Thursday Afternoon Exploring Oltrarno
After we decended the campanile, we walked south and crossed the Arno River to the section of Florence known as Oltrarno, which literally means on the other side of the Arno River.
Oltrarno
Palazzo di Bianca Cappello
Santo Spirito
This is the church of Santo Spirito in the two photos below.
Brunelleschi designed the church to replace one destroyed in a fire in about 1440.
It is perhaps the purest example of Renaissance thought because he was able to give his imagination free reign.
It is considered a masterpiece of peace and serenity.
I will have to spend some more time here the next time I am in Florence.
Ponte a Santa Trinita
We had crossed the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio. Now we made our way to the Ponte a Santa Trinita, the next bridge downriver from the Ponte Vecchio.
The sculpture on the south-west corner of the Ponte a Santa Trinita.
The sculpture on the south-east corner of the Ponte a Santa Trinita.
This photo was taekn from the same spot as the two above
looking at the building to the right, across the road.
Looking up river from the Ponte a Santa Trinita.
The Ponte Vecchio.
The south side of the Arno River between the Ponte a Santa Trinita
and the Ponte Vecchio.
A detail of the tower seen in the photo above.
Looking across the Ponte a Santa Trinita.
The sculpture on the north-east corner of the Ponte a Santa Trinita.
The sculpture on the north-west corner of the Ponte a Santa Trinita.
Exploring Florence
Then we made our way toward the Piazza della Republica. The next few photos are views of Florence along the route we took between the Ponte a Santa Trinita and the Piazza della Republica.
Palazzo Strozzi
The next two photos are from the courtyard of the Palazzo Strozzi, one of the finest examples of Renaissance domestic architecture. It was commissioned by the Florentine merchant Filippo Strozzi and the foundations were laid in 1489 according to a design by Benedetto da Maiano. A year later the project was given to Simone del Pollaiolo, known as Cronaca, who worked on it until 1504 but the Palazzo was only finally finished in 1538 Since the Second World War the Palazzo has been Florence’s largest temporary exhibition space. Among the major exhibitions held at Palazzo Strozzi have been the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (1949), 17th century Florence (1986), Gustav Klimt (1992), La Natura Morta Italiana (2003), Botticelli and Filippo Lippi (Italy’s most visited exhibition in Italy in 2004) and Cézanne in Florence (Italy’s most visited exhibition in 2007).
Palazzo Strozzi courtyard, Ground level.
Palazzo Strozzi courtyard, Upper stories.
The golden horse statue in Piazza Strozzi.
Dinner in the Piazza della Republica
When we got to the Piazza della Republica, it was almost 8:00pm, so we walked around it and checked out the restaurant menus.
We decided on the Caffe Concerto, which can be seen in the left photo below.
It also has a terrific pasticceria, or pastry shop.
Again, by going to the restaurant at 8:00pm, we had no problem getting seated.
We had an outdoor table, under the canopy in the piazza.
There were other diners there, but it was only about half full.
At 9:00pm, the entertainment started and the restaurant began to fill up.
The entertainment was a small band with singers who were quite good.
We took our time and had a leisurely dinner, listened to some music and were never pressured to clear out to make room for someone else.
We had some wine, an antipasto or a primo, a secondo (with a contorno) and dolce.
We are not accustomed to eating the Italian way
so usually when we had dinner, we had either an antipasti or a primi, but usually not both.
This restaurant also had Risotto Quattro Formaggio
on the menu so I had it again.
Risotto has become one of my favorite dishes.
The typical Italian dinner menu consists of: antipasti (appetizers,) primi (first courses,) secondi (main courses,) contorni (side dishes to go with the main course, like vegetables, etc.) and dolci (sweets or desserts.)
It is different from typical Italian American menus in various ways.
For example, you won't find a dish like spaghetti and meatballs
on the menu.
You might find spaghetti as a primo and meatballs as a secondo, but having the two together is an American innovation.
Caffe Concerto in the Piazza della Republica.
Looking out from our table toward the Piazza della Republica.
This was out in the Piazza della Republica.
It is a sculpture of the city of Florence, with labels in braile.
Notice the huge basilica dome sticking up in the middle/top
of the sculpture.
These guys pulled up and parked near the Caffe Concerto and got some
dinner nearby. I didn't notice which restaurant they went to.
I just thought the little tow trucks were cute, so I took the photo.
Another photo from our table.
The brick building peeking out in the background is
the Orsanmichele.
You can't get away from the mouse.
This Disney store was just down the street from our hotel.
Again tonight, we walked around for a while after eating and then headed back to our hotel for the night.
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