Florence Part III - The Duomo

It's hard to pick a favorite part of Florence. 

Until you see the Duomo. 

Old Florence is an excellent representation of how things used to be: a glorious, visually dominant cathedral sits at the center of town, surrounded on every side by a wide berth of pavilion, with commerce and merchants on the edges. Of course, today's merchants consist of more fine Italian clothiers and fewer pig farmers. The Duomo, perhaps more than any other visual spectacle, makes you feel transported to the Renaissance. 

"Oh...I can feel it."

Our trusty guide books put much stock in the climb to the top spire. Panaromic views of Florence!, they said. Worth every arduous step of the way!, they said. Having finally returned - exhausted - to our little apartment at 5:15, we learned the cathedral would close doors at 5:30 for the last group up. Faced with a decision of momentous importance at the proverbial 11th hour, we took full advantage of Florence and walked right back out the door. 

Duomo: we cometh. 

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The Duomo, like most ancient cathedrals in Europe, has been undergoing renovations and general cleanings for some time. You can likely tell the difference between the above shot (the entrance), and the below shot (Becca holding half our lunch with the cathedral's north side behind her). The cleaning made a huge difference, especially with all that pink marble. I've had the good fortune of seeing several cathedrals throughout Western Europe, and the exterior of Il Duomo is easily one of the most impressive - north-facing filth notwithstanding.

I took a picture of Becca sitting on the steps to contrast the old and the new. This picture, of course, was before we were asked to not eat on the stairs. Who knew Italy actually enforced rules?

So. The climb. 

It turns out the interior of the Duomo is mighty disappointing. After the grandeur of the exterior, your expectations of the interior are as elevated as a Gothic arch - only to be dashed by a rather plain cathedral. Perhaps there's a certain redemption in its simplicity. The simple lines of the columns and arches was, admittedly, pretty cool.

View from behind the plexiglass just before the route heads into the nether reaches of the tower.

The climb up the narrow staircases was reminiscent of the cathedral in Köln, Germany - winding, narrow staircases, little shafts of light coming in from the smallest of holes in the rock, and a bunch of people trying to get down whilst you try to get up. Every now and again we'd get a teaser view of what was coming:

Luckily, there was an iPhone present to record the adventure.

Climbing!

Arrival!

I know the scale of these photos doesn't fit at all into the post....but the panoramic view was too great to scale down. So there ya have it.

Florence made quite an impression. While I won't be getting back there to learn Italian in the next 5 years, I just might make it in the next 10. 


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PS - And here's an extra video pre-Duomo that I just found. Filmed on the balcony of the Uffizi!