products and legumes as you can bring your own eco bag and avoid unnecessary use of plastic.

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Unfortunately we didn't get anything as we were planning to try different vegan restaurants but it was also very nice just to walk around and absorb the atmosphere.

The square is called after the church that is located there.

The Basilica Santo Spirito

The first mention of the Basilica dates back before 1252. The original structure has been replaced. At that time it was located outside of the city walls in the countryside. The church as we know it now was designed by Brunelleschi. His original plan is considered one of his best creations.

The Basilica looks very plain from outside but the interior will surprise you by its beauty. There is a nice color contrast between the white walls, grey stonework and red floor. The interior is simple but decorated with amazing paintings.

You can also appreciate a wooden crucifix carved by Michelangelo when he was 18 years old.

If you are looking for a quiet place away from the touristy parts of Florence, this is the right spot to be.

It was forbidden to take pictures inside so I can only share the exterior of the Basilica.

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Today there will be a few churches that I want to show you and I hope you don't mind. I promise you they are beautiful and you will love to see them.

The Basilica di Santa Croce

We spotted this Basilica yesterday from the tower of Palazzo Vecchio and we wanted to see it because of the façade that is similar to Duomo. The entrance fee is EUR 8. We originally wanted to see only the church without the cloisters and the museum but it was not possible so we paid the fee and I must say it was a great decision!

The church of Santa Croce was consecrated in 1443. The façade remained unfinished for more than three centuries. The first stone of the façade was put into place in 1857. Nowadays it is covered with bichrome marbles followed Florentine architectural models.

It is considered the largest Franciscan church in the world and legend tells us that that Santa Croce was founded by St. Francis himself.

Let's go inside.

There are 16 chapels in the church. The main chapel with High Altar is dedicated to the Holy Cross. The walls are frescoed with The Legend of the True Cross. There are also beautiful stained glass windows in the chapel. The High Altar is very impressive.

While you visit the church you can also light a candle. I think we came after a celebration as there were quite a few candles but not that many visitors.

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The Basilica is a burial place for Michelangelo, Rossini, Machiavelli and Galileo Galilei. There is also a memorial to Dante, but his sarcophagus is empty. He is actually buried in Ravenna as he was exiled from Florence. Before we came to the Basilica we didn't learn much about it but there is a lot of available information in the church so you won't be lost.

From the church you enter the cloister. This one is also known as the cloister of the dead, since it held several tombs.

There are three cloisters in the complex (the other two are Primo Chiostro and Ancient cloister), each of them was built in a different moment of time. There are so many places in Florence where you can easily spend the whole day and this is one of them.

In the past the church was located outside of the city walls so it was an ideal place for monks to contemplate, pray and meditate.

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I think that not many tourists are aware about these cloisters as they were almost empty on a weekend day. So don't tell them 😊

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Duomo

We were sitting in one of the cloisters when we realized that it was time to go as we had tickets booked for Duomo. We talked about our visit in the morning and we agreed that we will only go to the Cathedral and we will skip the Cupola.

Are you asking why? Well, because I've chickened out! As you know already I am a bit claustrophobic. The tower of Palazzo Vecchio yesterday was an easy climb and I enjoyed it but in the evening I started to search for reviews of the Cupola and when I saw the narrow staircase and read that there are almost no openings in the walls and it can get pretty hot and humid there I got a stomach ache. Yes, my mind is so powerful that I can cause myself stomach ache just from my fear of climbing there. I really couldn't do it. My husband and my friend were very nice and agreed not to go there.

We had a combined ticket for the Cathedral and the Cupola so we wanted to use at least one part of it. We had the 'skip the line tickets' so there was a guy who directed us to the queue for this kind of tickets. We didn't know that there is no connection between the Cupola and the Cathedral so first you climb up the Duomo and then you have to go to the queue again to get to the Cathedral. So we waited in a wrong queue. After 30 minutes (Italian way of skip the line) we asked why there are so many people standing in a queue on the other side. He told us that it was a queue to the Cathedral!

The other queue looked quite long and we asked the lady who was responsible for that part how long we will have to wait. We left after she said it's going to be 45 minutes. It was so hot and there was no shade so we decided that we won't go inside after all and as we are planning to come to Florence again it was not a big deal.

Let me give you a tip. Be careful when you order your tickets online as it says that the ticket is combined. However we learned from the lady that the cathedral is for free so a combined ticket doesn't really make sense!

Well, today my friends there will be pictures from the exterior only but I will of course include some history facts too.

The façade of Duomo was finished in the 19th century. The cathedral of Florence was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV on 25 March 1436.

Are you asking why it is so big? In the past Italian cities tried to outdo each other's buildings. It is how they were showing the wealth and power of the city. This is the reason why you can see so many beautiful domes across Italy.

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Many of these buildings were so complex that the original architects died before they were completed. It took over 140 years to finish Duomo in Florence.

In 1296, Arnolfo di Cambio began construction on the cathedral. He designed it to be the most beautiful cathedral in Tuscany. Today it is known also as Santa Maria del Fiore.

They started to build the Cathedral even though there was no technology to complete the dome at that time. This is why it took such a long time to complete the building.

There is still remains of the original church that was built on the same ground between 4th and 6th centuries.

Fillipo Brunelleschi was commissioned to build the rooftop with having no experience in building before. He has however came up with the solution for the construction. He went to study Roman structures and when he came back he entered the competition to build the rooftop and he won without ever showing his plans. It was a simple egg that finally convinced the judges.

He told them that he would reveal his plans if any one of them could make the egg stand upright on the table. After they all failed, he took the egg and smashed the bottom of it on the table’s surface, causing the egg to stand upright. Although the judges protested that they themselves could have done the same, he said that if they knew what he knew, they could also build the dome.

Always known as a secretive person, he didn’t leave a single building plan, drawing, or even a letter behind on how he managed to come up with such an amazing design. Of course it was figured out later but I already told you too much so you will have to go to Florence to find out 😊

Let's go for a walk now, shall we?

We booked a walking guided tour for two hours to learn a little bit more about Renaissance period in Florence. While we were walking we came across this luxurious hotel also known as Pagliazza Tower. I'm sure you want to know more about it, right?

First of all it is the oldest building still standing in the old city. It was built between 6th and 7th centuries.

In the twelfth century it began to be used as a women’s prison who slept on straw beds and this is why it is called 'pagliazza' which means straw in Italian. Nowadays there is a museum inside the hotel to exhibit the carefully restored archaeological finds.

I can only recommend this kind of a tour as you will learn so much about the city. If we would be just walking around we wouldn't probably pay much attention to this historical gem.

Piazza della Repubblica

It is one of the main squares in Florence and marks the center of the city since Roman times. At that time there was the political center of the city located here. Later, during the Middle Ages, the area was home to the city's food market.

When Florence became the capital city of Italy in 19th century they started to demolish old buildings in the city as they wanted to change it to a modern city instead. Very soon there was an international campaign against this move and the city also ran out of money quickly so the efforts were stopped.

The most prominently visible structure on the square is the triumphal arch, known as the Arcone. It was erected in 1895 as part of the redevelopment plans. You can find 'the old city was put out of its misery and brought back to life' written on the arch. This relates to the old buildings that were destroyed.

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The square nowadays is a popular place with shops and cafes. It is very central so it is very crowded. There is also a reconstruction going on so overall it's not very charming. But this carousel definitely adds to its atmosphere 😊

It was a long day and we will end it with a glass (it was 3 glasses at the end) of rose wine. We had an amazing day and we are looking forward to see what tomorrow will bring us so stay tuned as I will share it with you as well.

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All pictures are taken by Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II.

If you're still reading until here I would like to thank you for your time as I know it was a longer article than usually.

THANK YOU!

Cheers,

Martina