Florence, Italy 4

       Florence, Italy 4

This morning I am sharing the last photos of the Duomo and Baptistery in Florence.   The close views of the statues were located above the doors known as the Gates of Paradise.

One of you commented that you would need a day or two to really see and photograph the huge church.  I would have liked to see the inside, but we had to follow our tour guide as she continued through the historic district.

Florence was around an hour and a half drive from the cruise ship, so three hours of our tour was the drive to and from the city.  We had a three hour tour, then had 3 hours on our own. By now, I bet you can guess that my wife and I enjoyed the three hours on our own much better than following a group of 50 people trying to hear a guide relate the history of the area.

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Florence, Italy 3

       Florence, Italy 3

Today's images show fairly close views of some of the art on the Duomo and the Baptistery of St. John in Florence.  I used the zoom lens to isolate some of the sculptures and artwork to show the beautiful religious art on the outside of the building. The photo with the gilded bronze doors was taken at an odd angle because there were so many people there that it was difficult to get close.  I did manage to photograph a few of the panels and I've uploaded them to my Blog this morning.

To be honest, it was difficult to photograph these buildings because of the crowds of people in the historical district of Florence.  I didn't want to lose sight of our group and was restricted to the areas she decided to stop and provide information.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers

Florence, Italy 2

       Florence, Italy 2

Thanks for the positive comments regarding yesterday's photos of Florence.  As we walked around the huge church, I wandered around being careful not to lose sight of our group.  So, while most people stood close to our guide in order to hear what she was saying, I was busy trying to capture images that would give viewers who have never seen the building an idea of what it is like.  As a result, I missed the information, but there is always the Internet!

The first photo shows the top of the huge dome that dominates the view of the city.  You can see several people who climbed the hundreds of steps to the top of the dome.  I would have loved to photograph the interior of this beautiful church but there was a long line and I didn't have time to wait. If you look closely at the photographs I've uploaded to my Blog, you will see other people who are getting a great view of the city.  If you compare the size of the people with the building, you should get an idea of the size of this building.

The statues that adorn the outside of the building are life-sized representations of saints and religious people of the time.  Often, when photographing churches, I like to make images of all the art, however, that was impossible at the Duomo - there was just too much in the time we were there.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers