. We arrived there the day before.
Here’s the Piazza Navona. Previously, there was a stadium that defined the shape of the square. In addition to the fountains, there’s the Church of St. Agnes in the photos.
The Pantheon is a temple to all the gods. Raphael Santi was the first person who wished to be buried here. In time, it was called "Pantheon" and became a household name, referring to the burial place of the worthy citizens of the Fatherland.
. Do not forget to look at the Poli Palace, at the foot of which the fountain is located, like theatrical scenery.
It was a so-called "before cruise program". Now it was time for the cruise! We got to Civitavecchia by bus, which took an hour and a half. Our ship won a round of applause.
We stayed in a cabin with a balcony.
The interiors of the ship were impressive!
The canteen was opened almost 24-hours.
The morning of the first day of our cruise had come. The first port on the route was Livorno. Right at the ramp, we rented cars and drove to
.
This is St. Mary's Cathedral, with a flower (the Duomo). The dome is equal to the diameter of the dome of the Roman Pantheon.
This is the bell tower (campanile) of Giotto. The architect was hired to complete the construction of the cathedral, but he chose to build the bell tower. The idea to use a tri-color (pink, white, green) marble decor in the design of the facade of the bell tower was Giotto's.
Opposite the cathedral was of the oldest of three buildings, the Baptistery. There’s a column (not visible in the photo, unfortunately) in front of the baptistery which was placed on the former spot of an elm tree. The tree blossomed in winter when a coffin with the remains of St. Zinovy, the patron saint of the city, was carried passed it.
The Baptistery has three entrances; the most famous gates are Oriental. Michelangelo called it the "Gates of Paradise" with 10 panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament.
Then we went to Piazza della Signoria. One of the most beautiful squares in Italy, which is reminiscent of the theatrical scene.
There’s a famous statue of Neptune's fountain.
The square was literally strewn with sculptures, alive and eternal. This is Perseus:
We looked into the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio and saw a lovely fountain with a bronze-winged Cupid. Here are the columns, stucco and frescoes.
We went to the church of Santa Croce. Michelangelo, Galileo, Rossini and many other worthy sons of Italy were buried here.
Then we went to the trattoria and ordered pizza and pasta.
Then we went to Pisa. The tower hadn't fallen yet.
The first day of our cruise was over.
Some information about prices (as of 2009):
Rental car (5-seat Fiat Panda) – EUR 75
Diesel for the day - EUR 13
Parking near the railway station - EUR 13
Entrance to the church of Santa Croce - EUR 5
Margaritta Pizza - EUR 6.90
Spaghetti Carbonara - EUR 5.90
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