Italy Trip 4

One of my favorite places in Florence is the Piazza degli Uffizi, which runs between the main public square (where the Medieval government offices were) and the Arno River. The Piazza is lined with statues of the key Renaissance figures who made Florence their home (and hence, made Florence the center of the Renaissance), such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, etc. Here's a picture of our group as it made its way through the Piazza (Randy Horst, the Art professor who organized the trip is in the green shirt in the center)

Here's a closer picture of the statue of Leonardo, under which one of his contemporary descendants is plying his trade:

Here's a view looking south to the end of the Piazza. The view through the arch is actually of the south side of the Arno River. In the reduced image here, I like how it almost looks like a painting on the back wall, but if you click to enlarge, you can tell it's actually the background beyond the arch:

Here's one more, looking west along the river from the Ponte Vecchio (a bridge lined with jewelry shops). The building with the visible arches to the left is the courtyard at the end of the Piazza degli Uffizi.

Even given all that we saw and did in the few days we were in Italy, there was of course a lot that remained to explore. My biggest excuse for some day going back may be that I still have not seen the art collection inside the Uffizi Museum, which lines the Piazza. There were just too many other things to fill up the days while we were there!