With 5 course dinner and wines last night, this morning was a sleep in morning. But there was plenty of time to go exploring the city.
First stop was the basilica of San Francesco, which I was not able to enter yesterday. Everything closed mid day and siesta and all that.
I arrived at about 11:00am and walked around the church. There was a Mass at 11:30 so I decided to stay to offer up the Mass for Joe Martino's mother.
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| The inside of the San Francesco basilica is simple, even austere. With a mix of rennaisance, baroque and even some contemporary works of art, it is a very serene space which speaks only of spirituality and prayer. |
After Mass, I went back to the center of the town to the Piazza di Campo. With the sun shining, people were lounging around the huge piazza and taking in the warmth of the late spring sun.
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| View of the piazza with its medieval tower and Palazzo Publico. |
After a nice lunch of Caprese salad and a glass of wine, I headed over to the Duomo.
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| The combination of clouds and sun today really lit up the duomo to reveal all its beautiful colors. |
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| Detail of the facade using a feature of my camera I didn't know I had. I thought I only had 3x zoom. Apparently it has a 12x zoom. There should be some more amazing pictures as time goes on. |
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| The mosaic os the crowning of Mary, Queen of Heaven, on the highest peak of the duomo. |
There are about 40 pictures of the interior of the duomo. I won't be able to post them all. Here are a few highlights.
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| View towards the altar. |
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| A detail of the floor. |
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| Another detail of the floor: The slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem. |
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| Another image of the floor. This Basilica has one of the most unique floors in all the cathedrals of Europe. The marble of various colors was scored and a black epoxy type material filled in the grooves to make the images. |
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| Statue of St. Jerome by Bernini. |
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| Statue of Mary Magdelene by Bernini. |
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| The "Picolomini" Chapel, built by Cardinal Picolomini to house the library of his uncle, Pope Pius II. Cardinal Picolomini would become Pope Pius III. |
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| Frecoes in the "Picolomini" Chapel showing scenes of the life of Pope Pius II. |
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| Statue of John the Baptist in the baptistry. |
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| View of the nave. |
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| One of 5 pipe organ cases in the Duomo. |
Leaving the Duomo, I headed back to my hote. I took a route I had not taken before and crossed over a bridge which passes over some other city street. I saw a wonderful view of my hotel with the Church of San Domenico rising above it.
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| The Hotel Alma Domus where I am staying is the building just above the trees. My room is the second rounded arch from the left. |
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| The setting sun offered some amazing light against the city tonight. I took this photo a short while before I headed out for dinner. |
Another restful morning tomorrow, back out to visit a couple of museums and another evening of cooking classes.
Ciao everyone.
