Firenze

On the first evening after we got to Florence, a few of us rode the bus up to San Miniato al Monte, a basilica that overlooks the city.


From San Miniato al Monte, the view is pretty impressive.


Here the view becomes a little less impressive:


Here, you can see, from left to right, the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence's city hall), the dome of the Basilica di San Lorenzo, and Florence's beautiful cathedral, the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore.


This is the facade of the Duomo, which was not completed until 1887. Construction of the church itself began in 1296, and Fillipo Brunelleschi's famous dome was finished in 1436.


Here is the dome from street level.



Of course, no visit to Florence is complete without an ascent to the top of Brunelleschi's dome. The design and construction of this dome atop Santa Maria del Fiore is considered by most the be the starting point of the Italian Renaissance. Here, you can see the roof over the nave of the cathedral and the bell-tower (which is far more impressive than that piece of crap in Pisa).


Here you can see the Basilica di San Lorenzo in the shadow of the Duomo. This church was also designed by Brunelleschi. The Laurentian Library (the wing extending to the left of the church in the photo) was designed by Michaelangelo Buonarroti.


Florence from the dome of the Duomo:


The subdued interior of the Doumo stands in stark contrast to its heavily-ornamented exterior.


An exception, of course, is Vasari's massive painting, "The Last Judgement," which covers the interior of the dome. This is one of the largest paintings in the world.


Here is a close-up of the condemned being skinned and having torches stuck up their butts by the demons of Hell.



This is the Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge across the Arno River in Florence that survived WWII.


And a photo of some of the shops on the bridge:


Here is the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio.


For hundreds of years, Michaelangelo Buonarroti's masterpiece "David" stood here in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Today, a replica stands in its place. The replica sucks by comparison.


Michaelango's original stands in the Accademia Gallery in Florence.

Vals, Switzerland

I'm gonna go ahead and post these pictures from Vals, Switzerland, even though I haven't posted my photos from Florence, Bologna, or Maranello yet. As you may or may not know, 6 of us rented a car in Genoa and drove 5 1/2 hours up to see the baths at Vals. Driving in Europe was a blast. It was pretty terrifying at first, though, because the Italians drive like maniacs. You pretty much have to toss out every thing you ever learned about turn signals, right-of-way, speed limits and street signs. Concepts like these don't occur to Italians. Driving in Italy is, in essence, trying to jockey a position to the front of the pack. If you don't, you will get nowhere, or worse. Of course, you have to do this while flying down impossibly narrow twisting lanes, often with scooters flanking you on either side (in the same lane as yourself). It's even more fun when you are driving a stick-shift diesel minivan. Or what the Italians call a minivan - it's probably closer in size to something like a Ford Focus station wagon. Nonetheless, it was an incredibly fun car to drive. Once we got to Switzerland, the roads got a little bit wider (until we got high in the mountains, that is) and the drivers were a lot more sane.

This is the kind of car we rented, an Opel Zafira:



As you can see, it wasn't really that big, but six of us (and our luggage) managed to fit inside.


Yours Truly booking it though an Italian tunnel:


And a photo taken from the back seat:


Here are some photos Will took inside the baths and hotel:



All six of us outside of the baths - from left to right: Meg, Michael, Jenny, Virginia, myself, and Will.


And here are some more photos I took in and around Vals:


My, that's a nice Alp.

Since we couldn't return it until Monday, on Sunday we took the car for another short road trip to Camogli, a port about 35 minutes from Genoa (pictures are forthcoming). And, believe or not, this morning Will and I actually returned the Opel in one piece - not a single scratch (though quite a bit dirtier due to slush and road salt)! We're even thinking about pressing our luck and possibly renting a car again later in the term to take another road trip.

Siena

Here are some photos from Siena. Siena was a city that pretty much always came out on the losing end of its wars against Florence. Because of that, the city was thrust into a depression that lasted almost 500 years. This means that, today, the city looks almost as it did in medieval times.

This is the Duomo (cathedral) of Siena.




The relics of a saint in the museum attached to the duomo:



From the top of the museum, I took this photo of the Piazza del Campo, Siena's main square that doubles as a racetrack for the famous Il Palio horse race that occurs twice a year. The tower is the campanile that is attached the the Palazzo Pubblico, the seat of Siena's government.




Here is the campanile again.



And here I am about halfway up.



And at the top under the bell.



A view of the Tuscan countryside from the top of the campanile:

More Rome

Me at the top of St. Peter's:



Michaelagelo' s famous Pieta inside the church:



This is the baldacchino that stands over the supposed tomb of St. Peter.



The statue of the Roman emporer Marcus Aurelius at the Campidoglio:



This is the Jubilee Church in Rome. It was built to celebrate the millennium, but is was not finished until 2003.



Clemson students (myself included) basking in the sun on the stairs of a church near the Roman Forum:

The Eternal City of the Seven Hills

I'm back safely in Genoa. While I was gone, I took just under 1000 photos of Rome, Siena, Florence, Bologna, Maranello, and Parma. To begin with, here are a few of the photos I took in Rome.


Here I am after my conquest over the Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum).


Below is the exterior and interior of the 2000-year-old Pantheon.


The Castel Sant'Angelo, the fortress on the Tiber River that guarded Rome and the Vatican for hundreds of years:


St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in all of Christendom:



The Piazza San Pietro in Vatican City was seen from the top of St. Peter's dome (of which I climbed all 550 steps):