Now in Firenze (Florence). The main Duomo is quite impressive, apparently with the largest dome in the world "until the modern era."

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Started in 1296 and essentially completed in 1436, entirely faced with scuptured marble, the math for calculating stresses of 37,000 tons of material for the dome, was centuries away. So Brunelleschi (the architect) relied on experience, intuition, innovation and models.

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The Amo river

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Taken from the Ponte Vecchio, built by the Romans, and the only ancient bridge across the Amo that survived WW II (instead, the retreating Germans blew up all the buildings at both ends, to make passing difficult).

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Street performers, outside the Uffizi Museum (which we toured, but no pictures were allowed)

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Ngoc & Adrian took a mask-making class at this studio one day. (The day before, I happened to meet the studio owner while walking around some back streets.)

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Alana & my 20-mile bike ride through Florence and some of neighboring Tuscany

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Big hill, between Tuscan villas

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Celebration at top of hilll

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A peek into one of the villas

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The roads were narrow, even for passing cars as we were biking along the side.

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A celebration snack, at a cafe overlooking the city near the end of our ride

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The bike ride route

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Out for pizza with Adrian

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Firenze at night

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