Florence

Florence is one of the great cities of Italy. We stayed in an apropriately themed AirBnb.

A great fountain next to the Archeology Museum

Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery

An excellent piece of 1300s embroidery at the Accademia.

The Basilica di San Lorenzo was consecrated in 393 and served as the parish church of the Medicis. Brunelleschi helped redesign the building in the 15th century.

Donatello's tomb

Cosimo di Medici's tomb

What is that...

BOO

Interesting reliquary font

The church also had some disturbing modern art

The Florence Duomo and Baptistery

The Basilica di Santa Croce houses the graves of many famous Italians

Machiavelli's remains are supposedly under the basilica

Michaelangelo's tomb

Lady Liberty?

Galileo's tomb

The basilica suffered from bad flooding in the 1900s and many paintings had to be restored.

The Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dei Lanzi.

The best food we ate in Florence was also at the most beautiful restaurant we visited. Ristorante Paoli is highly recommended.

The Uffizi Gallery houses some of Italy's most treasured works of art. Like the Duke of Urbino and his wife.

Primavera by Botticelli

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli

The Uffizi was an old palace, so the ceilings are quite opulent.

Nice dog

The famous Ponte Vecchio. The Uffizi is connected to the Pitti Palace via the Vasari Corridor on top.

Luther

The famous Roman-Florentine boar

Pitti Palace is where the Medici's ruled Tuscany from until their line died out. They were replaced by the house of Lorraine-Hapsburg, then Savoy.

The Boboli Gardens are behind the palace.

The palace is covered with artwork.

As are the ceilings

I'm not sure why a thief stole this painting in particular.

A copy of the famous portrait of Pope Julius II by Raphael.

Like all palaces and galleries in Europe, there was also a weird modern art exhibit.

The Palazzo Vecchio is where the Medici's ruled from before the Palazzo Pitti. It also served as the seat of Italy's government from 1865-1871 when Florence was the temporary capital of Italy.

Lorenzo

Machiavelli had an office here when he was Secretary of the Republic.

The Hall of Geographical Maps, compiled in the 16th century

A copy of Guidoriccio da Foliano at the Siege of Montemassi in our Airbnb. Pro Sienese art has no place in Florence.

Florence was originally an Etruscan-Roman city, and has an excellent Archaeology Museum housing finds from around Tuscany.

Mummies gotta step on their enemies.

They even had a recreation of the Vasari corridor inside, and Etruscan burial mounds outside.