Album: By Country | By Date Italy | January 2001 < Prev Image | Florence | Next Image >
Travelogue: By Country | By Date Italy | January 2001  

 

Piazza della Signoria is the plaza in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It was he seat of the Signoria of the Florentine Republic in the 14th century and then the government centre of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany. It is built in a style which some serious people call Tuscany Gothic. In the background is copy of Michelangelo's David. The original stood here for centuries. It was commissioned for the top of the cathedral, but the city thought the sculpture too important to be placed rather out of sight, so they put it here. In the 1800s, after the enlightened Florentines had died out, David was moved to an art gallery, Accademia. In this way, people could be charged outrageous sums to see it. We paid the outrageous sum, and felt a bit like marks paying to see a sideshow at Barnum's or Hall's Cardiff giant.

© Monica & Mark Hughes 2000-02