This is our second time in Italy on this trip in sept 2016 we visited, Lecce, Sicily, Amalfi Coast and then up to Rome. This time we stopped in Florence and Cinque Terra which is in the northern part of Italy.
Florence is a city that is best toured by walking, it is an overwhelming beauty city. It’s impossible not to be completely and utterly amazed by the sheer size and grandeur of Brunelleschi’s red cathedral dome on Piazza del Duomo, with medieval candle-lit chapels, fresco-decorated churches, marble basilicas and world-class art museums with paintings and sculptures Botticcelli, Michelangelo, Donatello, Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi.
Florence
There are 72 museum in Florence, we were very impressed with the Grand museum of the Duomo, we visited the Cathedral, the Bell Tower with 414 steps (the weather was very hot that day 42 degrees) the Baptistery, the Museum itself and the Santa Repartee. It is all very interesting and well worth a visit.
We spent all day in the Uffizi Galleria and the Vecchio Place, we saw some amazing works of art like, The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, Venus of Urbino by Titan, Madonna of Goldfinch by Raphael and plenty more. The main reason we went to the Galleria Dell Accademia was to see the Sculpture of David by Michelangelo it was created between 1501 and 1504 it is 5.17 meters marble statue.
Duomo
Martin climbing inside the dome
Adoration-of-the-Magi-by-Leonardo-da-Vinci
Botticelli Birth of Venus
Allegory-of-Spring-by-Botticelli
Michelangelo-Tondo-Doni
Mary Magdalen
David by Michelangelo
My favourite picture of The Adoration of the Child and Mary it shows a moonlit scene with Mary laying the Child in swaddling clothes. Joseph is looking over her shoulder and two angels are leaning over the crib.
My favourite Statue
We had a wonderful time in Florence but if we were to go again I would go in spring or autumn the summer is too hot and too many tourists. I have never seen so many tourist, also a note for parents please do not bring your toddlers to Florence they really have no interest in spending hours going through museums and art galleries. Wait until they are a bit older then they might appreciate it.
After a week in Florence we had 5 nights in Cinque Terra. We were both blown away by its beauty. It is 5 very picturesque villages along the Italian coastline. A train ticket will allow you to hop on or off at each one of the villages, the villages all have their own uniqueness and beauty. The water in each village is crystal clear. You can hike from one to the other, although at the moment some of the hikes are closed because of landslides. We hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza the hike was fine but it was 40 degrees that day and so it was very hot we had to get to the nearest bar when we arrived to get some refreshing drinks.
It was busy with tourists so spring would be a better time to visit. The photo’s do not do the villages justice.
Cinque Terra
There was another village we visited called Levanto it could be the 6th village of the Cinque Terre, it can be found after Monterosso, on the other side of Punta Mesco. It is a very pleasant town with a long beach. If you hike up the hill, you will find Monterosso on the other side. Levanto is a perfect base for discovering the Cinque Terre which is only 5 minutes away by train but you can also reach it by boat.
If we had know about Levanto we would have based ourselves here instead we based ourselves La Spezia, another nice area especial down at the marina, but in my opinion not as nice as Levanto.
Levanto
We wished we had more time in Cinque Terra and will be back again one day. This is definitely one of our favourite stops on this trip.
Venice
Venice is a city in north-eastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges, of which there are 400. Venice was better than I had remembered, it really is an amazing place We stayed in the Castillo area, the Airbnb was great, it was owned by an artist who had some beautiful art pieces in the apartment.
View of Venice from the Bell tower
Our Airbnb
The glass artwork in our Airbnb
The artwork in our Airbnb
Beer being delivered by boat (relieved husband)
There are no cars in the area everything moves around very efficiently on water. The young people in Venice buy small boats instead of cars, they seem to really enjoy cruising around. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its settings, their architecture, and artwork. St Marks Square, the Basilica, the Bell tower the famous Rialto Bridge are wonderful to see. We did not do a Gondola ride this time, it was 100 euro for an hour, we got a ferry ticket for 20 euro for 24 hours and that was great.
Well there are still some cars being used ?
Bell tower in St Marks square
St Marks Basilica
Roof line from the Bell Tower
Top of St Marks Basilica
Artwork called support
We did visit some of the closer islands, Murano island that has the most beautiful Murano glass shops and the factories are very interesting, it was the most beautiful glass work we have ever seen. We decided to buy a gift for ourselves, something to remind us of our trip around the world. We decided on a very elegant sail boat, as it is large and we did not want to carry it around with us the shop will post it to Australia when we get home. Lido Island is another lovely island which does have cars on it, it had a great beach on it, not something I was expecting. The Graveyard island is exactly that an island for graves there are several different types of graves and tombs, it is a very peaceful place and it was lovely having the sea breeze flowing thorough the island.
Murano Island
Glass factory on Murano
The glass art piece we bought on Murano
Lido Island beach
One of the beautiful headstone on Graveyard island
Our favourite restaurants in Venice was Taverna Scalinetto, Calle Del Dose Castello, I had the best sea food risotto ever, the whole meal was amazing, the restaurant is also very nicely decorated and the service was great.
For the second time on this trip we really enjoyed Italy.