Florence, Italy

Florence is awesome!!

Those statues are amazing!

I decided to visit my friend Giuseppe again--but in Florence, Italy. It was fabulous! This beautiful region of Italy is around Tuscany. Tuscany is known for its gorgeous landscapes and lots of people think it's the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It's also home to some of the most influential people in the history of arts and science--such as Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and Amerigo Vespucci. I thought that was pretty awesome.

When Giuseppe and I first arrived in Florence we decided to visit Piazza Della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio. Piazza Della Signoria is an L shaped square in front of Palazzo Vecchio. Palazzo Vecchio is a building named after a guy named Palazzo, who used to be the Signoria. The Palazzo Vecchio is also the town hall of the city, and among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. I think that fantastic fact is a very amazing thing. Another wonderful thing about it is a copy of Michelangelo's David statue is overlooking the square. I thought that was pretty awesome, too.

I wish I was that strong!

Though Michelangelo's David statue is pretty awesome when we went inside the Palazzo Vecchio to the right of the entrance we saw the white marble sculpture Hercules and Cacus which was even cooler. Hercules killed Cacus for stealing cattle which is a symbol of physical strength. This compared nicely with David as a symbol of spiritual strength. Hercules and Cacus and Michelangelo's David statue are both made of marbel, and it represents the victor (the Medici) and the vanquished (the republicans.) I thought that was very interesting to think about.

Isn't that just amazing!?

After that, we saw a statue of Perseus with the head of Medusa. It was a pretty scary looking statue, but it was worth it--that statue is amazing!! This was made by Benvenuto Cellini and is was his attempt to surpass Michelangelo's David and Donatello's Judith and Holofernes. It caused Benvenuto trouble and anxiety, but as soon as the statue was completed it was hailed as a masterpiece. I hope to make a statue that famous one day. That would be quackers!

Splish Splash!!

Giuseppe and I decided to go see the Ponte Vecchio, or "Old Bridge." It was marvelous! it's a Medieval stone arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence. It is noted for still having shops built along it. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. The bridge crosses the Arno at its narrowest point. It is believed that after it was destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone, then swept away again in 1333, and rebuilt a second time in 1345. It is rumored that Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during WWII because of an express order by Hitler.

It's HUGE!!!

The Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Place), is a Renaissance palace in Florence. Giuseppe and I decided to go check it out. In 1549 the palace was bought by the Medici family and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It was fantastic!! You should go see it if you ever decide to visit Florence.

It's beautiful!!

The Florence Babtistry is a religious building in Florence. It was really pretty and the architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style. The octagonal Babtistry stands in the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza di San Giovanni. It's also one of the oldest buildings in the city--I wonder just how old it is. I hope to be the oldest duck in the world some day!! That would be awesome.

Have you ever heard of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore? It is very cool. It means "Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower". The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is a cathedral church in Florence, and is ordinarily called the Duomo. It started in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio, and the structure was completed in 1436. It is faced with polychrome marble panels in lots of different shades of green and pink, bordered with white. It's also one of Italy's largest churches and was the largest in the world until development of new structural materials in the modern era.

Whoa! That's tall!

Giotto's Campanile is a part of several complex buildings of the Florence cathedral. Beside the Basilica of Anta Maria del Fiore and the Babtistry of St. John, the tower is a showpiece of the Florentine Gothic architecture. It stands on a square plan and is sustained by four polygonal buttresses at the corners. Wouldn't it be awesome to stand at the top of the tower?? I bet I could see the whole world! That would be duckariffic!

Quack Report:

My quack was sad and depressing. It didn't make any noise!!!! Just forget the echo.