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- Montalcino
View from the fortress - Tuscan countryside
View from the fortress. The other side. - Fortress
The inner courtyard of the fortress - Fortress
- Eroica bike race
We stumbled upon the Eroica Montalcino bicycle race. - Eroica bike race
It kind of looked ... familiar ;-) - Eroica bike race
They were selling old bikes. And retro jerseys. - Eroica bike race
Plenty of retro knitted jerseys. - Church of Sant'Antonio Abate
The church was mentioned already in 1448, but the facade is from the 18th century. - Eroica bike race
There were bikes everywhere. - Local graffiti
Mona Lisa... the Montalcino way. - Montalcino
I don't quite know what to think of this one... - Eroica bike race
Even the town decorations were dedicated to the bicycle race. - Palazzo Comunale
In 1405 Pope Pius II renamed his home town Corsignano to Pienza and rebuilt it in 1459 as an ideal Renaissance town. Once a town, it needed a town hall. - Santa Maria Assunta
The entrance to the church Santa Maria Assunta. - Santa Maria Assunta
A wonderful ceiling! - Santa Maria Assunta
Madonna con Bambino e i Santi Agostino, Girolamo, Martino e Nicola by Matteo di Giovanni (1463). - Santa Maria Assunta
The church was built on artificial support, but the support was not solid enough. There are massive cracks in the building. - Santa Maria Assunta
- Santa Maria Assunta
- View from Pienza
- Pienza
- Santa Maria Assunta
Yes, unfortunately there are massive cracks. - Santa Maria Assunta
These stairs go very deep. - Santa Maria Assunta
When repairing the support for the collapsing church, they built a whole maze underneath it. A highlight to visit! - Santa Maria Assunta
A wonderful maze! - Model of Pienza
- Palazzo Comunale
The entrance to the Palazzo Comunale. - Diocesan Museum of Pienza - Palazzo Borgia
Un giovane Bacco by Antonio Amorosi (figure) and Giovanni Paolo Spadino (grapes). Around 1725. - Diocesan Museum of Pienza - Palazzo Borgia
Crucifix from the end of the 12th century. - Diocesan Museum of Pienza - Palazzo Borgia
San Regolo by Domenico di Niccolo "Dei Cori" (1435). - Diocesan Museum of Pienza - Palazzo Borgia
Madonna col Bambino tra i Santi Biagio, Giovanni Battista, Nicola e Floriano by Lorenzo di Pietro - Vecchietta (1465). - Santa Maria Assunta
The cathedral was built in 1462. It is located in Piazza Pio II, but since there was not enough room, they built some additional support for the church. A mistake, as it turned out. - Flower, flower on the wall
Looking up is sometimes worth it. - Porta al Prato
The medieval entrance to the old town. - Palazzo Avignonesi
Built between 1542 and 1572 by Jacopo Barozzi, known as the Vignola. Now a hotel. - Palazzo Bucelli
The bottom part of this palace is decorated with plenty of Etruscan and Roman remains. Some are quite interesting. - Palazzo Bucelli
I wonder what's the story behind these donkey's ears... Disclaimer: they of course may not be donkey's ears at all. - Palazzo Bucelli
A fish biting a pegasussnake? - St. Agostino Church
Founded in 1285 but completely renovated in the 15th century by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo. The upper facade was changed in the 18th century. - Torre di Pulcinella
This 17th century Pulcinella from Naples strikes the time. The funny thing is that no-one knows how and when it got here ;-) - Torre di Pulcinella
Look at the top! - Palazzo Cervini
- Lago Trasimeno
View towards Lago Trasimeno with a smaller lake in front, possibly Lago di Montepulciano. - Some tall buildings
These are some tall buildings! - Italian charm
This is a charming and inviting entrance. - Fortezza Medicea park
A giant (coffee?) cup in a park. - Palazzo Comunale
Built in 1440 by Michelozzo, inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. - Cathedral Saint Mary Of The Assumption
The cathedral was 'finished' in 1680. Although it was never actually finished. I would assume that in 1680 they just gave up and proclaimed it finished. - Palazzo Comunale
Now this was the highlight of my trip: climbing possibly the tiniest stairs I've ever seen. And I have climbed some dodgy towers in my life. - Palazzo Comunale
And the higher you go, the smaller they become. - Cathedral Saint Mary Of The Assumption
View of the cathedral. - San Biagio
But the view is fantastic! This is San Biagio, built in 1518-1540 by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. - Palazzo Nobili-Tarugi
Piazza Grande in rain. And Palazzo Nobili-Tarugi (left) built in the 16th century by either Antonio da Sangallo the Elder or possibly by Jacopo Barozzi from Vignola. - Palazzo Comunale
I had to agree to so many terms and conditions before I was allowed to climb ;-) - Pozzo dei Grifi e dei Leoni
Two griffons and two lions holding the Medici coat of arms. - Chiesa di Santa Lucia
The church was built in 1653 by Flaminio del Turco, already in baroque style. - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
Just a quick stroll through the city. Starting with Santa Maria Novella, built in 1276-1420. - Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
One of the many sails on the facade, which was added to the church in 1456–1470. - Giovanni delle Bande Nere
Giovanni delle Bande Nere (1498–1526) was the father of Cosimo I de Medici. The statue is by Baccio Bandinelli (1560). - Basilica di San Lorenzo
Here used to be a super-old church (from 393), then another 11th century romanesque one, and in 1470 this one was completed. - :-)
Two doggos watching the Florence Cathedral. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
The cathedral was built between 1296 and 1436, but the facade was added 1887. I feel like I have been lied to. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
- Giotto's Campanile
Giotto stared building this tower in 1334. He combined white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato, and red marble from Siena. The tower was completed in 1359. - Giotto's Campanile
Daedalus by Andrea Pisano. Here I can actually understand why the marble is called 'green'. - DSC 9615
- Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - Palazzo Vecchio
A lion in the Palazzo Vecchio. No, this time we didn't enter it, just walked around the palace a bit. - Palazzo Vecchio
Officially, such decorations are called grotesque. - Palazzo Vecchio
Grotesque or not, I like them a lot. - David, of course
A copy of Michelangelo's David. The original (1504) was moved to Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873. - Hercules and Cacus
Hercules and Cacus by Baccio Bandinelli (1525-1534). - Medusa
Medusa's head from the statue Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini (1545-1554) located in the Loggia dei Lanzi. - Rape/kidnapping of the Sabine Women
English wikipedia: Rape, also known as kidnapping. Slovenian wikipedia: Kidnapping, also known as rape. Oh well. By Giambologna (1583). - Ponte Vecchio
THE brige across Arno. Built/destroyed several times. This one is from 1345 and still holds. Butchers used to have their shops here, but were replaced with goldsmiths because of the smell. - Arno
- Very colourful Florence
Across the river Arno. - Detail
Street lamps in Florence have very interesting bases ;-) Oh, and they are of course three-legged. - Porta San Niccolò
Stone gate in fortification walls from 1324. The walls are gone now, but the entrance tower remains. - Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
A wonderful pathway up the Piazzale Michelangelo. - View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
This is one way of repairing collapsing stairs :-) - Palazzo Vecchio
This court is full of Austrian towns, painted in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for the wedding celebration of Francesco I de' Medici to Archduchess Johanna of Austria. This is obviously Vienna, with Stephansdom. - Palazzo Vecchio
Another one of the many Austrian towns: Graz. - Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
Last view of the duomo ... until next time ;-) - Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - View from Monte Arco (276 m)
View towards Porto Azzurro. - Laghetto di Terranera
An artificial lake about 20m from the sea. It used to be a mine, hematite, magnesite and pyrite. The lake, however, is too sulphurous to swim. - Black sand
This is the blackest beach I've seen. And I've seen quite a few, which claim to be black... Not to mention that compass does not work on this beach. I mean... it works ... but the direction it points to is very locally determined. - Chiessi
Chiessi, of course. My favourite spot on the whole island. - Isola di Pianosa
We call it the 'pancake' island. You can guess why. - Sunset
And the northern tip of Corsica. - Another sunset
Another lovely sunset. Taken from Capo di Stella, the sun sets behind Monte Fonza and Monte Tambone. - Monte Capanne
Early morning start towards Monte Capanne. The bird-cages did not run yet. - Hermitage of San Cerbone
Saint Cerbone moved here in the 6th century, this church is from the 15th century. There is a lovely pique-nique area behind the church. - Marciana