Florence, September 19th

Originally, we had the idea of going to Montespertoli, but decided against it so we would be able to see more of Florence. From the private patio of our beautiful hotel suite, Gary took a picture of the sunrise behind the Duomo:

We visited the Palazzo Vecchio located in the Piazza della Signoria:

Here's a view into the majestic Hall of 500:

The two pictures below are reproductions of the (alleged) death mask of Dante Alighieri:

The bust below is of Niccolo Machiavelli. Not a very imposing looking figure, but historically he was a force to be reckoned with.

In the Mercato Nuovo near the Ponte Vecchio, there is a statue of a pig. There's a tradition that you are to rub the pig's nose for good luck. Gary obliged and let the pig wear his hat for extra good luck:

We also visited Basilica de Santa Maria Novello:

Just in case, that is not an actual dead person seen in the picture below:

You can not visit too many churches in Italy. Later that afternoon, we visited Basilica de Santa Croce:

Below is Marconi's tomb. Since we are an audiophile and a former radio girl, it was very interesting to us:

Below is the tomb of Galileo Galilei:

Santa Croce also houses the tomb of Michelangelo. He was originally from Florence but his body had to be stolen from Rome, where he died, and reburied. His tomb references Michelangelo's works in painting, sculpture, and architecture: