My Summer in Italy: Where I've Been

As previously mentioned, I wanted to make a post about all of the places I've seen in Florence. The list is as follows:

Michelangelo Square
Ponte Vecchio
Church of San Lorenzo (including the Old Sacristy and the Medici Chapel)
The Bargello Museum
Church of Santa Maria Novella
Monastery of San Marco
The Ufizzi Gallery
The Boboli Gardens
Church of Santa Croce
The Duomo
Casa Buonarroti (Michelangelo's house)

I am extremely happy I was able to see all of these places. Tomorrow I plan on visiting the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine to see some of the works by Massacio. I have so much to say about all of the places that I've visited that it would make for a very long post. So instead, please just check out the pictures of all of the wonderful places I've been- I think that they can better speak for themselves. Also, thanks to Mike I realized that I forgot to comment about something very important that I saw when I was in Rome- the Sistine Chapel. After writing about it in my diary and in a few emails, I think I just thought that I wrote about it in my blog as well. This probably goes without saying, but it was exquisite. There are 9 stories from Genesis on the highest part of the ceiling and the lowest part of the ceiling is surrounded by paintings of the ancestors of Christ. When originally commissioned, Michelangelo was told to only paint 12 figures on the ceiling- the apostles. However, after debate with the Pope, he was able decide on what he wanted to include on the ceiling, which ended up being over 300 figures. Also in the Sistine Chapel is the Last Judgment, depicting the return of Christ and the Apocalypse. The figures in this painting are much more fierce and muscular than those done before by Michelangelo, as this piece was completed about 20 years after the ceiling.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures below! I will be traveling into Switzerland and France this coming week and then I will be home! I plan on making one final post once I get back to the states, so please be looking for it in about a week and a half.