By Maya DeAndrea
Today marked our second and final day in Florence and the Tuscany region. After breakfast, we set off into the city for a guided walking tour of Florence with a local guide. Throughout our tour, we learned about different architectural feats, artistic works, and historical achievements woven into the design of Florence.
Our guide showed us notable statues that were scattered throughout the city, primarily from the Renaissance period, including Michelangelo’s David and several representing iconic moments from Greek mythology. Some of the statues pictured Italian “celebrities” as our guide called them, like Amerigo Vespucci, Galileo Galilei, and Niccolo Machiavelli.
This tour also included interesting information about the architectural design of Florence and how the political history of the region influenced its architectural development. Among some of the architectural works we viewed were the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which was constructed by workers across seven generations — a testament to the intricacy that characterizes much of the Florentine architecture.
At the Leonardo Leather Shop, we received an informative session and presentation from their representative Clara. Clara taught us about how to identify quality leather, the history of leather in Italy, what it means for leather pieces to be “hand worked,” and the inner workings of the shop, such as the jewelry department. Then, much like with the glass blowing demonstration and tour, we received a 10% discount on all purchases. We enjoyed roaming around the shop, and some students purchased leather pieces or jewelry.
After we wrapped up the leather shop, we grabbed a quick lunch and took an hour train ride to Pisa. When we arrived around 2:30 p.m., we walked to the Piazza dei Miracoli, which included many landmarks: the Pisa Cathedral, the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery. Students were given free time to explore these landmarks as well as walk around the area, whether that included stopping to buy some souvenirs or indulging in some classic gelato. As a group, we then came together and walked back to the train station to catch the 5:00 p.m. train back to Florence.
For dinner, we returned to Florence. We ate as a large group, and enjoyed another traditional Italian style meal. Our first course was pasta, followed by a protein-centric second course. After tiramisu for dessert, we returned to a new hotel. We have a long drive tomorrow to Rome!