Florence | Mark Simms Photography

Tuscany Re-capped

Before I leave Italy and move on to other things, I just thought you might like to view all the photos I’ve posted over the last couple of months in one gallery, from our week-long visit to Tuscany:

Volpaia, Radda in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy

Leaning Tower, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

San Gimignano, Val D'Elsa, Tuscany, Italy

Medieval Manhattan, San Gimignano, Val D'Elsa, Tuscany, Italy

Volterra, Val di Cecina, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Inside the Duomo, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Views from the Campanile, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Radda in Chianti, Chianti Senese, Tuscany, Italy

Greve in Chianti, Chianti Fiorentina, Tuscany, Italy

Vineyards, Castello di Volpaia, Volpaia, Radda in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy

Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

The Baptistry, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

The View from the Baptistry, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

The Duomo, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

The Camposanto, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Tourists, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Baptistry Interior, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Duomo Interior, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Camposanto Interior, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

St Martin's Cathedral in Lucca, Tuscany, Lucca

Cathedral Exterior, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Cathedral Interior, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Streets of Florence

A few street shots of Florence, including the Palazzo Vecchio (the medieval fortified palace) and the Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge over the River Arno:

Inside Florence’s Duomo

In contrast to the exterior of Florence’s Duomo, which is stunning, the interior is quite plain……apart from the magnificent golden ceiling inside the baptistry:

Views from the Campanile

As promised in my last post, here are a few shots from the Campanile of Florence’s Duomo. I think the 414-step climb up the 85m-high bell tower was worth it:

Florence’s Duomo

Along with Rome’s Colosseum and Pisa’s Leaning Tower, the Duomo in Florence is one of Italy’s “big three” tourist attractions……..and with good reason.

Also know as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (“Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower”) construction started in 1296 and the main building took 150 years to complete. Giotto’s bell tower (the campanile) was built between 1334 and 1359; the famous dome (widely regarded as one of the finest masterpieces of the Renaissance) was added between 1420 and 1436 and the neo-gothic facade was re-designed in the late 19th Century.

From the outside it is truly breathtaking, not just because of its monumental size, but also because of it’s aesthetically pleasing form – most notably the stunning octagonal red brick dome (the largest masonry dome in the world) the elegant 85m high campanile and the fabulous pink, white and green marble decoration.