January 21: Il Battistero, e Firenze di Notte

My mother came to visit for a week at the end of January, but because I am doing this thing in a mostly chronological fashion, those adventures must be left for another time. I mention it because I went into the Duomo's Baptistery while I was waiting for her to arrive.

The Baptistry sits at the west of the Piazza del Duomo and is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Florence. The structure itself dates to the 11th century; the bronze north doors, by Ghiberti, to 1401, effectively marking the very beginning of the Renaissance. The ceiling, a mosaic made of Venetian glass, was made in the 1200s.



Like the frescoes in the Renaissance dome of the neighboring cathedral, the mosaic depicts the Last Judgment.



The marble walls and almost all of the windows are gilded and decorated.



I left the Baptistry and went to meet my mother at the station. We proceeded to have a very busy weekend (including, but not limited to, the last day of a special Bronzino exhibit in Palazzo Strozzi, the lavish rooms and the Modern Art museum at Palazzo Pitti, and a day trip to Fiesole, which I will share with you soon), but because it's all too much to write about at once, I will beg once more for your patience and tide you over with some shots from the last few weeks of Florence by night.

The Arno after sunset:



Piazza Santa Maria Novella:



Palazzo Vecchio, from Piazza della Signora:



The streets begin to clear as the temperature drops:



Piazza della Reppublica:



It's not hard to see why I love this city so much.