Day 18: Florence always has more

Pieta with Michelangelo

Florence is so lovely and compact it is easy to walk the whole city.  Today was cold again and first stop was the Bargello Palace museum which houses a number of important art works including Donatello's bronze 'David' as a young man, and the 'full- bellied' sculpture of Bacchus (the God of Wine) as a young man by Michelangelo.  The first of these was significant in that it was the first nude statue of the Renaissance! 

Donatello's Mary Magdalene 

We had another look around the Duomo including the museum which contained the renown 'Pieta' with Michelangelo as one of the figures in the scene taking Jesus from the Cross...  another unfinished work but still very powerful.


Under under the current cathedral is the original 4th century church dedicated to Saint Reparata  and we did an audio guide tour which showed the extent of the church, tombs including that of Brunelleschi (designer of new Cathedral dome)  and yet more beautiful mosaic floors.  As the train back to Rome did not leave until 3.45 pm we also had time to look at the Galileo Museum near the Arno.  This has won many awards and is a must see if you are interested in 

Galileo's telescopes that started revolution in science

the history of science, of which Florence was a major player early on.  We saw Galileo's original telescopes and a lot of his other instruments as well as an array of astronomical, navigational (maps, globes) and other early scientific items.   Galileo's mind and telescopes got him into trouble with the church but opened up astronomy and all science in a new way by sparking the use of lenses and the importance of 'observation.'  He was a genius!

Ponte Vecchio

It was sad to leave beautiful Florence - so much we could not do!  I had a quick look around the Basilica Santa Maria Novella on the way to the train station.  The Catholic Council of Florence was held here and , again, many famous Florentine artists featured in its building.


By evening it was nice to get back to our little apartment in Trastevere, have a cup of tea and toilet and  shower in more than a shoe box (reference to our hotel bathroom in Florence).