Florence, Duomo, Campanile, Baptistry

Seeing the Duomo first time in my life.

I was so excited about seeing the Duomo in Florence for the first time in my life. We arrived by train (the train station is not so romantic as most of the city) and I was kind of holding my breath to see the masterpiece of Brunelleschi. 

I have a picture of Florence just above my desk at home, it is a bird view mainly with roofs and the dome as it is rising above everything. Such an amazing view; almost impossible to believe that in the 15^th century one could build it. Unfortunately it was way too long to get in and as we had one day here I opted for something else. Still, for a few times we walked around it and also admired the Campanile and Baptistry. 

I have tried very hard to make proper pictures but it was almost impossible regarding the sizes. J  

At 85 meters, the Campanile is 6 meters shorter than the dome. 

It was designed by Giotto as city architect in 1334 and was completed

 in 1359, years later as he died.

Beautiful details of the Campanile. 

The Baptistry is one of the oldest buildings in Florence.
It dates back to the 4^th century.

The East Doors were commissioned in 1401.
They were designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti and it took him 28 years to complete them.
The original doors are in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo,
these ones are a copy of them.

View from The Boboli Gardens.

Bologna in one day

Bologna on a painting by Guido Reni
(detail).

 The oldest university in the western world was founded in Bologna in 1088, so staying in the city where Erasmus of Rotterdam and many more studied is just great. There are so many students in the city, the streets are always lively. Spacious squares, beautiful huge buildings. I could live in this city.

Not much that one can do and see in one day but with my sister we made the most of it. To save time for a few hours we separated: I went to see arts while she walked up to the tallest tower in the city.

On the Via Belle Arti (what a name!) is the Pinacoteca Nazionale. In the art gallery many paintings are from the region, representing local art made between the 16^th and 17^th centuries. There are works by Ludovico, Agostino and Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni and Guercino. Not only these but art from the 13^th century can be seen here too. Works by Giotto, Raphael, Perugino and Titian just to name a few. (my teachers from the Art Valuer course would be so proud of me… J )

Paolo Uccello

On the way to the Pinacoteca Nazionale I also paid a short visit to the Church of San Martino. It was built in the first half of the fourteenth century and houses works by Paolo Uccello and Ludovico Carracci. The altar piece and the 16^th century organ are also very beautiful in this church.

The Two Towers are the symbols of Bologna. With its towers today’s Piazza di Porta Ravegnana was the point of arrival and departure for Ravenna. The towers have been standing for almost 900 years; they were built at the beginning of the 12^th century. The higher is 97 meters and there are 498 steps inside to go up and enjoy the view of the city. The shorter one is 48 meters and started leaning soon after its construction.

The Neptune Fountain (detail).

The Fountain of Neptune by Giambologna was built in 1563 and has a few interesting details. Have a closer look! J

Finally we found the famous canals of Bologna too and we also had time for an ice cream.