Florence !

We arrived in Florence and easily located our hotel – walking distance from the train station.  A couple of early observations about Florence:

•  Florence is a real city.
•  Florence has more Italians than tourists
• The temperature in Florence is just as high as Venice but the humidity is much lower so this is not nearly as uncomfortable
• The roads are marked, Maps are ubiquitous and people are very friendly, On the other hand, the cars really don’t seem to care if pedestrians are in the way.  It’s your job to avoid them.
• The sodas from street vendors are truly cold (my favorite feature!)

After checking in to our hotel, we immediately headed out to see the Duomo.  Easy walking distance.

The Duomo is very grand, of course.  I think this dome may be Brunellesci’s dome ? I’m not sure. Walking around inside reminds me of how the Catholic Church reached the heights of its power in a pre-literate society.   So much of the architecture and art is intended to communicate the message of the church.  Among other things, the church is built to make people feel small and to inspire awe.  The art glorifies suffering and the afterlife in preference to enjoyment in this world. At St. Mark’s in Venice, women were not even allowed on the floor of the church.  There were special ‘viewing galleries’ upstairs where they would go for services.  

We also went to see the Piazza S. Maria Novella.  It was another beautiful church that felt more like a real church and less like a tourist destination.  The paintings were very ornate, of course. 

My favorite thing about churches are that they are quiet and cool and welcome people to come in and sit for awhile and contemplate whatever.

We are back in the room now for awhile and will go out again tonight. Tomorrow – museums (I think) !