After an agonizingly slow train trip, I arrived into Florence from Pisa around mid-afternoon. After checking into a nearby pension, I realised just how little time I had left to see Florence, arguably the art capital of Italy. Nevertheless I managed to get through the main attractions including the Santa Maria del Fiore, Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria and finally reaching the famous Ponte Vecchio before the sun set.

Background

The Piazza del Duomo was grand in scale, with the mighty size of the dome, the slightly shorter campanile and the elaborately decorated facade and baptistry and reflected the city's proud tradition to lead in all things. Brunelleschi's Dome could be climbed, but I did not have enough time to climb more than 400 steps to the top of the dome. Instead, I had time to appreciate Vasari Frescoes of the Last Judgement, even though it was quite dark inside the cathedral. I also spent some time outside walking around the perimeter of the Duomo and ending back at the Baptistry.

Wandering down past the Castello Bargello, I arrived at the Piazza della Signoria a few minutes later. It is here where Florence's artistic heritage could be seen here with the familiar sight of Palazzo Vecchio, the famous Uffizi and the statues in the Loggia dei Lanzi. I was also fortunate enough to see a charity big band start their march out of the square. There were too many people to hang around and take photos and they seemed to be in a real rush to leave the square so I decided to just enjoy the sound of their brass instruments.

Since it was quickly getting dark, I left for Ponte Vecchio which was just a few minutes walk from the Piazza, past the Uffizi. Instead of going inside, I walked further west towards the Ponte Santa Trinita to be rewarded with a view worth remembering - Florence with Ponte Vecchio, Campanile of Palazzo Vecchio and the River Arno.

Technical
Canon EOS 300V with 28-90mm USM. Kodak Elitechrome 100. Canon A20 Powershot Digital Camera.

Links
Florence tourist office