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Florence, Italy
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This place was Great
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The entrance to the Vatican Museum
Our time in Rome ended today with a trip to the Vatican Museum. It was an optional tour that we signed up for mainly to see the Sistine Chapel, but it was so much more. It’s really impossible to describe it in words, or even in pictures, but if you have never been, go. If you do nothing else in this country, see this museum. There are thousands of ancient artifacts from Greece and Italy, as well as exquisite tapestries, and of course artwork and statues. The ceilings in every room are adorned with the most amazing artwork and mosaics with gold trim on everything. Of course there is the artwork of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, a piece of art so rare and wonderful that it’s impossible to convey the genius of it on film. I’ve seen lots of pictures, but it just doesn’t do it justice, people. Picture taking is not allowed in the Chapel, and I wasn’t going to risk getting kicked out of there, so sorry, you’ll just have to see it for yourself. It took Michelangelo over four years to paint it, and you can actually see him getting better as he painted one side to the other. Starting with smaller, less majestic figures, but ending with a huge figure whose legs almost seem to hang off the ceiling down toward you. It’s simply the best example of shading and depth I’ve even seen. I was so moved and awed by the piece that I just couldn’t speak for several hours afterward. And he didn’t even like to paint! His favorite thing to do was sculpture, and we’d see some of that later in the day. I was in a daze after seeing all of this beauty, it really impacts you, and speaks directly to the soul. The pictures describe the rest, I’m running out of adjectives to describe them. Needless to say, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and is now the highlight of the trip. After all of that it was another bus trip to Florence, deep in the heart of Tuscany. Florence has some incredible artwork of it’s own, being a former home of Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Michelangelo’s David is here, as well as some other beautiful statuary. Churches here are adorned with artwork in bronze, marble, and gold. One highlight was a church door with a bronze relief that took it’s maker twenty years to finish. There is also a huge shopping district here, it’s like Hollywood and Vine, but with an artistic and religious soul. Our hotel was further out of town, I guess it’s just out of our price range to actually stay in Florence. Dinner tonight was good, pasta and grilled chicken with tiramisu ice cream for dessert. This was the first time we’ve toured two different cities in one day, and it was absolutely exhausting, so we’re ready to go to bed and rest our tired feet.
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Some wings were off limits
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They had lots of precious Greek and Roman Statuary
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A beautiful Greek statue, and the Italian guy who wouldn't move
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Paintings on the ceiling
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Paintings on the ceiling
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The amazing ceilings
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Closeup of the amazing ceiling
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At the end of the amazing ceiling
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Great works of art
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One of my favorite ceiling murals
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Solar system model, with the earth at the center. Hehe
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No, this is not the Arc of the Covanent
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Now on to Florence, and it's most famous resident
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Spires over Florence
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A Panaramic view of Downtown Florence
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Same Church
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Took 20 years to make this door
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Closeup of door
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Closeup of door
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Statue of Dante
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Streets of Florence
Posted
Aug 01, 2005
by jgrobertson
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