The Cupola: A View of Florence, Italy under the Rain
Saturday, October 22, 2016Recently Florence has been so so rainy (cry). Fortunately, this means that the queue for the Cupola is at least half as long so we decided to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, this meant queuing in the rain, however we have accumulated a nice collection of umbrellas at the flat probably because 1) Florence actually rains a lot 2) there are so many street vendors who, as soon as the slightest amount of rain shows, pop out of nowhere with an array of anti-rain items (think of those horrible cling film type ponchos & umbrellas which break if there is the slightest wind).
The Cupola was built in 1420 and designed by Brunelleschi, a famous Florentine architect. At the time it was the biggest in the world and when you climb up to the top you do wonder how they achieved something like it all those years ago.
The stairwell is really narrow and dark so if you're claustrophobic or wouldn't feel comfortable doing it then I definitely would not recommended it because once you enter it's a little hard to get out quickly. It isn't just stairs though, on both your way up and your way down you walk around the inside walls of the dome and you have a view of both the beautiful ceiling and a peek into the cathedral itself.
After a while (463 steps to be exact) we finally got to the top (the gold bit that you see on top of the duomo when you walk past). And the views were amazing, even in the rain. See if you can spot any of Florence's famous spots (in particular the Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Santa Croce church, Piazza della Repubblica & the Piazzale Michelangelo) *Queue photo spam*
After all that climbing we were feeling hungy (and cold!) so we decided to head to one of my favourite cafés in Florence: Ditta Artigianale in via dei Neri. Unfortunately really isn't Italian BUT they have great brunch & anyone who knows me knows that brunch is my favourite meal ever and if possible I would make it a daily ritual.
Pancakes and coffee were definitely needed and i'm sure that I will feature this place on here before I leave Florence (also because there will be many opportunities to as I go there so often!) It might not be super Italian but the coffee certainly is (yay). EDIT: Read about it here!
And remember - no ordering a cappuccino after breakfast or God forbid with/after your lunch or dinner. Espressos are the way to go.
Definitely climb up here if you can. The views are beautiful and you'll be able to treat yourself to a cornetto (croissant), a slice of pizza or pancakes (like we did) after all of that hard exercise that you just did *wink wink*. No seriously though, I reckon around the 300th step my legs started to feel as if they were going to fall off.
Tickets can be bought in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and are €15 to visit all of the monuments. There are a couple so thankfully the ticket lasts for 48 hours. DON'T join the queue without a ticket or after an hour (or two) when you finally reach the front you will just be sent to buy a ticket and join the back of the queue to wait for hours again.
Alexandra x
2 comments
What a life! Enjoy! xx
ReplyDeleteThank you! x
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