2014-03-31 Florence and Fiesole

Today we traveled on our own as Kara had to be in class and also do some volunteer work in the evening.  We decided to take the hop-on hop-off tour of the city to get out into some areas that were a little more than walking distance.  The tour bus was an open air, double decker bus, giving us a little higher than street view perspective.

We caught the bus across the river from our hotel and wound our way up the hills on the south side of the river past the Piazza Michelangelo.  Our first major stop was at Fortezza Da Basso, near the train station.  It had 20'+ high walls and in some areas a moat around it.  We could not find any entrance that was open to the public and it appeared that there were industrial buildings and businesses inside the fortress now.  there were interesting silhouettes on some steps outside the fortress.  We hopped back on the bus and headed for Fiesole, which is on the hills north of town.

The view from Fiesole is was not so good today as it was hazy out.  It is about 3 miles from the city, and you could still see the landmarks, but it just not so clear.  At one of the overlooks of the city, it is alleged that Michelangelo tested one of his flying machines.
We continued walking along the path and it brought us up to a monastery which housed the shrine of St. Romulus and his companion martyrs.  As we wound our way back down the hill, we passed a cemetary that contained many interesting tombs and grave sites.  The cemetary was completely walled in.  Most of the markers had photos that were made into ceramic tiles on them.

We continued down the hill and passed the ruins of the Roman baths.  This area had baths, an amphitheater and temple, and dates back to times BC.   It is a preserved archaeological site now, giving more clues into how the Romans lived in the past. 

After leaving Fiesole, we headed back into he city and went to Palazzo Vecchio Uffizi to spend some more time admiring all the statues on the plaza.  Many of the statues are of scenes of war, death and fighting.

We next headed back to the Duomo to take the inside tour.  it is a very large church full of marble statues, mosaic artwork and stained glass windows.  The floor is covered with various artwork, and only some of it roped off.  The artwork was really build to last.  there were many trees scattered throughout the church that you could light a candle for prayer.  These looked very pretty casting their light in a relatively dark area.

After a full day of sightseeing, we returned to the hotel and had a glass of wine at an outdoor bar along the river.  A quiet end to another full day exploring the sites of Florence