Ohhh...Como

Wrapping up our tour of Italy, we crossed over to Switzerland and stopped in the town of Lugano for lunch, then returned to Italy to spend some time in the town of Como.  Actually, were only in Lugano long enough to have lunch and the find the bus, but here are a couple of pictures.

Entering Italy at the Border Crossing

I guess we looked ok to the Border Patrol, so he let us pass.

The town of Como

They rolled out the red carpet for us.  Well,  maybe it was more pinkish...

The band played upon our arrival.

The Townsfolk were peeking out their windows to catch a glimpse of us tourists.

The Churches all throughout Italy were magnificent.

I'll close with my favorite interior church photo

Ahhh....Venice

Let the pictures do the talking.

David was sad because of all of the graffiti thats everywhere.

There was no shortage of gondolas.

Lost Tourists

Pondering the wonders of Venice

"Hey, the girl on that boat waved at me!"

The taller structures tend to lean in Venice,

The striped poles mark where you can dock your boat.

Let's move on to the next destination.

Castello del Trebbio

(Source: various Internet web sites)

Castello del Trebbio was constructed in the late twelfth century for the Pazzi family. 

In the fourteenth century the Pazzi family was very powerful, surpassed only by the Medici family. In 1478 some Pazzi family members decided to change the balance of power by killing the two strongest Medici brothers, Giuliano and Lorenzo the Magnificent. History has called the events which followed the ‘Pazzi conspiracy’. Giuliano was killed but Lorenzo escaped and his revenge was terrible. Many of the Pazzi were killed and their property was seized. Castello del Trebbio was given to the Medici family. They stripped it of all but two of the Pazzi treasures; A shield sculpted by Donatello remains in the courtyard today and part of a fresco by Andrea del Castagno. 

The castle underwent the last major structural change in the 15th century when the Medici family extended it, forming a courtyard and adding an internal well. 

The cellar of the castle holds barrels of Chianti

And olive oil in big clay jars.  Notice the iron rings attached to the ceiling?  This room was also the castles dungeon where its prisoner were secured.

Looks like someone had a little too much chianti....

Florence - "The Cradle of Italian Renaissance"

The City of Florence from atop a hill

We visited the world famous Galleria dell Accademia (Academy Gallery) which hosts the Statue of David and other works of Michelangelo on he inside and graffiti (which was a common sight all over Italy) on the outside.

Photographs are not allowed inside, which I was told after I already took one.  Here it is, and it is believed to be only known picture of the inside of the Gallery.

But thats ok, because there are reproductions of most of the statues outside in the Plaza.

And others as well, like this one depicting the a classic scene from the movie "Clash of the Titians"

"I can't figure out why everyone is always staring at me"

"Oh yea...It's because I'm naked"

This is the Church of Santa Croce, the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli.

The tomb of Galileo.

The tomb of Michelangelo (undergoing renovation)

The tomb of Machiavelli ("Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer")

Siena

Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans (c. 900–400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina.


The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1325-1344^[1], it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's premier square, adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall). When built it was one of the tallest secular towers in mediaeval Italy. At 102 m, it is now second only to Cremona's Torrazzo.

The Siena Cathedral

No visit to Siena would be complete without seeing the Museo della Tortura!

Here is just one of the many devices that you can see there

If all of this traveling is making you crazy, Siena has a place where you can decompress.