Florence Museums and off to Cinque Terre Region of Italy

Pat and I are continuing our European adventures along with our son Ross. In this post we spend the weekend with some more museum exploring in Florence and then catch the train to the west coast of Italy for three days exploring Cinque Terre. This is five small and very scenic towns that hug the rugged, rocky coastline and are connected by a very popular hiking trail.

More Florence Museums

 Oct 19 – The first museum is the Baptistry of San Giovanni. From wiki: The Baptistery of San Giovanni, also known as the Florence Baptistery, is a religious building in Florence, Italy. It is an octagonal baptistery that stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, across from Florence Cathedral and the Campanile di Giotto. The Baptistery was the cathedral of Florence from 1059 to 1128, before the construction of the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore. It is dedicated to the Patron Saint of Florence, Saint John the Baptist.

It is hard to imagine, as Americans, a building that dates back to 1059! And by far this is not anywhere near the oldest in Italy. Florentine infants were originally baptized in large groups on Holy Saturday and Pentecost in a five-basin baptismal font located at the center of the building. Over the course of the 13th century, individual baptisms soon after birth became common, so less apparatus was necessary. Around 1370 a small font was commissioned, which is still in use today.

Oct 20 – Palazzo Vecchio – This Florence museum was once one of the famous Medici’s palaces. In 1299, the commune and people of Florence decided to build a palace that would be worthy of the city’s importance, and that would be more secure and defensible in times of turbulence. The cubical building is made of solid rusticated stonework. The building is crowned with projecting battlements, supported by small arches. Under the arches are a repeated series of nine painted coats of arms of the Florentine republic. Some of these arches can be used for dropping heated liquids or rocks on invaders. Some rough times back then. It was an impressive building filled to the brim with Rennaissance artwork.

Oct 20 – Galileo Museum – Museo Galileo is located in Florence, Italy, in Piazza dei Giudici, along the River Arno and close to the Uffizi Gallery. The museum, dedicated to astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei, is housed in Palazzo Castellani, an 11th-century building which was then known as the Castello d’Altafronte.

Museo Galileo owns one of the world’s major collection of scientific instruments, which bears evidence of the role that the Medici and Lorraine Grand Dukes attached to science and scientists.

Oct 21-23 – Cinque Terre

Getting around in Italy is amazingly easy with just some extra planning. They have high speed rail between all major cities that are mostly non-stop, regional rail connecting the smaller area with several stops, and then some short line rail such as in this 5-Terre region. The train here goes back and forth in a line between this tourist destinations every 30 minutes or so.

Cinque Terre; meaning ‘Five Lands’ are a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They say that Vernazza is one of the most beautiful villages of Italy.

The Cinque Terre area is a popular tourist destination. Over the centuries, people have built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the Ligurian Sea. Paths, trains, and boats connect the villages as cars can only reach them with great difficulty from the outside via narrow and precarious mountain roads. These places are remote!

Our son Ross is still with us for this side trip, so we booked a two-bedroom apartment on AirBNB in the town of Monterosso al Mare. A very cute little town with hilly, curvy streets. Our place was on a side street, up a small narrow path. A very nice, but tiny place with steep narrow stairs up to bedrooms. It’s funny that the on-line photos did not reflect that. But, all is good, we were extra careful on them.

Pat and I hiked one section of the trail. It was fun until it started sprinkling rain. Imagine narrow, slippery, jagged rock steps, with a sharp drop off to one side. It was worth it to see the beautiful views. Ross went on to hike some more and we met him in the next town via the train. We hiked about 2 miles on the trail out of the 5.8 total for that day. The hike was 60 floors. Much elevation change.

We had more great culinary opportunities with some fresh seafood here on the coast. The restaurants here in Italy are classified as cafes, (small coffee shop diners), Osterias (more varied menu but still small), Trattorias (more of a full menu and service), Ristorante (full menu, high level of service, and ambiance). We still have not had a bad meal although some have been outstanding. Ross commented that there are Asian restaurants, but no Mexican places. I guess that makes sense. In the US, there are usually several Mexican eateries in every small town.

After our three days, (one day rained all day, but we still got to our 5th and final town), it was back to our home base in Florence. The regional train took about 3 hours with one quick train change.

Wrap Up

Thanks for following along. In the next blog update, I’ll focus on the differences between the culture, atmosphere, and other notes as we have observed versus back in the states. Take care and God Bless.