Today we decided to take the hop on hop off bus tour of Florence. Cloudy with rain predicted so we were prepared with our ponchos and umbrellas.
Behind us is the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) a bridge that spanned the narrowest part of the Arno River since Roman times. While Rome “fell”, Florence really didn’t, remaining a bustling trade center along the river.
Above we are standing in Piazzale Michelangelo, overlooking the city from across the river. We got off the bus, walked around, had lunch – missed our bus and then --- the rain came!
This statue of David is in the square. It’s not the “real” David, which we’ll see another day at the Academia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Well worn snout of Il Porcellino in the Mercato Nuovo, Florence, Italy
Il Porcellino (Italian "piglet") is the local Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of a boar.
Originally intended for the Boboli Garden, then moved in the Mercato Nuovo in Florence, Italy. the fountain was placed originally facing east, in via Calimala, in front of the Farmacia del Cinghiale, which is the proper italian noun for Boar. To ensure more space to the traffic it was later moved in the side facing south, where it still stands as one of the most popular spots for tourists. The present statue is only a copy, while the original is sheltered in the new Museo Bardini.
The fountain figure was sculpted and cast by Baroque master Pietro Tacca (1577 –1640) in 1612, following a marble Italian copy of a Hellenistic marble original, at the time in the Grand Ducal collections and today in display in the classical section of the Uffizi Museum.
Visitors to Il Porcellino put a coin into the gaping boar's jaws with the intent to let it fall through the underlying grating for good luck and rub the boar's snout to ensure a return to Firenze, a tradition that has kept the snout in a state of polished sheen while the rest of the boar's body has patinated to
Above is the Palazzo Vecchio – Florence’s political center.
We ended our day with dinner at a beautiful Italian restaurant which is actually in the same building as the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment