A Day in Florence
In May 2012, our family rented this centuries old Tuscan farm house in Panzano.
We chose Panzano because it is centrally located for exploring Tuscany and also because that’s where the Officina della Bistecca is located.
If you haven’t already, you’ll want to read about that experience HERE.
One of our day trips was to Florence which is about an hour north of Panzano.
The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce.
It is the burial place for the “great and good in Florence”: Michelangelo, Donatello, Rossini, Machiavelli, Fermi and Galileo Galilei are some of the people buried there.
We spent most of the morning at the Santa Croce exploring the chapels and cloisters.
Next, we went to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.
Or the Duomo, as it is ordinarily called.
It is my favorite building in Florence.
For lunch we went to Il Barroccio, a family run restaurant tucked away on a charming street far from the tourists.
We love finding small local places like this.
The food and service is always better if you can get away from the crowds and eat where the locals are eating.
After lunch we walked to the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s David.
Michelangelo’s David moved here from the Piazza della Signoria in order to better conserve it.
A copy of the statue still stands in Piazza della Signoria.
Before heading back to Panzano we walked to the The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge.
It’s a Medieval bridge over the Arno River.
I love all of the colors.
Our day in Florence was so much fun!
We didn’t get to see everything there was to see but we certainly packed a lot in.
We even managed to squeeze in an afternoon gelato before driving back to Panzano.
You can read more about our time in Italy HERE.