Photos of Italy from 1954
My father in law, Lloyd Tuck, was stationed in Germany after World War II.
Sometime in 1954, he and a buddy of his went to Italy on leave.
While he was there, he took these photos.
Starting from the US Army base at Wildflecken, Germany
Lloyd was stationed at what used to be a German SS base at Wildflecken, Germany.
Travelling through the Alps
On their way to Italy, they drove through the Alps.
First stop Venice
One of the first places they went was Venice.
And they stayed at a hotel on The Lido.
On to Rome
The Capitaline Hill
The first place they visited in Rome was the Capitaline Hill, which Lloyd has labeled as "artist piazza".
The Monument to Vitorrio Emanuelle II
Then they visited the Monument to Vitorrio Emanuelle II, which is located next to the Capitaline Hill.
After a series of wars, Vitorrio Emanuelle II became the first king of a unified Italy in 1861. The Veneto region was added in 1866 and Rome in 1870. The Italians called him "Father of the Fatherland (Italian: Padre della Patria.)" His tomb is located in the Pantheon.
Lloyd got some close-up photos of the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier located there.
The Colosseum
Then it was on to the Colosseum...
The Forum
These are photos of the Forum.
The Vatican
These are photos of the Vatican. It looks like a rainy day when these were taken.
St. Paul's outside the walls
This is a detail of St. Paul's.
The Appian Way
At some point, they traversed the Appian Way.
Florence
Next was Florence and the duomo — the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.
It appears that Lloyd had the same problem I had, trying to get a good photo of the entire facade of the duomo from ground level in the piazza in front of it. The baptistry is in the way, and you can't move back far enough to get a good shot without the baptistry blocking part of the photo.
The next two photos below show two different doors of the duomo.
The photos below show the doors to the baptistry of St. John, which is in the Piazza del Duomo in front of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.
These are the doors that Michelangelo called the Gates of Paradise.
These are the original door panels, before they were moved to the museum and replaced by copies in 1966.
Some people seem to think that these doors are golden, but they are actually bronze.
Pisa
The final stop was in Pisa.