Oct. 12 - The Medici Family

Today we visited two important locations here in Florence related to the powerful Medici family.  Our first stop was the Medici-Riccardi Palace originally built by Cosimo the Elder in 1440.  The Riccardis purchased and renovated the house in the 1600's adding another wing and a lot of Baroque style.  The jewel of the palace is the beautiful chapel with its outstanding wall paintings from the 15th century.  Now owned by the Tuscan government it is used for offices, conferences as well as a museum.  The Medici family ruled Florence with their economic power and influence for 300 years.  Next we visited the Medici Chapels at San Lorenzo church where all the principle members of the family are entombed (I irreverently call it the "Medici Funeral Parlor").  The old chapel is a marvelous room of multi-colored marble with a high domed ceiling.  What is called the new chapel was designed by Michelangelo and contains his sculptures dedicated to more of the Medicis.  It was left unfinished when he was called to Rome by the pope to paint the Sistine Chapel.  This evening we were surprised by the Peligotti family, owners of our apartments, with a lovely appertivo with so much food and drinks that we could hardly waddle back to our beds!  It was another good day in Italy!  Tomorrow will be special too - come back and see for yourself!

All photos at this link:  https://plus.google.com/photos/106242844572593515289/albums/6204847451415784401/6204847484328730626?pid=6204847484328730626&oid=106242844572593515289

 

Oct.11 - In the Floating City

On Sunday we took the fast train (2 hours) up to Venice - the floating city.  All traffic in Venice is on the water and by foot.  There are no cars, no motor bikes, no bicycles - everyone walks or takes a boat of some sort.  Our "cruise" down the Grand Canal was on the "city bus" - a vaporetto.  We stopped at every station so we spent about 40 minutes on the boat before we reached St. Mark's Square.  The square is the heart of the city and we shared it with thousands of other tourists. After we saw the major sights together we were off on our own pursuits for several hours before meeting again at the train station in the evening.  Eating, shopping and wandering around the 2000 streets and alleys that make up the maze of the city occupied our time.  There is no other place quite like Venice and we were happy to add this unique place to our list of places visited during this two-week tour.  Enjoy the photos of our day in beautiful Venice. 

See all the photos here:  https://plus.google.com/photos/106242844572593515289/albums/6204793977768111265/6204794025916512594?pid=6204794025916512594&oid=106242844572593515289