Day 10 - Saturday, October 8 - Pitti Palace & Boboli Gardens

 Before breakfast this morning I went out for a walk - what a difference! Only a few tourists and street cleaners out compared with last evening when the streets were so crowded it was difficult to get through. The Ponte Vecchio only had a few people on it. The mist rising behind the Ponte Vecchio as the sun came up was very pretty.

After breakfast, Lucca picked us up for the tour of the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens.

The Pitti Palace has quite an interesting history. It was started in the mid-1400s by Luca Pitta, a wealthy banker, who told the architects to spare no expense. Unfortunately, it was so expensive that he went bankrupt and only the first floor was completed. In the mid-1500s, it was purchased cheaply by Eleanora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany and a second floor was added. In the early 1800s, Napoleon's sister Elizabeth married the Duke of Tuscany and a third floor was added. Napoleon used it as his official residence.

The palace was mainly used to hold the artwork of the Medici family and entertain guests while the Medici's resided in the main Vecchio Palace. An aboveground corridor over 1/4 mile connected the two palaces.

Lucca explained the most important artworks by some of the Italian artists who are the most famous worldwide from this era. The extravagance is hard to believe. Afterwards we toured the huge Boboli Gardens with many fountains, paths, statues, etc.

We then walked to the central market for lunch and then back to the hotel

After a rest, Anna and I walked to the Piazza Santa Croce. Unfortunately, it was too late to go into the cathedral. Anna bought an Italian leather wallet and I had a gelato. On the way back we haggled a bit with a street vendor over a leather bag which we purchased - no idea of whether it was a good deal or how authentic it was. On the way back to the hotel we heard music and stopped in the Vecchio Palace and enjoyed hearing someone playing a grand piano.

Our whole group went out for a tasty dinner at a local restaurant before coming back to the hotel around 10pm.


Adler family in Boboli Garden overlooking Pitti Palace and Florence


Ponte Vecchio at early morning

Our hotel


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