Wednesday, July 15, 2009

2 Days... Info I found!! So excited!!!

Venice and Florence Sights~ All Googled through Wikpedia!


Basilica of St Mark Description(Local Name: Basilica di San Marco) The Basilica of St Mark in Venice was the spiritual center of the Republic; a splendid building for the Patron Saint of the Republic, the church of the Doge and State.

Originally the palace chapel of the Doge, it became important in 829 when the remains of St Mark were transferred to Venice from Alexandria and interred in the Cappella di San Marco, which 150 years later in 976, was destroyed by fire but soon rebuilt. Its present ground-plan, which is derived from the Church of the Apostles at Constantinople, dates from 1063 and consists of a Greek cross, covered by five domes, with two side-aisles on the west arm pointing towards the Piazza di San Marco. In 1094 the
basilica was consecrated in the presence of the Emperor Henry IV and was raised to the status of official state church.

Three Procurators were appointed "Custodians of St Mark" to supervise the building and maintenance. In the following centuries they supervised structural alterations to the basilica and its decoration; the mosaics were done in the 12th and 13th centuries. The 13th century also saw the raising of the outer domes, the construction of the portico on the facade, the vaulting of the west porch, the installation of the bronze horses and the addition of the Byzantine parts of the Pala d'Oro. In the 14th century the upper part of the facade and the domes were decorated in Gothic fashion and the pulpits and the Baptistery constructed. Further embellishments followed in the 15th-16th century (altars, font, mosaics) and in the 17th-19th century (mosaics).

The whole of Venice was legally compelled to take part in the rich furnishing of the State church. In 1075 the Doge Domenico Selvo passed a law that obliged all returning ships to bring back something precious to decorate the "House of St Mark", which is why today the basilica boasts over 500 columns of rare marble, porphyry, alabaster and jasper brought back from the East and Asia minor.

The interior is clad with 4,240sq.m/45,622sq.ft of gold mosaics, mostly 12th/13th century. Between 1500 and 1750, however, some of the venerable old sections were replaced by "modern" mosaics designed by artists including Titian and Tintoretto.

The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: Ponte dei Sospiri) is one of many bridges in Venice. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was designed by Antoni Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge), and built in 1602.

The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals[1]. Also, they could barely see any view from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.

A local legend says that lovers will be assured eternal love if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the bridge.


Piombi (The Leads in English) is a former prison adjacent to the Doge's Palace in Venice. The name refers to the upper part of the building under a roof that was covered with slabs of lead. In winter, these slabs let the cold pass and they acted as a catalyst in the summer heat, imposing harsh conditions for inmates.

The prison building still stands. It is separated from the Palace by the Bridge of Sighs. In 1755, Casanova made a famous escape from the prison.

Firenze

Florence sunset

Flag

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Florence (Italian: Firenze /fiˈrɛnʦe/, Old Italian: Fiorenza, Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 367,569 (1,500,000 metropolitan area[3]).

The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.[4] It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

Florence is packed with hundreds of truly amazing sights and exciting Florence activities. From the Middle Ages onward the Florentines have been very busy constructing palazzi, churches, and convents. For more than 400 years it has been one of the leading cultural cities in Italy. In Florence - the City of Dante - the Italian language was born. With Petrarch and Boccaccio the study of literature found its main centre here. Humanism brought new

philosophical ideas and a full appreciation of classicism. Machiavelli inaugurated the new political science


Duomo is a generic Italian term for a cathedral church. The formal word for a church that is presently a cathedral is cattedrale; a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral (the latter always in a town that no longer has a bishop nor therefore a cathedral, as for example Trevi). Such churches are usually referred to simply as "Il Duomo" or "The Duomo", without regard to the full proper name of the church. Similar words exist in other languages: Dom (German), Dóm (Slovakian), Dôme (French), Domkirke (Danish), Dómkirkja (Icelandic), Domkyrka (Swedish), Domkyrkje (Norwegian), Toomkirik (Estonian), Tum (Polish), and Tuomiokirkko (Finnish). Also in these languages the respective terms do not necessarily refer to a church functioning as a cathedral, but also to proto-cathedrals or simply prominent church buildings, which have never been a cathedral in the exact sense of that word. In German the term Dom

Milan's Duomo is the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world: only the cathedral of Seville is larger (St. Peter's Basilica doesn't count because it's not a cathedral). It is 157 meters long— 40,000 people can fit comfortably within.

Exterior

The Duomo of Milan blurs the distinction between Gothic and neo-Gothic, for the Gothic west front was begun in 1616 and completed 200 years later. Only in its details does it reveal its Baroque and Neo-Classical date. From 1900 some of the less Gothic details of the facade were replaced in a true Gothic style, to designs of Giuseppe Brentano.

The roofline dissolves into openwork pinnacles that are punctuated by a grove of spires, topped with statues that overlook the city. The main spire is 109 meters high. These can all be investigated up close on a breathtaking walk on the roof.

The huge building is made of brick faced with marble from the quarries that Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter.

Interior

The cathedral's five wide naves are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the facade. Even the transepts have aisles. The great windows of the choir are reputed to be the largest in the world.

Mark Twain, a great fan of the Duomo, can take over the description from here (from Innocents Abroad):

What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems ...a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath!...

The central one of its five great doors is bordered with a bas-relief of birds and fruits and beasts and insects, which have been so ingeniously carved out of the marble that they seem like living creatures-- and the figures are so numerous and the design so complex, that one might study it a week without exhausting its interest...everywhere that a niche or a perch can be found about the enormous building, from summit to base, there is a marble statue, and every statue is a study in itself...

Away above, on the lofty roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond. ...(Up on) the roof...springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance...We could see, now, that the statue on the top of each was the size of a large man, though they all looked like dolls from the street...

They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands.

We don't think the Duomo di Milano is quite as exciting as Mark Twain did. Although the facade is lovely and the cathedral is impressively large, it is quite dark and not terribly interesting inside.

However, all the non-free extra attractions of the Duomo are very interesting: the roof climb; the treasury; and the excavations of the Early Christian baptistery.

Roof Climb

The roof climb provides a unique and memorable opportunity to walk high on the roofs of the huge Gothic cathedral. The views are magnificent and the opportunity to see the pinnacles and sculptures close up along the way is worth the climb alone.

Entrance is from the north side of the cathedral (walk around left from the front). You can choose to walk up the stairs - which are solid, square, and more roomy than many cathedral stairways - or take an elevator for a higher price.


Florence, Italy is the city that gave birth to the Renaissance. From the artwork of Michelangelo, to the scientific advancements of Galileo, Florence has been home to some of the greatest advancements in the arts and sciences. Architecture is no exception.

Often revered for its beauty, and often photographed as the centerpiece to Florence as a city, the Duomo is often overlooked as a breakthrough in engineering. While many people admiring the bas reliefs on the Baptistry, they forget to look up and marvel at the dome of the Duomo - until recently the largest dome in the world.

The construction of the dome was nothing short of a miracle, using construction techniques and truly innovative engineering concepts, Flippo Brunelleschi, the dome's designer, created a Renaissance masterpiece that has not been rivaled.

This website is dedicated to exploring Brunelleschi's creation.


- Piazza della Signoria (Signoria Square) -

Built around the end of the thirteenth century as a symmetrical contrast to the city's religious centre, Piazza della Signoria was enlarged through demolitions of the tower-houses of the Uberti, Foraboschi and other powerful Ghibelline families.

Right from Medieval times, Piazza della Signoria has always been the civic centre of Florentine life. Although some original buildings (the Loggia dei Pisani and the Church of St. Cecilia) and the ancient brick paving, which gave it greater unity of style, have now disappeared, it remains in all its aspects a square of incomparable beauty and elegance. Dominated by the fourteenth century Palazzo della Signoria with its high crenellated tower, it is surrounded by other important buildings: the Loggia della Signoria and the Palazzo degli Uffizi on the south side, the sixteenth century Palazzo degli Uguccioni on the north side and the Palazzo del Tribunale di Mercanzia (about 1359) on the east side.



Monday, July 13, 2009

4 Days...


I should be soooo excited! I am excited; however, I HAVE been packed for like 3 weeks now...

This week has been so busy to be excited!

My friend Linda just gave me a mountain bike!!!! (that I almost fell off of 3 times because it has been like 12 years since I have ridden a bike!) I FORGOT HOW TO TURN! Don't worry, I'll get it- they say it's like riding a bike- haha...



Tonight was a great night too! Art came home from the 1000 Islands! But, Not only that, MY GIRLS CAME OVER! Becky O'Keefe (The new Sprague), Kelly Baldwin, Laurie Fryover (The new Chiumento), Christy Greico, and Jaime Hammerl (The new Keiffer) !!! We ate... Drank wine, planned our futures and were merry! hahaha!!! Laurie- We need more Pics!!!! Group photo next time girls!!!



The good 'ol days are here again!... So, back to the trip... 5 days from now, time will be changing!... LITERALLY!

My dad texted me, our flight from Italy to Athens has a 40 lb weight limit and allows only 1 carry on. Out International flight allows a carry on and a personal item and a suitcase up to 50 lbs! I loooooooooove to shop!!! Ahhhh!?!?!?!

What can I buy in Italy for less than - 1 lb?!?!?! I am sooo screwed- I will have to deduct outfits from the suitcase or wear more on the flights! Yikes! I sure hope Art packs light!

Piles are everywhere- I am sooo organized! All I have to do is throw them in the bag!

Tomorrow is Tuesday- I am working day shift, then off to tanning, and hair cut! Play with Mooshu and root on the Volleyball team!

Wednesday I work day shift, then tanning, bike ride, play with Mooshu, go to dinner with Jim and Sherry- hopefully a drink or two with my brother!!! A TOAST TO VACATION!!!

Thursday AM... Breakfast with Annie! Tanning, Dye the hair!, Pack my Mooshu, Play with Mooshu, Canal with Mooshu, Dinner and drinks with my hubby and brother?!?!? Last minute packing and stay up very LATE....

Friday... I'm leav-ing - on a jet plane- I don't know when I'll be back again...

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Our Itinerary!





5 days and counting....

Booked with Central Holidays!
http://www.centralholidays.com/


Saturday, July 11, 2009

The countdown begins...

6 days from today my alarm will go off, but I will already be awake.
That doesn't happen frequently; however, Art and I will have to be at my parents by 8:30 AM to catch our 11 o'clock flight to NYC.
The excitement is already effecting me- 4 more long days of work left.



I am already packed. I was packed weeks ago. All my outfits are new except 2 pairs of shorts, 4 shirts and 1 bathing suit. Anyone who knows me will know this is nothing out of the ordinary.
My mother and I have already discussed who is bri
nging which snacks and which medications.

The only things left to throw in the carry on are my daily essentials. Make-up, and brush. Copies are already made of passports, credit cards and the itinerary. The i-pod only holds 11 hours of music so I will have to use it sparingly. The books, magazines, coloring books, crayons, and cards are packed.

Art is not as prepared. He decided to do one, hopefully not last, trip to the 1000 Islands tomorrow for one night to fish. He is packed for that; however, he is still contemplating over which bag to bring on the plane. That is quite an ordeal. And knowing him, he will be even more cautious about his clothing choices.

Matt is joining us in Rochester hopefully We
dnesday night. We will go out to have a few coctails and get ourselves more psyched!

Many thanks to our friends Rick, Kathy, Jax,
Logan, and Jon!! They will be watching our Mooshu while we are an ocean away!!! Thank god for Matt purchasing his international phone! I can threaten Mooshu to behave!

May thanks to Aunt Di and Aunt Laurie for coming to Rochester to hang with Grandma!

In a week from today we will be walking in the streets of Venice. Ahhhhh!
Or, rather, on the Gondolas of the waters of Venice!