Our second day in Florence was our free day to just wander around. Old Florence is a lovely medieval Italian town, with narrow cobblestone streets and centuries old buildings.
Here is the famous Ponte Vecchio. It is believed a bridge has been in this spot since Roman times, but was first mentioned in the year 996. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since then and was most recently damaged in the 1966 river Arno flood.
We managed to get to the Boboli Gardens and walk to the high point in the hopes of getting the famous Florentine view.
Turns out you don’t need to climb the hill to see this, it’s right next to the Pitti Palace at the entrance to the gardens.
Later in the day we found ourselves in the Piazza della Signoria, which is just outside the Uffizi – one of the world’s greatest museums. During the day the piazza was heaving with people, but in the evening it was as though we had the place to ourselves.
The building with the tower is the Palazzo Vecchio, or town hall of Florence.
This is the Piazza Vecchio with The Fountain of Neptune, a statue that is the work of the sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati, which is a copy from the 1800s of the statue that was completed in 1574.
Here it is during the day.
The piazza is known for its replica statuary of famous statues found elsewhere in Florence.
This is called Menelaus Carrying the Body of Patroclus, and is one of fifteen known copies of the original.
This is Perseus with the Head of Medusa, a bronze sculpture made by Benvenuto Cellini 1545–1554.
Beautiful.
At the entry to the Palazzo Vecchio is a courtyard that at night is magical.
While we were admiring the courtyard, someone began playing a piano that was open for anyone to play. You can hear it here:
The young woman who was playing went on with her own repertoire of music that everyone in the courtyard thoroughly enjoyed.
If you’re in Florence, try to make it to the Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio after dark. You won’t regret it.
Our last look of the evening was of the Ponte Vecchio at night. It’s currently lit up to celebrate the 1969 moon landing in tandem with an exhibit at the Uffizi.
Florence at night was gorgeous.
