Tangeland: The Fugates are coming! Part 3

For the second half of this posting from the dome of the Florence Cathedral I've just decided to start with a picture that looks straight out towards the front of the church and then rotate clockwise.

So here we are from the top of the dome. You can see the roof over the nave of the Duomo and can just barely see the top of the Baptistery in front of it. On the left is the companile (a free-standing bell tower) that was designed by Giotto. The picture looks west (as the cathedral is oriented towards the east and west) and you can kind of make out the line of the Arno (if you zoom in) and the mountains in the background. The nave and the facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is also barely visible to the right of the picture.

Sarah and Steve oversee their realm. This is actually not the next picture in directional order, but since Steve is pointing that way I thought it would work. Follow the finger.

You can see these better if you click on them to expand them. Here you see the Basilica of San Lorenzo which is the largest and one of the oldest churches in Florence. It was the parish church of the Medici family and many of their members are in different areas of the church. Supposedly the family were still paying for the Medici Chapel when the last member of the family, Anna Maria Louisa de'Medici, died in 1743. Donatello is also buried here. You can also see the top of the San Lorenzo market (the bluish, greenish roof) and the lines above the train tracks leading out of the Santa Maria Novella train station.

This shot goes pretty much straight towards the north. Not too much of note here, just Florence heading up towards the hills.

Here we look northeast. The line of road is Via Gino Capponi (which originated as Via dei Servi when it radiated out from the Duomo, but changed names once you pass the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata) which is the road we usually take to get to Sarah's school, although we opt for the quicker but less scenic Borgo Pinti route more often now.

This isn't a great shot, but it shows the general direction towards I Tatti, up in the hills. The white tower-like thing is at Fiorentina's Artemio Franchi Stadium. I don't think that I Tatti is actually in this picture because I don't see a construction crane. But it's in this general direction. I couldn't spot it from the duomo. It might be kind of tucked behind a hill or something.

Here we look roughly east. The road you see is Via dell'Oriuolo which leads towards the post office and the Standa grocery store, then Via Pietrapiana, then Piazza Sant'Ambrogio, then Borgo la Croce, then Piazza Beccaria with its old city gate, but you can't see that far in the picture. Also visible is the light bluish dome of Tempio Maggiore, the synagogue.

Here is the front of the Basilica of Santa Croce on the left, and in the middle are the two short towers at the Biblioteca Nazionale just below the tall Porta San Niccolo' across the river. Above and to the right of that is the Piazzale Michelangelo with its statue of David replica. Just visible above and to the right of that is the front of San Miniato al Monte. We've taken some great pictures of the city from the Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato.

Here's our neighborhood, kind of. Santa Croce is on the left and the two towers of the Bargello and the Badia Fiorentina are on the right. You can't see where we live from here, but it's roughly above the two towers. Again, you can see the Porta San Niccolo', Piazzale Michelangelo, and San Miniato above.

Here's a close-up of the area. Again, you can't see our place but it's in this area (on this side of the river).

Here are the same two towers along with the Tower d'Arnolfo of the Palazzo Vecchio which faces the Piazza della Signoria. The Palazzo Vecchio is the large building that stretches back from the tower on the right almost to the tower on the left. Our old apartment was about a block to the left of the left-most extent of the palazzo. Our new apartment is another block farther left and closer to the river. Our old rooftop might be visible, but our new one isn't quite as tall.

Here is the front of the Palazzo Vecchio on the left. Just in front of it you can see the top of the three arches of the Loggia dei Lanzi whhich are at this end of the Uffizi Gallery. In the top right of the picture is the Palazzo Pitti. Even though you can't see it here, the Palazzo Pitti and the Palazzo Vecchio are attached by the Vasari Corridor, an enclosed passageway raised above the streets and across the Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi.