Florence #4: Santa Croce

Today we spent hours inside the Basilica of Santa Croce. (Note to self: This turned out to be my favourite place. Stunning. Powerful. Memorable. Included the beautiful Pazzi chapel of Brunelleschi, and frescoes by Giotti. Brunel(more info). So beautiful that it was almost painful. Exquisite.

"The presence of a great many funeral monuments and tombstones (276 can still be seen on the floor alone) has led to the Basilca being thought of as the city Pantheon, the burial place of Florence's most illustrious citizens. Somewhere here lie the tombs of Taddeo Gaddi and Count Ugolino della Gherardesca. Other famous inmates include Michelangelo (tomb by Vasari, 1570), Galileo Galilei (tomb by Foggini, 1737), Vittorio Alfieri (tomb by Canova, 1810). Unfortunately the monument to Dante, whose remains repose at Ravenna, is only a cenotaph (S. Ricci, 1829)."
- The Florence Art Guide (info)

Also visited Michelangelo's house, the leather market (yes we both bought a handbag), and had a jolly wander around various public squares taking zillions of pics.

In the evening we went to nearby restaurant for locals with Marc and Barbara - so, super-real authentic Italian cuisine - who would have thought that veggie soup and pasta could be so, well, exquisite. Lovely evening in great company. Chianti helped.

(There are videos on YouTube about the church and chapel, but I can't check them out because YouTube is still banned in Turkey.)