11.30.2012

Honeymoon -- Day 7 -- Florence (Morning)

During our tour of the Accademia, we learned that the Santa Croce Church, which was just behind our hotel, houses many famous tombs, so we made a point of visiting it before we left Florence for our next destination.

My family has spent a ton of time at Marconi Beach on Cape Cod, and when we were younger, my dad would always have us stop at Marconi Station on the way to the beach (my parents were good at sneaking some education into our vacations). This is where Marconi completed the first transatlantic wireless communication between the United States and England. So I immediately recognized Guglielmo Marconi and had to take a picture of this plaque to send back home.

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy


Next we saw Galileo Galilei's tomb. Because his claiming that the earth revolved around the sun went against the church, it was many years past his death before his remains were allowed in the church.

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Across the church from Galileo's tomb is Michelangelo Buonarroti's tomb. This was the highlight of our visit, having just seen the David and some of his other works the day before.

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Other well-known Florentines whose tombs we found there were Dante and Machiavelli.

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Besides the tombs, the church is worth seeing for the artwork, detail, and architecture alone.

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

Santa Croce Church, Florence, Italy

After we left the church, we stopped at a small cafe for a chocolate croissant and a couple of cappuccinos.

Chocolate croissant

Cappuccino

And then we set off toward Positano.

Next up: Day 7 -- Montepulciano (Afternoon)