The Arno River and the Basilica of Sana Croce

Puppet show on the side of the street!

       We left the Piazza della Signoria and followed Bianca toward the Arno River.  When we arrived at the river, it was relatively calm as  people sculled on long boats down the river.  Historically, the Arno River has expanded due to heavy rains and has flooded the cities in its path causing great havoc. The river originates in Mt. Falterona in the Appennines Alps following a western flow near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa entering into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Marina de Pisa.  Two dams were built that have prevented yearly flooding.  But in 1966 there was so much rain that the dams were about to burst, more water was let out causing so much flooding that in Florence alone 40 people died and countless works of art and rare books were distroyed. If it wasn't for people around the world donating money for restoration, much of the art work would have been lost.

Waiting by the Arno River

water line in the flood of 1966

Bianca pointed to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and brought our attention to the little windows that bordered the top of the building.  This was the extension of Vasari Corridor that was built for Cosimo I so he could walk from the Uffizi (the office) to the Pitti Palace across the Arno River.

Ponte Vecchio
 

       We then followed Bianca through some narrow streets to our restaurant near the Pazza Santa Croce. As we turned the corner, we noticed a puppet show taking place.  We stood for a few minutes and found only one old guy handling all the puppets. He had them dancing to recorded music. It was hilarious!  Bianca just kept on moving like this was something you see every day, and we had to run to catch up to her!

       We arrived at the square that was made into a soccer stadium ready for the San Giovani soccer tourament the following weekend.  There were portable bleachers all around and the playing filed was filled with sand like a colleseum.  I guess with the rules they have for the game, they will see lots of blood and guts as the players go all out for their team.  I wonder if they have referees??

We could all imagine the hoopla during this festival!  They will end it with fireworks late at night!
    
       Bianca then led us to the front of the Basilica of Sana Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross).

Front Door

Note the Star of David as part of the facade.

       This is the largest Franciscan church in the world.  Legend has it that St Francis founded his church on this site and then it was rebuilt to this size and consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV. The church is simplistic recognizing the teachings of St Francis.  The Neo-Gothic marble facade was destigned by Nicolo Matas in 1863.  He worked the Star of David into the composition at the top.  Matas wanted to be buried with his peers in the church,  but because he was Jewish, he was buried under the porch and not within the walls.  The Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce is housed in the refectory.  Florence Nightingale was born in Florence which gave her her name.  There is a monument for her that stands in the cloister of the church.  In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.
     We had time to enter the church and see some of the famous tombs that were housed in the church.

 Tomb of Galileo

Tomb of Michelangelo

Mass was still going on so we were not able to go through the complete church and see the other tombs.

We quietly left and headed down one of the side streets.

Then we rounded another corner to find other shops.

Elvis was here!

Everything looked good!

Then we came to our restaurant...

We entered and were seated in the large room reserved for our group by the tour company.

John is ready to taste the wine while Francesca asks us what would like to eat!

     We had a wonderful lunch of salad and pasta lots of wine and fresh baked bread brought out in a paper bag.  We sat with people from the Ohio who were also enjoying themselves.  John did the honors with a fine Chianti wine from the Gaiole vineyards in Tuscany.  We kept our eye on the the clock and after we each had two glasses of wine and ate most of our meal, we told our surprised friends that we had to leave to go to the Uffizi Gallery.  Francesca drew us a little map to go back to the Uffizi near the Piazza della Signoria so we would not get lost.  We would be returning back to the Piazza Santa Croce to catch the bus at 4:00.  She wished us good luck, and we were off by ourselves to the Uffizi Gallery!