June 19
Before we get to our two days in Florence, let’s finish with Bologna. Before we left town, we drove to the Sanctuary of San Luca which sits high above the city. A church as existed on this site for a thousand years but the present church was constructed fairly recently in the early 18th century. Of course we managed to get there just in time for Mass but since we’d driven for 30 minutes up a very windy road, we decided to stay until Mass was over so we could get a better look at the beautiful church. We could have walked up the 100 stairs to the top of the dome (and paid 5 euro each for the privilege) but as you might guess we took a pass.
Then it was time to head back down the hill towards Florence. This is the 4th time I’ve been here and am excited that I can see different things this time as Peter has done all the “must see” attractions.
By the time we got settled into the flat (which is in the suburbs; the only way with a car) and we made our way to the tram and into the city center, it was after 1pm so the first thing we did was find something to eat. After lunch we headed towards the Casa Buonarroti, which is one of the homes of Michaelangelo (did you know his last name was Buonarroti??) here in Florence. It is now a very nice museum that includes some of the artist’s work.
After the museum it was a 2-block walk to the Basilica of Santa Croce which is the largest Franciscan church in the world. It was built in the late 13th century and legend has it that it was founded by St. Francis.
I took a zillion pictures but here are just a few.
The Basilica is also known as the Temple of Italian Glories as there are many Italian greats buried here.
For some reason there is also a memorial to Florence Nightingale.
The outside courtyard was just as beautiful as the inside.
By the time we finished touring the church, which took well over an hour, we were hot (90s again today), tired and in desperate need of gelato. Luckily, there was a cafeteria with gelato right on the corner.
On our way back to the train station to catch the tram home, we wandered through the Central Market. This is several blocks of stalls selling all the usual stuff….leather goods, tee-shirts, scarves, etc. We’ll go back tomorrow when we’re not quite as tired.
It’s almost 9pm and I’m too tired to proofread so hopefully there aren’t too many mistakes. Tomorrow we get to follow the flag as we’re signed up for a day trip to the Pitti Palace. We’ll let you know how it goes.