Firenze! (Florence, Italy)

We arrived in Florence at the Train Station, Santa Maria Novella Station. It was different, not as opulent as the stations that we had seen so far. 

We headed around the corner and found Via Fiume #17 to the Hotel Duca d'Aosta.  It was a renovated palace once owned by the Medici family. It wasn't the greatest place in the world but for 35 Euros a night, it'll do!

After we checked in, we immediately went for a walk downtown to see a few sights..

First stop was the Basilica del Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flowers)

Below the chapel is a crypt. The archaeological history of this huge area was reconstructed through the work of Dr Franklin Toker: remains of Roman houses, an early Christian pavement, ruins of the former cathedral of Santa Reparata and successive enlargements of this church. Close to the entrance, in the part of the crypt open to the public, is the tomb of Brunelleschi. While its location is prominent, the actual tomb is simple and humble. That the architect was permitted such a prestigious burial place is proof of the high esteem he was given by the Florentines.

After the crypt, we headed into the Piazza del Senoria where we had a bite to eat and then headed into the Palazzo Vecchio, which literally means Old Palace.

We headed inside:

We left the palace and headed down the the Ponte Vecchio. It's amazing! Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, when the via Cassia crossed the river at this point. The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996. After being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333 save two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. It was rebuilt in 1345, hence what we see today.  During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat of August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. 

This was allegedly because of an express order by Hitler because he thought it was attractive.

We walked around for a little while longer and saw the old Medici Palace and Dante's Home...

A little Video: