- :-)
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. - 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). - View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- 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. - Chiessi
- Turkey tail fungus
I think these are turkey tail fungi. I may be wrong though. - Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
- Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore
Founded in 1276, built and re-built several times. This building is from 1876. - Levico Terme
Some artificial flowers in the town centre. - Sweets in Levico Terme
Some delicious sweets from a local patisserie. - Mecato Coperto
The old market is now occupied with modern restaurants and bars. - Ravenna
Spirito e Bellezza by Luisa Valentini (2013) - Ravenna
- Dante's grave
Dante was exiled from Florence and died in Ravenna in 1321. His bones were moved (and hidden!) multiple times, but this tomb is quite recent, with Cardinal Gonzaga's coat of arms. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
The gigantic building is made of carefully carved stones. What an insane precision! - Ravenna
- Mausoleum of Theoderic
- Mausoleum of Theoderic
- Mausoleum of Theoderic
The lower floor of the mausoleum. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
The architecture is quite unusual, probably from Syria or Asia Minor. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
The bottom part of the mausoleum is decagonal in shape. The dome has a twelve-fold symmetry. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
Another corner, another Saint. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
The dome is made of a limestone monoblock, brought from Istria. With a diameter of 10.76 metres, it weights over 230 tons. Not two windows are the same. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
There is a large porphyry bathtub in the top floor. - Mausoleum of Theoderic
- Mausoleum of Theoderic
What a monumental piece. It used to be at the sea, now multiple kilometers inland. - The Arian Baptistery
More unidentified apostles. Are we supposed to tell them apart based only on their beards? Another mystery are the (greek?) letters on their coats. - The Arian Baptistery
The medallion shows the young Christ in the middle, river Jordan on the left (with red crab claws?) and John the Baptist on the right. Above Christ is a dove (the Holy Spirit). One does not often see a naked Christ. - The Arian Baptistery
Only the ceiling remains decorated - but what decoration it is! Basically: the baptism of Jesus and twelve apostles. - The Arian Baptistery
Saints Peter and Paul lead a procession of five apostles towards the cross on an empty throne (representing God the Father?). In this Arian baptistery, the Father is above the Christ, possibly indicating the Arian beliefs. Saint Paul on the left, Saint Peter on the right. The rest I don't know. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Andrew - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Bartholomew - The Orthodox Baptistery
Saint Jacob - The Orthodox Baptistery
The central image depicts the Baptism of Christ, Saint John the Baptist on the left and a small Jordan on the right. The bearded heads are not original though. And the apostles are named. Funnily, some have golden tunics with white pallium and other vice versa. - The Orthodox Baptistery
What a masterpiece this is! Multiple circles of mosaic depict the central baptism, followed by the twelve (named!) apostles and the outer circle shows richly decorated thrones and altars. This mosaic is a few decades older than the Arian one. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Another empty throne, awaiting Christ's Second Coming. - The Orthodox Baptistery
Hm, is this an optical illusion? Because sometimes I see birds and sometimes fish. - Museo Arcivescovile
The entrance to the museum. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
Six female martyrs: Daria, Perpetua and Felicitas. On the other side are Eufemia, Eugenia, and Cecilia. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
The dome is decorated with four angels pointing towards IX, and the four symbols of the evangelists. - Saint Andrew's Chapel
Depiction of young Christ with Saint Peter and Saint Paul. - Museo Arcivescovile
Pulpit - ambo (597) shows plenty of animals as well as Saints John and Paul. Made out of a reused old sarcophagus. - Museo Arcivescovile
- Museo Arcivescovile
- Museo Arcivescovile
Cross of Agnellus, details of the silver medallions. - Museo Arcivescovile
The cathedral, the baptistry on the right, and the Museo Arcivescovile on the left. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Accidentally discovered in the 1993/94. But what do you do when you have multiple layers of history stacked on top of each other? You decide to display the prettiest? This one certainly is worth displaying! - Ravenna
What lovely messages all over the town. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
What lovely mosaic floors of private villas. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
- Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
I wonder if the red and blue were always that pale or were they more vibrant. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
What a lovely private building, dating from the 5-6th century. The villa had at least 14 rooms, this one was probably a new reception room. In the centre, there is The Dance of the Seasons. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
- Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original). Spring on the left, Autumn with the crown is in the front, Winter in the back and Summer is missing. A personification of Time plays a pan flute. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original), the musician. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
Dance of the Seasons (original), Autumn. - Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra
The Good Shepherd, depicted as a pretty well-off young man with fancy shoes and stockings. This mosaic was found on a different (older) level that the previous ones. - Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
Bottom: Theoderic's palace and the town of Ravenna (PALATIVM and CIVITAS RAVENN). Middle: more unnamed prophets and evangelists. Top: the way of the cross, Resurrection: the women at the tomb, The road to Emmaus, Jesus appearing to the apostles. - Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
Top row is the life of Jesus, middle row the saints, prophets and evangelists, bottom row are the famous processions. Apparently Pope Gregory ordered the mosaics to be blackened, not to distract the worshipers. - Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
The town of Classe (only partially original). Middle: unknown prophets and evangelists. Top: The paralytic at Bethany, The Gerasene Demoniac, The paralytic at Capernaum, The Sheep and the Goats This side shows a much younger beardless Jesus. - Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
Let's go: bottom line: Saints Valeria, Crispina, Lucia, Caecilia, Eulalia, Agnes, Agatha, Pelagia and Euphemia. middle: unnamed saints, prophets, evangelists... carrying scrolls or codices. top: the woman at the well, the woman with the flow of blood, Jesus cures the blind, (partial) the calling of Peter and Andrew. - Classe
My guess would be that the difference in green background also means the border between the original and restored mosaics.