Florence, Italy

The dome of this Basilica is the largest brick dome in the world and was constructed between 1420AD and 1426AD with the opening to its lantern being some 295 feet above the pavement.

Sharing space with the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in the Piazza del Duomo is the Battistero di San Giovanni (The Florence Baptistry).  Our guide spent most of her time discussing the east doors of the Baptistry.  They are very striking and feature a method of low relief bronze sculpture which was a new technique at the time that Lorenzo Ghiberti completed his work on the doors.  Michelangelo referred to the doors as the “Gates of Paradise” and they are generally referred to by that name today. (Porte del Paradiso).  The door panels that the tourists see today are copies of the originals since the originals were removed in 1990 for cleaning, restoration and preservation.

The “Gates of Paradise” are a popular tourist site and getting in close for uninhabited photos is a bit difficult but I was able to photograph a few of the panels from above the crowd.  These appear below.

After looking at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore for a period of time and discussing all of the history of its construction, we headed over to the Palazzo Vecchia through a series of old streets where iron rings, formerly used to hitch the horses, adorned the walls. Underfoot, were a series of interesting manhole covers.

About Ron

Ron has long had an interest in photography and traveling and, in recent years, has had more time to devote to both activities. Long a Pentax user, Ron switched to Nikon gear when he went digital. The advent of the digital SLR camera, and the ease of the internet blogging process, has provided a venue for sharing his photography and travel experience at the local, national and international level. More about Ron
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