- 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 ;-) - Marciana
- Chiessi
- Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio
Hike up the Cima del Monte (515 m). A wonderful path with views of Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio. - Cima del Monte
Portoferraio, as seen from Cima del Monte. Capo Bianco can also be seen behind Forte Falcone. - Rio nell'Elba
Public wash house in Rio. And a secret tip: behind the building is probably the best water spring on the whole island. - Rio nell'Elba
Almost perfect reflections in the wash house. - Chiessi
Do we always sit on the same rock? - Night in Caparica
View from our hotel room. - Life is good in Lisbon
View from Miradouro de Santa Catarina - Miradouro de Santa Luzia
An angry fish at the Miradouro de Santa Luzia - History of Lisbon
A complete Lisbon history in one passage. Mural by Nuno Saraiva. Every city should have a mural like this one. - Tiles in Alfama
Finding little treasures while getting lost in Alfama. - Padrão dos Descobrimentos
View from the top of the monument. Ponte 25 de Abril, which is 2277 m long, was built in 1966. - Quinta Pézinhos no Tejo
A wonderful setting for a wonderful dinner. - Óbidos
13th century castle, and one can walk on the walls. - Óbidos
View of the town from the castle walls. - R. do Pôr do Sol
The street name says it all: sunset street. - View of Sintra
View from the castle towards the town. And you can see the fog over the sea :-) - Cascais
What a lovely Bougainvilleated corner of a house in Cascais. - Dom Carlos I
Cascais was the favourite place of the king Dom Carlos I. The statue is from 2008 and only the names of politicians are given on the plaque, the artist is not mentioned. - Lisbon Campo Grande
Campo Grande and Entrecampos in Lisbon. View from the hotel. - Lago di Levico
Lago di Levico was awarded Bandiera Blue for excellent water quality. - Levico Terme
How to make a boring fence interesting. - Levico Terme
A lovely tiny garden in Levico Terme. - Levico Terme
An interesting old entrance. - 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. - View from strada del Menador
View towards Lago di Caldonazzo (left) and Lago di Levico (right). - House of Blackheads and Christmas tree
This wonderful building was bombed in WWII, completely demolished seven years later and rebuilt in 1999. - National Library
The new building was opened in 2014. The architect was Gunnar Birkerts (1925-2017), inspired by Castle of Light and Glass Mountain. - St. Peter's Church
St. Peter's Church (Rīgas Sv. Pētera baznīca). Founded in 1209 and rebuilt in the 15th century. The three entrances were added in the 17th century. The current steeple, which is 123 m tall, was built in 1973. - House of Blackheads
Originally built in 1334 for the city's guilds. The facade was was added in 1500s and the four statues of Neptune, Mercury, Unity and Peace were added in 1896. - The Christmas market
The Christmas spirit at the Christmas market in the Dome Square. Even the recycling bins are in festive mood :-) - Rīgas Doms - Riga Cathedral
The Cathedral and the Cathedral Square (Rīgas Doms and Doma laukums). - Mentzendorff house
Built in 1695. - House of Blackheads
Originally built in 1334 for the city's guilds. This wonderful building was bombed in WWII, and completely rebuilt in 1999. - A random armadillo
Armadillo by Liene Mackus. - Rīgas Doms - Riga Cathedral
The cloister of the Dome. The courtyard was closed, however, due to snow. - Rīgas Doms - Riga Cathedral
This Lutheran church was founded in 1211, but (re)built several times, so it's got Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements. And there was this guy tuning the piano, so I had my own private concert! Pure magic. - Romatic cafe
A romatic cafe behind St. Jacob's Catholic Cathedral (Rīgas Svētā Jēkaba Katedrāle) - Three brothers (Trīs Brāļi)
The Three Brothers are these three houses: the right one is gothic (15th century), the middle one is from the 17th, and the left one from the 18th century. - A closed bar
A closed bar, opposite the Powder Tower. - The Cat's House
Well, here I regretted not carrying my proper camera. Because I couldn't zoom in to the statue of the cat on top of the roof. - Riga centre
Some lovely old houses in the city centre. - Riga centre
Another wonderful Jugenstil/Art Nouveau house. - View of Riga
View from the St. Peter's tower. Yes, the visibility was pretty bad. One can hardly see the Vanšu Bridge. - The Christmas market
Plenty of bunnies in the Christmas market. This one was in Esplanade. - Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ
The Orthodox Cathedral was built in 1876-1884. - Esplanāde
One of the many parks in Riga. - Christmas decorations
A giant moon in Bastejkalna parks. - Christmas decorations
The inside of the moon :-) - Pilsētas kanāls
Latvian National Opera in the background. And yes, the canal is frozen. - Christmas decorations
More Christmas decorations in Kronvalda park. Unfortunately I wasn't there at night. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. Designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
One of many wonderful buildings in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) Quarter. - Jugendstil quarter
Detail at the entrance into one of the many wonderful houses in Alberta ilea. - Bird skyscraper
Now this is a brilliant way of reusing an old tree. - Freedom monument (Brīvības piemineklis)
The Freedom monument was designed by Kārlis Zāle and built in 1935. - View of Riga
What a difference a day makes! I visited St. Peter's Church again to actually see the view :-) - View of Riga
Wonderful view in all directions.