Rick Steves Florence & Tuscany 2017 by Steves Rick & Openshaw Gene

Author:Steves, Rick & Openshaw, Gene [Steves, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avalon Travel
Published: 2016-11-29T05:00:00+00:00

Dome and Surrounding Area

The dome sits on a 12-sided base, but its “coffered” ceiling is actually a painted illusion.

Get oriented to the array of sights we’ll see by thinking of the church floor as a big 12-hour clock. You’re the middle, and the altar is high noon: You’ll find the Slaughter of the Innocents roped off on the floor at 10 o’clock, Pisano’s pulpit between two pillars at 11 o’clock, a copy of Duccio’s round stained-glass window at 12 o’clock, Bernini’s chapel at 3 o’clock, the Piccolomini Altar at 7 o’clock, the Piccolomini Library at 8 o’clock, and a Donatello statue at 9 o’clock.

Attached to columns (easy to miss, at 7 o’clock and 5 o’clock) are two 60-foot-tall wooden poles that are dear to any Sienese heart. These flagpoles —bearing the Florentine flag—were captured during the pivotal Battle of Montaperti (1260, fought near Siena), when 20,000 Sienese squared off against 35,000 soldiers from their archrival city, Florence. The two armies battled back and forth all day, until one of the Florentine soldiers—actually, a Sienese spy under cover—attacked the Florentine standard-bearer from behind. Florence’s flag fell to the ground, the army lost its bearings and confidence, and Siena seized the moment to counterattack and win. It was the city’s finest hour, ushering in its 88-year Golden Age (it lasted from 1260 until the plague hit in 1348).

The church was intended to be much larger. Look into the right transept and mentally blow a hole in the wall. You’d be looking down the nave of the massive extension of the church—that is, if the original grandiose plan had been completed (see sidebar, here ).

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