Florence Italy 2015

At night the greenish marble in the Florence Cathedral (called the Duomo) mixes with the halogen lighting to produce an odd color that looks almost irridescent.

This exquisite detail goes all the way to the top.

North wall of the Duomo in Florence.

Basilica di Santa Croce in fading sunlight at day's end. Florence.

Basilica di Santa Croce is also called the Temple of Italian Glories. Michaelangelo and Galileo are buried here, along with numerous other famous citizens of Italy.

Basilica di Santa Croce, the largest Franciscan church in the world, was finished in 1385 after 90 years of construction.

The majestic front doors of Basilica di Santa Croce.

Tomb of Michaelangelo inside the Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence, Italy.

A side chapel ceiling in the Basilica di Santa Croce. There are 16 ornate side chapels in here.

The original Michaelangelo's David (seen here) was to be mounted on the BACK END of the Florence Cathedral near the dome -80 feet off the ground. The risk of hoisting it so high and its fine quality convinced commissioners to place it closer to the public. It is one of the most famous carvings of all time.

Michaelangelo's David weighs 12,478 lbs and stands 17 feet tall. For 25 years other sculptors deemed this slab of marble too flawed for the task of a large David. Michaelangelo accepted the challenging imperfections and created a masterpiece for the ages.

Michaelangelo completed the David in less than 3 years, working day and night, sleeping in the workshop and skipping many meals.

One of Michaelangelo's tricks to mistake-free carving was to build an exact model out of wax. The model was submerged in water and the water partially drained. He would study the water line and carve those points in relation to each other.

Neptune Fountain in Florence. This small plaza has one of the best collections of classic sculpture in the world.

This super-detailed statue of Cosimo, once the leader of Tuscany, was hidden safely in WWII and ceremoniously returned to its proper display pedestal after the war by Allied forces.

Mythical Perseus stands on the body of Medusa, head in hand. The bronze statue was cast in 1545.

Closeup of the Perseus/Medusa statue.

The exterior of the Cathedral is a pattern of colored marbles coming from various mines in Italy-each color from a different location. The green is the most rare. The base cathedral took 140 years to build, and sporadic exterior work went on for 500 years. From 1876 through 1887 the existing covering was finished and a place among the architectural elite was assured.

The Florence Cathedral is the center of social activity in Florence. Crowds gather around it until deep into the night.

Finished in 1436, the dome only took 16 years to build, and was ingeniously done without having a wooden shell or earth dome underneath- the first octagonal dome to be done this way. The bronze ball topper was made in a shop where a young apprentice named Leonardo da Vinci was learning the ropes and taking notes.

Ceiling frescoes in the Florence Cathedral.

Closeup of the artwork that surrounds the cupola.

This remarkably complex exterior is considered too gaudy by some, and a glorious work of art by most.

Florence Duomo doors.

Close up detail of the Florence Duomo main door art created and installed from 1899 to 1903.

One of the buttresses supporting the dome was the intended home of Michaelangelo's David until fate intervened.

Florence Cathedral with no distortion correction. A super wide angle lens is needed here. The church is so tall that most conventional lenses will not capture the entire height of it from street level.

Streets around the Duomo are wide and for pedestrians only. With no car traffic there is a quiet, warm, peacefulness at night that draws people like a magnet. No auto noises are heard after about 9PM or so.

This statue on the Duomo facade is of Saint Reparata, the namesake of the church which stood on this site before this cathedral was built.

Stained glass art in the Cathedral in Florence, Italy

Access to the observation deck of the dome requires climbing a steep, narrow spiral staircase with 463 steps. This view is from a distant observation park across the river.

More statues in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence.

Fine wood carvings accent the doors at Basilica di Santa Croce.

Closeup of door artwork.

Another chapel ceiling in Basilica di Santa Croce.

Ceiling in Basilica di Santa Croce.

Basilica di Santa Croce.

Super wide view of a side chapel in Santa Croce.

A different Prayer Chapel in Basilica di Santa Croce.

Basilica di Santa Croce.

Pulpit in Basilica di Santa Croce.

Santa Croce Basilica, Florence, Italy.

Santa Croce.

The Ponte Vechhio Bridge (closest) was built in 1345. It survived WWII because both ends were blocked by destroyed buildings and access was not possible in the short time the Germans had to blow it up.