Thursday. Yes. It's only Thursday on my trip to Italy.
Thursday, Dave had two company visits: a high-end cappuccino manufacturer and an even higher end pen manufacturer. I had the entire day to roam about Florence on my own. I wanted to be sure to visit Santa Croce. I took a meandering stroll about the city and arrived in the piazza in time for lunch. (I'm really good at timing my meals.) I bought a delicious slice of pizza topped with eggplant, zucchini, and onions and ate in the piazza as I ignored the Asian lady trying to sell scarves to tourists.
After my lunch, I headed inside the chapel. All of the chapels have a posted "dress code." No shorts or even short skirts. Outside this chapel, inappropriately attired women could purchase a plastic poncho of sorts to wear inside so as to be modest in appearance. I giggled at some of the women wearing them, because of the ridiculous clothes they were wearing underneath. Who goes touring Florence in the middle of the afternoon looking like they're headed clubbing?
Santa Croce is such a popular destination because of the tombs contained there.
Below is the tomb of Michelangelo.
This statue is said to be the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty.
The tomb of Enrico Fermi, Nobel Prize winning Physicist; I, remember that, at least, from my science classes.
The interior of the church was made of these beautiful exposed beams.
This was one of my favorite paintings. I am struck by the artists halo around the woman's head. I hope there is someone whose life I've touched who would envision me with that glowing light encircling my head.
While some of the tombs were along the side of the chapel, others were in the floor along the way.
Another example of the painstaking attention to detail and ornate style that abounds in Italy. This is the roof of a portico that extended perpendicular to the chapel and that helped form a courtyard garden.
Then parallel to the sanctuary was this hallway of tombs and monuments. The entire room was filled with beautiful marble monuments.
I love the simplicity of this cross.
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