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Nice Church
The next day, a few of the stragglers from the Rendering
Workshop headed to Florence to see the sights and partake
of the arts. This is the entry of a "modest" church
across from the train station.
Captured June 29 2002 11:48:00a
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The Duomo is of course a major attraction, being one
of the largest and most ornate cathedrals in the world.
Captured June 29 2002 12:11:50p
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The brass reliefs on the door of the baptism bascillica
are quite famous. The figures here are about 4 inches
high, with intricately engraved facial features.
Captured June 29 2002 12:14:31p
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The Duomo's facade is set with larger-than-life statues
of 20 or so popes (I presume).
Captured June 29 2002 12:14:51p
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I humble myself before God, but that's it.
Captured June 29 2002 12:16:11p
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The Duomo interior.
Captured June 29 2002 12:23:06p
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Duomo Ceiling
The Duomo ceiling, by Michelangelo, who I'm told has
his tomb in the basement. (We missed it.)
Captured June 29 2002 12:28:02p
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Over a dozen classic statues stand outside the Palazzo
Vecchio in a large alcove. I don't remember the titles
or sculptors of any of them, but aren't they amazing?
Captured June 29 2002 1:22:52p
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Here's another very famous statue, which I know nothing
about other than the obvious -- that it's a depiction
of Hermes slaying Medusa. The details were exquisite.
Captured June 29 2002 3:18:22p
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It was difficult to get a good view of the Neptune fountain,
due to its immense size and the tourists who kept posing
in front of it with their friends, spouses, and pets.
Captured June 29 2002 3:16:20p
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You really had to walk around it to take it all in.
Captured June 29 2002 3:14:15p
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David's Stand-in
The real David has been moved from his original spot
here to a more protected location inside the Galleria
dell'Accademia, which was unfortunately closed that
day due to a museum strike.
Captured June 29 2002 1:17:15p
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This is another replica of a famous piece by Botticelli,
which stands in for the original in the courtyard of
the Palazzo Vecchio. The original was inside, and luckily,
at least this place was open.
Captured June 29 2002 1:20:25p
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Palazzo Vecchio
Here we are in the meeting hall of the Palazzo Vecchio,
which used to be the principal government building of
Florence. It's a lot like other government buildings
you've seen, in most respects.
Captured June 29 2002 1:49:22p
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I didn't get the name of this piece by Michelangelo,
and I'm not sure what it depicts, either. It didn't
seem quite finished.
Captured June 29 2002 1:45:43p
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Another unknown piece by an unknown master depicting
an unknown event. Knowing at least how to use a camera,
I took a picture of it.
Captured June 29 2002 1:46:13p
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You have to look at this painting closely to observe
the lion in the background, which is centered in the
painting and transfers a kind of raw power to the work.
This was one of dozens of masterpieces painted into
the ceiling. The whole building seemed to be one gigantic
work of art.
Captured June 29 2002 1:46:57p
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I'm not sure what of this ante room's purpose, but it
was well decorated to be sure.
Captured June 29 2002 1:51:36p
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These inlays surrounded the walls of the same room.
Captured June 29 2002 1:52:01p
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Even the stairwells were beautifully adorned.
Captured June 29 2002 1:58:25p
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Here is the original bronze fountainhead we saw in the
entry courtyard by Botticelli.
Captured June 29 2002 2:05:39p
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The tile on this floor was just amazing. The whole
thing was sanded to perfectly smooth, yet it looked
as if it had grown in place. That's Andrei from the
Rendering Workshop in the background.
Captured June 29 2002 2:06:56p
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A vase. That's all I know for sure.
Captured June 29 2002 2:08:30p
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This is "La Venera di Boticcelli," but I'm not sure
who painted it. (OK, I'm not quite that stupid.)
Captured June 29 2002 2:10:41p
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Patrick assures me that this is a very famous painting,
but he can't remember who it's by, either.
Captured June 29 2002 2:15:09p
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The Divine Comedian
This is Dante's death mask. The question remains, where
is he now?
Captured June 29 2002 2:22:27p
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This is the stairway leading to the tower.
Captured June 29 2002 2:39:06p
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The Duomo
From the tower, we had some great views of the surrounding
buildings. Here is the Duomo from the side.
Captured June 29 2002 2:42:07p
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Karol (another R.W. cohort) had only one media card
on his camera, so kept having to delete his less favored
images to make room for better ones. So sad. He should
be like me, and carry plenty of cards with him so he
never has to delete anything. (Now where did I put
CD #37?)
Captured June 29 2002 2:45:53p
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This is the courtyard of the Uffizzi from the tower.
Captured June 29 2002 2:53:30p
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This is the tower from the courtyard of the Uffizzi.
Unfortunately, the Uffizzi was closed due to the strike
that day. It is purported to be even more fantastic
than the Palazzo Vecchio.
Captured June 29 2002 3:24:28p
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Karol, Andrei and I joined with Jon, Alan, and Simon
for lunch on the Ponte Vecchio.
Captured June 29 2002 4:25:54p
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Pantegana
No one believes me who wasn't there, but we saw this
water rat that was three feet long if it was an inch,
swimming beneath the bridge. Patrick told me they're
called "pantegana," and are found all over Italy, though
fortunately not in the home.
Captured June 29 2002 4:13:31p
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This is a typical little restaraunt in Pisa, and I had
to take a photo because there simply isn't anything
like it anywhere in the States.
Captured June 29 2002 8:40:53p
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Patrick, Alan, Simon, and Jon waiting for dinner.
Captured June 29 2002 8:19:42p
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Me, Kate, Erik, and Roger doing the same.
Captured June 29 2002 8:20:22p
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I took this photo of Erik and Ki at the same time as
Pete took a photo of me taking their photo.
Captured June 29 2002 10:17:38p
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This allowed me to synchronize our camera date settings
so I could sort all his shots with mine. (His clock
was on British time the whole trip.)
Captured June 29 2002 10:18:08p
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Here's another of Pete's photos -- I like the lighting
effects in the background. Chiara on the right was
one of Alan's students, who met up with us since she
lives nearby Pisa. She did some work with the high
dynamic-range viewer, and would occasionally write to
me with questions I didn't know how to answer.
Captured June 29 2002 10:18:47p
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Ciao!
Here's Ki doing her Italian mopeder imitation.
Captured June 29 2002 10:22:11p
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Celebrating the night before the annual "mock battle,"
they had a rock band that wasn't bad playing in the
newly rennovated square downtown. We'll see more about
the battle in tomorrow's shots...
Captured June 29 2002 10:29:26p
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Alan getting down, to everyone's embarrassment.
Captured June 29 2002 10:39:27p
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The rest of us looked at our feet (to make sure they
didn't get stepped on).
Captured June 29 2002 11:01:23p
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"Hmmm... Where's my beer?" Pete ponders.
Captured June 29 2002 11:56:01p
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Having a goood time!
Captured June 29 2002 11:56:25p
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Captured June 29 2002 11:56:43p
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Francesco trying to look a normal height. That's his
brother on the right, whose name I forgot.
Captured June 29 2002 11:57:45p
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Alan borrowed some polish, and go into manicure. (Hey,
if tenure doesn't work out, he'll always have something
to fall back on.)
Captured June 30 2002 12:09:05a
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Another view of the moon on the river.
Captured June 30 2002 1:15:52a