Our visit to Florence, Italy, continued
As we continued our exploration of Florence, we walked by the uber-famous Ponte Vecchio, the “closed-spandrel arch bridge”, which is packed with jewelry shops and visitors. It was too crowded for our taste, so we didn’t stay there long. Instead, we kept walking towards anything that stroke our curiosity, architecture-wise, and just enjoyed the views.
We decided to visit Piazzale Michelangelo, which houses a bronze replica of Michelangelo’s David. What makes this place popular though, are the stunning views of the city.
On our way there we passed by San Niccolo Tower, a tall and lonely construction that once served as a defense tower. It was built as a gate to the city, as walls were protecting Florence at the time; a portion of those walls remain today, and this tower stands on its own in piazza Giuseppe Poggi.
Though we didn’t, the tower can be visited; you can climb up the 160 stairs to the top, where you can see Florence in all its glory from above.
San Niccolo Tower
The ramp leading to Piazza Michelangelo has several beautiful and unique grottoes and fountains.
With some incredible details, Fontane Delle Rampe del Poggi have been freshly restored after being abandoned for over 100 years, and are a “must-see”. If you are curious about the restoration process, as well as see them in all their glory, check this article.
When we finally arrived at Piazzale Michelangelo, we were mesmerized by the views around us.
While there are many places in the city where you can experience its views, I’ll say that there’s no better one than Piazzale Michelangelo. For that reason, this square is a popular one, with crowds lining up to get the best of the best in Florence. I don’t blame them - just look at these images.
Though this square is filled with vendors and a few restaurants you can seat at and relax, we decided to continue our exploration and moved further to reach Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte, an 11th-century abbey with a stunning facade.
The church is located on a somewhat steep hill, and there are several flights of stairs to reach it, but once there, the panoramic vistas make it more than worth it.
When we reached it, the church seemed closed, as there was no one around, so we toured its territory at leisure until we came to the cemetery of the Holy Doors - Cimitero Delle Porte Sante, located behind the church. There rest many important figures, including the author of Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi, and the cemetery itself is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Walking through it felt like walking through a neighborhood, as monuments built to represent small houses align one after another. I felt an overwhelming sadness walking through here, especially as we came across an area filled with graves of children.
However, my “best” memory there is getting scared twice, which led to us cutting our visit short.
As we were walking among the graves, with my husband a few steps ahead of me, I heard a sound breaking the silence. As it was sudden, I jumped, at which point I asked my husband to leave; the scare on top of the feelings I was experiencing were too much. As we were walking out of the cemetery, we were right by the bell tower when it stroke at the top of the hour, giving us a nice scare as it was loud and we weren’t expecting it. So yeah, you can say we had some adrenaline going there, haha…
As we exited San Miniato al Monte Abbey, we stopped on the observation deck to take in the views, before walking back to our B&B to enjoy the sunset.
Even though I said in my previous post that we didn’t want to visit any museums at that point in time, the next day, we decided to head to Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s famous David - it would be a pity to go to Florence and not visit David.
Even though we arrived early in the morning, we still waited in line as we didn’t buy tickets in advance, and, as previously noted about Italy, they were giving groups priority over “single” visitors.
The museum itself is pretty small, and exhibits stunning sculptures from various artists, along with a few of Michelangelo’s unfinished works. However, the main attraction there, of course, is David, and rightfully so. The statue is colossal at its 17 feet, perfectly executed, and just overall stunning. There is still debate over whether the statue presents him before or after his victory over Goliath.
Apart from Michelangelo’s David, I was impressed with the sculpture shown below, as it was incredibly realistic, and it moved me. The statue’s placard stated that it is not known who the woman was.
From the museum, we walked towards the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, another famous church, and museum in Florence; there is a fee for visiting, so check their website for details.
Florence is famous for its leather goods, so since we arrived, we’ve been curious about the San Lorenzo market, a famous street market selling local arts, leather, and other goods. We spent a lot of time there, and in spite of being tempted, we never dared to purchase anything-leather from this market; with our limited knowledge of it, and the huge discounts applied on the spot by merchants pushing to sell, we didn’t trust the quality nor the transaction, so we refrained - I appreciated the straightforwardness of some of them though.
Either way, it was fun browsing the stalls, and seeing the variety of goods presented there… that is if you’re OK with being accosted by the sellers pushing their merchandise. A tip: negotiate if interested in buying, prices will vary from one seller to another for the same item.
What we truly enjoyed in Florence though was the Mercato Centrale - Central Market as it quickly became one of our favorite spots. Neighboring San Lorenzo market, it is filled with local produce and goods, and a delight to walk through and discover it in all its variety. The top floor is occupied by restaurants, bars, and cafes where you can enjoy delicious food. We ate there several times; the selection was superb.
As usual, after visiting these places, we would end up on the rooftop of our B&B for sunset.
The last few days of our stay in Florence were spent relaxing and dining, of course.
We revisited Corte Dei Pazzi restaurant where we had another lovely dinner, on the patio this time, and enjoyed delicious and non-overpriced gelato next door at Rivareno Gelato.
We briefly thought about visiting Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (The Duomo), but upon seeing extremely long lines waiting to get in, we changed our minds.
We also briefly visited the courtyard and garden of Riccardi Medici Palace, where the House of Medici, the most important family in Florence lived, one that played a major role in the city’s Renaissance culture, and history overall.
A place we greatly enjoyed touring - minus being screamed at by some rude “vlogger” for being in their photo background from tens of feet away… why?! - were The Boboli Gardens. One can truly spend an entire day there, as there’s a lot to explore, and I can only imagine how beautiful this place is in spring when everything is blooming.
Boboli Gardens were designed by the aforementioned Medici family; an example of an Italian garden, it served as inspiration throughout Europe and it boasts a variety of antique statues, fountains, beautiful landscapes, as well as what’s left of the Florence defense wall. The entrance fee is 10 euro per person, and if you enjoy culture and nature, this place is more than worth its ticket price.
While there, make sure you head to the Porcelain Museum for beautiful displays of fine china; after visiting it, enjoy the views of the gardens and Florence from the observation deck.
Boboli Gardens is also an ideal place for a picnic, as well as escaping the bustle of Florence, so if you have time, consider doing that for a memorable experience.
Though not included, Pitti Palace is connected to the gardens and is a must-visit; there is the option of purchasing a combined ticket that would allow visiting the palace, Boboli Gardens, and other places for a discounted rate, vs visiting them separately.
View from Boboli Gardens
Though we did not visit it, we often passed by the Basilica di Santa Croce, which is the burial place of Michelangelo, Galilei, Machiavelli, and other important figures in Italian history. Visiting the church requires tickets for a fee; for details, check their website.
Towards the end of our trip, we mostly stayed close to the historic center, spending a lot of time in Piazza Del Duomo, and Piazza Santa Croce, looking for meaningful souvenirs and trying to savor every moment of what has been a truly incredible trip for us.
As stated in my previous post, I fell in love with Florence, and I’m looking forward to going back there and explore the places and the culture we missed the first time.
This post wraps our #EuropeanAdventure. I hope you enjoyed my travel stories and learned something helpful from our experiences.
Now tell me about you, what is your dream-European-destination?
Until next time.
xoxo,
Em
