More pix of stuff

The masterpiece by Giambologna you see below was originally placed in the Loggi Della Signoria way back in 1583 when it was completed. It has been in it's place ever since. Originally it was untitled and was a Renaissance celebration of the human form. It having no title was considered a bad thing ("That new statue with the nekked people" wasn't cutting it any more) and it was named "The Rape of the Sabine Women" after the story of Rome's founding. This statue was among the first to break new ground in a couple ways. First, it was created without a story in mind. It was art for art's sake, the title and background story came later. Also, this statue was meant to be enjoyed from all angles as it spirals up to the lady's hand. This is as opposed to from one or two sides (360 degrees versus front and back). The "rape" in the name refers to "raptio" or kidnapping, not rape in its modern interpretation. History here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_the_Sabine_Women

Someone said my blog was to risque, so to balance out the classical nudes and maintain my PG rating, I'm posting pics of TV evangelists with them. Here is Tammy Faye Messner-Bakker:

pic source: Wikipedia.org

The Ponte Vecchio:

Today was a free day, so I went to the Boboli Gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti. The Pallazzo was the home of the Medici when they were the Grand Dukes of Tuscany (if memory serves) and the Boboli Gardens were their private gardens. Now they are for everyone (provided you have €10). It is well worth the price of admission. I went around 10:30 in the cool of the morning. It would be a good place to get lost if it wasn't for all the Uscita (exit) signs everywhere.

This is the view from the gardens of the city. The dome is the Duomo and the tall tower on the right is the Pallazo Vecchio. The Pallazo Vecchio is 2 blocks from my apartment.

These duckies swam up to me as i walked up to the railing of the pond they were followed soon by koi. Sadly, they were hoping for food and I had none. :-(

The Kaffeehaus (I'm not sure why the name is in German):

I appologize in advance for the most touristy of pics

Sorry, It's required... And I may not be going back to Pisa any time soon. It was either that or me pinching David's butt; and they don't allow you to take pix in the Accademia (more on this in a minute) Here are some more pix of Pisa:



(The Baptistery doesn't lean like that, it's the way I took the picture.)

Inside the Baptistery:



The cemetery:



Pretty much everything except the Duomo complex was bombed and destroyed in WWII. What little remains of old Pisa leans one way or another, so if you look at the front end of the Duomo (toward the round Baptistery) you can see they tried to correct this. The front end started drooping while they were building it, so they added more blocks to level it out. Look at the top of the arches, there is a rail above them that gets higher and higher. BTW, my indoor shots will be super grainy. I have to use the highest ISO setting my camera has and no flash (it would be too weak anyway). Half the time, the shutter speed is still to slow to get a decent image.


On the way back from Pisa, we went thru Lucca. It's a lot like Florence, except smaller, quieter, cooler (climatologicaly), and there is less automobile traffic.


On the 4th, we went to the Accademia where Michelangelo's David (the real one) is. When you first get a glimpse of it you are completely in awe. Michelengelo's work was incredible. The perfection of the marble is amazing (the copy looks like it was made of cheap limestone). I did a few sketches, but my teacher laughed at them and confirmed my choice as a photographer. (Go go gadget arm) I would have loved to taken some pictures, but it is not allowed (even without flash).


Today, I went to the Leonardo da Vinci museum in Florence. Don't waste your €6. They have some machines he designed, but it's not that great of a museum overall. They do have a working clock he designed for €150 that I am considering buying. I'm not sure if I can cram it into my luggage, however. If the trains and buses weren't halted by a strike, I may consider going to the nearby town Vinci to the other Leonardo da Vinci museum (which is much better), but I can't. Also today, I saw the police take down someone who (I assume) was selling fakes. As I was headed to the Duomo, I saw the illegals running toward me with their fake Fendi (Fendo) bags and Dolce & Gabbana (Dolec & Oabbana) sunglasses. As I got closer, I heard a crowd cheering, then saw the police pepper spraying someone as he was trying to escape their grasp. Needless to say, I was cheering for the police as well (when in Rome, er Florence...). The fines for buying fakes is really steep (€10,000), so don't buy your Louis Vuitton (Louie Mutton) off the street.