Views of Firenze

Panoramic view of Firenze - Firenze, Italy (Click to view a larger version)

On our first evening in Firenze we decided to wonder up to Piazzale Michelangiolo, which was a comfortable 3 km walk from our hotel in Oltrano. When we got up to the piazza, at around 4.30 in the afternoon, it was packed with tourists and I had a to wait a while before I could get up to the wall and set up my tripod. I had a bit of time until the light changed, so I wasn't too fussed.

The Panorama above was a 23 image stitch. The Ponte Vecchio can be seen on the left hand corner of the image while the Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is on the right. The tall bell tower in the centre of the image is Palazzo Vecchio.

Read on for more images and info.

The Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) - Firenze, Italy

The Duomo, which was built in 1296, is right in the middle of Florence and an image of it lit up at twilight and taken from Piazzale Micelangiolo was on my shot list. I ended up spending about 4.5 hours waiting for the light to change and as a result I've got a number of images of the Duomo in varying light conditions! This is one of my favourites as the Duomo really stands out while a bit of detail is visible in the background. The fact that the buildings around the Duomo are comparatively dark also helps isolate it. I will cover the Duomo and a bit of its history in a later post.

The Ponte Vecchio - Firenze, Italy

The Ponte Vecchio is one of the most famous landmarks in Firenze. It is a medieval bridge that spans the Arno at its narrowest point. The bridge is first mentioned in documents dated to 996. It is famous for having shops along both sides of it. These shops were initially occupied by butchers but they are now jewellery stores. The bridge that appears further downstream from the Ponte Vecchio is the Ponte Santa Trinita. I'll share more images of the Ponte Vecchio in a future post.

The Duomo & Santa Croce - Firenze, Italy

The image above is of Santa Croce and the Duomo. The Arno can also be seen in the foreground. The Basilica of Santa Croce is the main Franciscan church in Florence. It is also the burial place for a number of famous Italians including Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli. The church is home to a number of frescoes painted by Giotto and art works painted by Canova, Donatello and Vasari. The Franciscan friars also founded a leather school on the premises. The school / factory is still in operation and a store is open to visitors. More images of the leather factory and Santa Croce will be uploaded in future posts.

All these images were taken with a Canon 7D and a 24-105mm lens from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

Venetian Masks

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy 

Masks have been worn in several cultures, going back thousands of years, but never with such pageantry as in Venice. Venetian masks date back to the 13th century when Venice was a republic with a population of around 150,000. Nowadays, Venetians and tourists only wear masks during Carnevale (Mardi Gras) but in the 13th century masks were worn on a daily basis to conceal peoples' identities.

Read on for more images and info

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

In the 13th century the Republic of Venice controlled several trade routes which extended beyond Constantinople. It also owned shipyards which were able to produce battleships in 30 days. This was possible because the shipyards employed 15,000 locals, a staggering 10% of the population. Apart from the shipyards, Venice also employed large work forces in other industries. Due to the high rate of employment Venetians were therefore wealthy and enjoyed a high standard of living.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

With time, some Venetians realised that by wearing masks, they were able to go about their daily lives and conduct certain business affairs in secrecy. They started making deals and agreements with other people, which, because of their hidden identity, did not fall within the gaze of the law.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

Masks also took social status out of the equation in peoples' dealings with each other. This prevented prejudice and allowed everyone to be treated as equals. Both citizens and officials visiting the city benefited from this as they were able to speak freely without fear of retribution and receive honest opinions.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

It didn't take long for people to start noticing the other "advantages" of remaining anonymous. Sexual promiscuity became common, women started flaunting their sexuality by wearing revealing clothing* and gambling was widespread throughout the day and night. Even those who had taken religious vows, such as monks and nuns, were tempted by and succumbed to the debauchery. In order to prevent complete moral decline, a decision was taken to ban masks altogether except on the days of Carnevale which was a time for fancy-dress parties and excessive celebrating.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

Masks are for sale at all souvenir shops and stalls around the main attractions, but a lot of them are of poor quality. You are sure to come across a number of shops dedicated entirely to authentic Venetian masks while wandering around the streets and alleys of Venice. We were lucky to walk into a store where the masks were being made and watched a lady painting and decorating a mask.

A lady making a mask - Venice, Italy

The images on this post were captured with either the Canon 7D or the Canon 400D with a 24-105mm lens or a 50mm lens.

* Source - http://www.eioba.com/a23168/the_history_of_the_venetian_mask