Monday, July 11, 2016

Italy Blog #21: Florence: Our Favorite Sculptures !

A boat ride to the Venice Train Station
Welcome to the 21st blog of our Italy tour. This blog looks at the train and some incredible sculptures we loved.

Rob and Tom on the Train
ABOUT THE TRAINS-  In Venice, we took a water taxi to the train station (see short video) then took the train from to Florence. What a great way to get around in Italy.  The trains provide beverage and snack service, just like an airline. The high-speed trains were clean and efficient and it only took 2 hours to get from Venice to Florence. 

Loggia dei Lanzi
 
LOST! Once we got to the hotel, we had some time before our tour guide met us in the hotel, so we decided to walk around... and we got lost! 
We did manage to find some great statues though... near  Palazzo Vecchio in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza (square) della Signoria (don't ask me what that means). Here's a look at 3 of our favorites:

Hercules and Cacus

Hercules and Cacus - Hercules and Cacus is a white sculpture by Bandinelli, located to the right of the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy. The demi-god Hercules killed Cacus the fire-belching monster   for stealing cattle. This is Rob's favorite sculpture. 

Menelaus and Patroclus
Menelaus and Patroclus  - Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus is a marble sculpture well-known because it represents an episode in the Iliad featuring the characters Menelaus and Patroclus. The ancient nucleus of the sculpture consisted of the headless torso of a man in armor supporting a heroically nude dying comrade  from the mid-3rd century BC.
This is Tom's favorite sculpture! 

David (replica)
Replica of "David"-  A full-sized replica of Michelangelo's David is in front of the Palazzo Vecchio (the original is now in the Gelleria dell'Accademia). David was  created between 1501 and 1504. Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the (ruling) Medici family.  
Palazzo Vecchio

NEXT: St. Mary of the Flower, and she's one big basilica

Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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