Pictures of the Arno, Uffizi Gallery, and Piazza della Signoria

I took these pictures back on my first or second day here. Nothing too exciting, just touristy stuff.

This shot is from the south side of the Arno. The building in the center with the three arches is the Uffizi Gallery. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. The Ponte Vecchio is just out of the shot to the left.

Now here is the Ponte Vecchio. It has shops all along it, as it has since it was built in 1345.

Here is Sarah walking through the courtyard between the Uffizi Gallery's two wings. The statues (which are along both sides) represent famous Florentines such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Dante, Giotto, Petrarch, Bocaccio, and Lorenzo "il Magnifico" de' Medici.

Adjoining the north end of the Uffizi on the Piazza della Signoria is the Loggia dei Lanzi. This covered area with openings under the arches houses some very famous statues. Here we see Perseus With the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini and The Rape of Polyxena in the forefront.

In the center of the loggia is Menelaus Supporting the Body of Patroclus.

On the right is The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. This statue graces the cover of the book I am about to finish called The Monster of Florence.

Just north of the loggia the statues continue. Here is Hercules and Cacus by Baccio Bandinelli. Next to that is...

Michelangelo's David. Well a copy. The original (finished in 1504) was moved indoors to protect it while this replica was created in 1910.

Here the two statues stand in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Here is the Palazzo Vecchio from across the Piazza della Signoria.

In the center of the piazza is the bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I de' Medici by Giambologna from 1594.

And last and certainly least is Sarah's least favorite, the Fountain of Neptune ffrom 1575.