On Sunday afternoon, 19 November 2006, we joined a guided tour to see more of Florence. The city is built on rather flat ground, so it is not easy to get a good view over Florence. The tour started with a brief visit to the town Fiesole, 8 km to the north-east of Florence, to take in this famous view over the city and the Arno Valley. Fiesole is a beautiful town and we were pleased to see the many large cypresses looming in the mist.
The tour continued to the old city centre for a visit to the Basilica of Santa Groce, followed by a walk to the Piazza della Signoria, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and a guided walking tour through the Galleria degli Uffizi. It was a very worthwhile tour, with loads of architecture and artworks to see and much history to learn about.
The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church of Florence. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. It was built Arnolfo di Cambio in the pure Gothic style. Work started in 1294 and continued until 1443 when the church was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV.
The vast structure is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its monumental tombs.
On the left is a view of the Capella Maggiore and on the right is the Capella Peruzzi. The chapels inside the Basilica di Santa Groce were for the exclusive use of the important families of Florence at that time.
The monumental tombs for Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Rossini are but of few of those to be found in the church. As an example of the ornate work on these tombs, here is the tomb of Galileo Galilei.
On the next blog entry we'll have a look at the Loggia dei Lanzi and the Galleria degli Uffizi.
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