Reading and Roaming
MICHELANGELO’S DAVID First off, a detour from the Medicis to Michelangelo. The Chief Penguin got us tickets to the Accademia for Saturday to see David. Saturday morning was lovely, but it poured in the afternoon, which resulted in a long soggy walk there. Our tickets were for 4:45 pm, but at 4:30, we weren’t sure we …
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MAIN SQUARE & DUOMO We’re re-discovering Florence and loving it! Our first and only previous visit here was almost 50 years ago. We wonder why we’ve not come back sooner. Elegant and lively, not as overwhelming as Rome, and with its bridges, architecture, and marvelous art, it’s a gem. Plus there’s a plethora of great small restaurants. On Saturday, …
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ARREZO’S PLACE We arrived in Arezzo yesterday for three nights. Arezzo is not as much on the tourist circuit as Siena, Cortona, and other Tuscan towns. In fact, Debora, our lively guide today, described Arezzo as “the ugly duckling.” It’s a real city and much bigger than Siena or Cortona, but it has not had the same influx …
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SETTING Cortona is a town in Tuscany built on a hillside at an elevation of 2,000 feet. Some of its original walls remain and the architecture is primarily medieval. It was an Etruscan kingdom, then a Roman colony, then independent, and in the 15th century part of the Medici holdings. When Italy was united into …
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