Our 3rd Fl (your 4th floor) apartment door is quite solid metal, with a four-fold bolt on the side and bolts top and bottom, too!
Here's our street door. The key must be over 100 yrs old.
And here's our street. Piazza della Republica at the end, Duomo to the Right, Palazzo Vechio to the left.
Our neighbors include a wedding dress store and several lingerie shops (pictures not included).
This is a meat store at the central market.
Butchers, cheesemongers and salumeria abound, along with produce. There are also a number of souvenir Italian food stores (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, odd dried pastas,etc). Unfortunately, we have no way to get such things home.
We visited the only Synagogue (Tempio Israelitico) , with about 900 congregants. Very imposing and elaborately decorated inside. The building went up around 1875, shortly after the Jews were granted full citizenship in Italy.
They felt they needed a dome because of Brunelleschi's dome. The style is "Arab with some Byzantine", "oriental", "exotic". Interestingly, the building is a basilica, a shape more associated with churches. We were told that the original design was rejected by the arts licensing. They were required to remove the neoclassical elements. The board wanted exotic. The exotic theme was continued in the garden. The plants were not suited to the garden and died.
It was a day of three cultures. After the synagogue, we went to the archaeological museum to see the Etruscan stuff. We were surprised to reach the second floor and find an extensive Egyptian collection. Mental overload!
We toured the Church of San Lorenzo.
Magnificent. Designed by Brunelleschi. The columns and arches are a beautiful gray stone, contrasting with the light paint. The church is not overdecorated.
We are beginning to recover from the jet lag. This leisurely travel seems to suit.
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