Day 27 - Wed 24 Sep 25: Montecatini Terme (Florence)

September 24, 2025

Wed 24 Sep 25: Montecatini Terme (Florence)

By 0830 we were on the bus heading into Florence for the day. Only 68km but it took 90 minutes in very heavy traffic. We arrived about a 25 minute walk away from the city centre, and walked the rest to Ponte Vecchio. A medieval stone arch bridge over the Arno river, the only bridge in Florence to be spared from the WW2 bombings, the crowds were unbelievable, and it’s not even peak season. Where butchers, tanners, and farmers once occupied the shops along the bridge; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers. Here we met a tour guide who showed us through the mass of crowds and narrow streets to the main square of Florence called the Piaza del Signore to the Cathedral Square and the Duomo. Here we only viewed the massive Duomo from the outside then through more narrow alley ways (and crowds) made our way to the Galleria Accademia (Fine Arts Museum) mainly to see Michelangelo's sculpture David. Although we had booked tickets for a 1200 pm viewing covered by our tour, the crowds were so horrendous that we were still waited to enter 30 minutes later. By the time we passed through security, I was wondering if it was even worth all the effort, but in the end once we were standing in front of the sculpture, it turned out to be vey much worthwhile. The sculpture is just something that has to be seen. There are no words to describe the beauty and magnificence of this piece of art. David is a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture in a single piece of marble created from 1501 to 1504 by Michelangelo. With a height of 5.17 metres, the David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of twelve prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, but was instead placed in the public square in front of the Palazzo della Signoria, where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504. In 1873, the statue was moved to its current location in the Galleria Accademia to protect it from weather conditions. In 1910 a replica was installed at the original site on the public square which we saw on the way through the square today. The day involved a lot of walking, and by the time we left the galleria and walked back to the bus, we had covered almost 15km, along very uneven hard cobblestone streets and alleyways. There is so much more to see in Florence, that a few hours doesn't do it justice, but the crowds make it just unbearable. We're satisfied with our passing visit and getting a glimpse of the main attractions - especially David. We returned to our hotel in Montecatini Terme at 5:30pm, and wrapped up another memorable day, after a shower with a pre-dinner drink in the hotel bar and another very enjoyable dinner at the hotel.

Florence - Arno River

Florence - Ponte Vecchio. Monument to Benvenuto Cellini a sculpture and goldsmith

Florence - Ponte Vecchio

Florence

Chiesa di Santa Margherita dei Cerchi. The name refers both to the dedication to St Margaret of Antioch and to the Cerchi family, who held the patronage of this little church from 1353, at first together with the Donati and the Adimar families, and then in the 17th century on their own. Recorded since 1032, the building was altered several times in later centuries. Inside, on the high altar there is an altarprece with the "Madonna enthroned with St Lucy, St Margaret, St Agnes and St Catherine of Alexandria" by Neri di Bicci ( 15th century). Santa Marghenta is also known as Dante's Church, because it may have been here that the poet married Gemma Donati, and first clasped eyes on his beloved Beatrice Portinari, whose family had their tombs here.