Italy Pictures: File #3

Ahhhh! Firenze! (A.K.A. Florence) My favorite bigger city in Italy. My second favorite city in the world. (Rome and Atlanta are tied.) To the left is a picture of the San Lorenzo market. (These are Melissa's pics -- the final in my Italy volumes.)

Lauren and me (pre-haircut) in front of the Palazzo Vecchio bell tower. The building to the right and left is the Uffizi. It is one of the most famous art museums in the world.
This is Siena's duomo, or cathedral. It is my dad's and my favorite. It is beautifully striped with black and white marble. On the inside, lining the walls near the ceiling, are marble busts of almost every pope.
The cuppola inside Siena's duomo. This pic doesn't do it justice. You just have to be there. It is huge and curved with a skylight at the top. Royal blue with 3D gold stars.
Siena's Piazza del Campo. You can see the belltower to the cathedral jutting out above the skyline to the top right. Though chilly and drizzly this day, it doesn't hinder the locals and tourists from socializing. In the summer it becomes a great hang-out spot, complete with a fountain for cooling off while sunbathing. The famous Palio horserace happens around this piazza two times every year. The neighborhood horses and riders parade through their section of town proudly displaying their neighborhood's colors. The horse and rider go into their local cathedral and are blessed by the priest. If the horse leaves droppings on the cathedral floor, it is said to be good luck. (Ha!)
The belltower on the palace in the Piazza del Camp. I've never climbed it before, but Ricky (A.K.A. Rick Steves -- my #1 Go-To man when traveling) says it's a great place to view Tuscany.
Roma eterna! The eternal city of Rome. This is THE oldest and most well-preserved building from antiquity: The Pantheon. Unfortunately, it was closed because it was New Year's Day, but I did get to walk up to the massive doors (you can see them between the third and fourth columns from the left) and peek through the crack. Amazing! It's so weird to think that this building, stuck in the heart of Rome (you can tell because of the "newer" apartments on the right of the picture) has been around since New Testament times!
The Roman Forum. Though mostly ruins now, it was once the center of ancient Rome. I had to close my eyes to imagine what it was like in all its splendor with people walking and talking and doing business.

Though I did not get a picture at the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi), I made sure to throw not one, not two, but SIX coins over my shoulder. Maybe that will REALLY guarantee my return! ;)

Ciao con amore!