knock knock

Somewhere in Florence . . .
Check out the detail on this thing—
it even has creepy little teeth!

[Linking back to Blue Monday
at Magical Mystery Teacher
and to Macro Monday.]

ABC Wednesday—H is for "hungry?"

My travel buddy Blanche Dubois always
leaves room for the sweet stuff—
this time it was tiramisu, panna cotta
with caramel, and profiteroles.
(She had plenty of help polishing it all off.)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Here's simple side altar in the basilica of
San Miniato al Monte, which has sat
on a hilltop overlooking Florence since 1018.
It's well worth climbing the hill
to visit this beautiful Romanesque church
(and its equally beautiful cemetery,
if you're into that sort of thing).

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

Buon compleanno

This one's for my daughter Lila, because
today is her birthday—and she's
celebrating in Florence, where I took
this photo in May.

[Linking back to Blue Monday at
Magical Mystery Teacher.]

ABC Wednesday—U is for Uffizi

In the same gallery at the Uffizi as Botticelli's
original Birth of Venus is this "hands on"
version for the visually impaired.  I've never seen
anything like this before—have you?

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—T is for "tapestry"

This is a very small part of a very large
tapestry, which you can see if you
visit the Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

deliziosa!

On to Florence today and I'm looking
forward to a meal at Osteria De' Benci—maybe
starting with a lovely tomato bruschetta,
followed by their famous spaghetti dell'ubriacone
(i.e., drunken spaghetti, so-called
because they marinate it in red wine).

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A favorite spot in one of my favorite
churches, San Miniato al Monte,
in Florence—which I've featured before. 

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"sunny (#2)"

Taken several years ago (i.e., too many
since I've been here) on a beautiful
sunny summer day in Florence. Sigh.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

These folks walked up 463 steps to reach the 
tippy-top of the Duomo, in Florence. 
 I've made that climb a few times (oof!)—
and it has always been worth it.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.] 

The Weekend in Black and White

This beautiful gated courtyard is in Florence.
 I'd love to be there right now!

[To see more b/w shots, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A detail from the façade of the Cattedrale di
Santa Maria del Fiore (aka the Duomo),
in Florence.  The church was begun in 1296
and consecrated in 1436—it takes a
few years to create a masterpiece like this.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Santa Croce in Florence—
you can't talk about this basilica without
doing some serious name-dropping:
Founded by St. Francis himself,  it's the
largest Franciscan church in the world;
builders included di Cambio,
Vasari, and Brunelleschi; frescoes by Giotto;
tombs (or funerary monuments) for
Dante, Galileo, Gentile, Ghiberti, Machiavelli,
Michelangelo, Rossini, Marconi, and Fermi.
See what I mean?

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

the cloister

This is the church of Santa Maria Novella,
in Florence, in a shot taken in
the Dark Ages BD (before digital).

[Linking back to The Weekend in Black and White and to inSPIREd Sunday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiore,
aka the Duomo, in Florence (I took this picture on
Easter Sunday several years ago).  Easter is celebrated
throughout the city, but here at the Duomo
the service is followed by the colorful—and very noisy—
Explosion of the Cart, a tradition whose roots
date back to the Crusades. (Here's a video.)
Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating today.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

This young woman has been keeping vigil at
a grave in Florence for many many years.
I wonder who posed for this sculpture and if this
is an allegorical figure or meant to represent
a loved one of the person interred in the
peaceful cemetery at the church of San Miniato.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is one of my favorite churches—
San Miniato al Monte, which has been standing
on a hill overlooking Florence since the
11th century.  Behind the altar and below the
choir loft, the archways seen here lead to the crypt,
where monks gather to pray in Gregorian chant.
The cemetery behind the basilica is beautiful too.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

In Santa Croce

There's a lot to see in the 15th-century Basilica of Santa Croce,
in Florence—including the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo, art by
Canova, Cimabue, and Donatello, and frescoes by Giotto.
My favorite spot in this vast church is the sacristy, where the frescoed
chapel and gilded altar are seen through an ornate iron gate. 

To see more churches from
around the world, visit
inSPIREd Sunday.

Thursday Challenge—"hard"

I understand they've now found some things that are
harder than a diamond—but surely not as pretty.
I inherited this stone from my wonderful
mother-in-law, but had it taken out of 
an old-fashioned silver setting and remounted
by a jeweler in Florence, Italy—where
they know a thing or two about gold.
(I think my MIL would love it.)

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

Tina's Picstory—"beautiful"

There are so many beautiful things in
nature that I didn't even try to choose from
among them.  As for manmade beauty, this is
somewhere very near the top of my list.
I could stare at him for hours (and have!).
[To see more of Tina's Picstory, go here.]