A Month in Bella Italia

[Lisbeth]

Oops!

[Flutterby]

From the bridge we went to the Palazzo Vecchio. The Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) is the town hall of Florence. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well as the Gallery of Statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi.

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Perseus in the Gallery of Statues.

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The fake David, which a lot of tourists think is the real one. The real statue is in the Galleria dell'Accademia.

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We then did some grocery shopping and got all of this for €26! It was nice to be able to cook our own food again!

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Later on we visited Dante's house which was a bit of a disappoinment. Turns out this may or may not have been his house and the items inside may or may not have belonged to Dante.

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There was always some filming going on in Florence, with film crews all over the place. This man walked past us, with everyone whispering "It's Renzi, it's Renzi!" We had no idea who he was, but assumed he was some actor. It turns out he was the President of the Province of Florence from 2004 to 2009, the Mayor of Florence from 2009 to 2014, and the Prime Minister of Italy from February 2014 until December 2016.

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Some clouds building over the Ponte Vecchio.

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Sunset over the Arno River.

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[Flutterby]

I forgot to put this picture in.

Il Porcellino, as the Italians call him, means “the little pig”. However the bronze porker sitting at the side of the New Market (Mercato Nuovo) is really a wild boar, or cinghiale in Italian. He supposedly brings good luck when visitors rub his snout and put a coin in his mouth. If the water washes the coin from the pig’s mouth and it falls into the grate below, you will have good luck and you will be sure to return to Florence. If not, try again. The coins are used to support an orphanage.

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The Brat's coin fell into the grate, so hopefully he will have good luck!! I don't know so much about the coins supporting an orphanage...the lady in white was a gypsy and she picked up all the coins that didn't fall through!

[Richprins]

Fancy scenery, Flutts!

I thought the statues had their willies chopped off at some stage?

Interesting food that...what are the brown fruits again?

[Richprins]

Ja, not so sure about how legit that fundraising is..

[Flutterby]

Yep, it seems fundraising is a bit dodgy all over the world!

Not sure about the statues and their willies!

The fruit is Kiwi fruit. The pasta was 50 cents a box which equates to about R10. Here we pay close to R30 for Barilla pasta!

[Lisbeth]

Next time you go to Italy, buy the "De Cecco" instead of Barilla it does not get too soft if you leave it for a moment and is much better if you want to heat it up in a pan the next day

RP. the sculptures without arms, legs and heads are mostly the Greek and Byzantine ones, which are a thousand years older and often found in the sea.

"Renzi" was the Italian Prime Minister during the last Italian Government and it does look like him

[Lisbeth]

This shot made me crazy, I had to find an angle where the sun was hidden behind the tower

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Below: The building is crowned with projecting crenellated battlement, supported by small arches and corbels. Under the arches are a repeated series of nine painted coats of arms of the Florentine republic. Some of these arches can be used as embrasures (spiombati) for dropping heated liquids or rocks on invaders.

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(There are often cranes around to ruin your pictures )

[Richprins]

I looked for info on the willy stuff and only found this!


https://metro.co.uk/2016/07/11/this-is- ... s-5999122/

[Lisbeth]

Typical!

"Because those are the weakest points in its construction. After 2500 years of wear and tear, necks and wrists break."