St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-02-27
NUMBER TWELVE.

From Venice to FLOrence-Over the Ap-
peniReS-A Glance at Florence - A
Sight Seeing ROund-Ihe Tombs of the
Medici Family-Ihe Cathedral, Camp
anile and Baptistery-The Church of
Santa CrOce-Ihe Monument to Dante
Michael 4ngelo's House-Ihe UGsi
Gallery and the Pitt Palace e-Rapha-
els WddOnnaS.
HOTEL WASHINGTON, FLORENCE,
ITALY, August, 1879.
FROM VENICE TO FLORENCE.
The Appenine railway crosses the
mountains between Bologna and Flor
ence, or mOIe properly speaking, be-
tween Porretta and Pistoja, and attaius
its greatest elevation, 1924 feet, ut Il
romantic little place called Pracchia.
The scenery along the route is very
picturesque, although dissimilar from
that in the Alps for the reason that the
mountains are neither as high, nor, us
general thing, as precipitOus. In the
journey from Venice, the traveller
passes through the interesting cities of
Padua, Ferrara and Bologna, and on
the opposite side of the mountains, Pts
tOja, which is a trifie over 20 miles from
Florence. The entire distance from
Venice to Florence by rail is 182 miles,
and the express trains occupy between
nine and ten hours in the journey. In
the mountainous district there are nu-
merous tunnels, but neither in number
OF extent can they compare with Il line
on the western coast of Italy, the one
which leads from Pisa to Genoa. There,
only occasional glimpses can be had of
the beautiful scenery, the railway being
carried through tunnels and galleries
for great distances.
GLANCE AT FLORENCE.
Florence, OF Firenze, as the city is
known to the Italians, is compactly
built, and contains nearly 10000 in
habitants, being the sixth city in Italy
in point of size. AS an art centre it is
more important than any other in the
country except Rome. 1t is environed
by hills, and the suburbs are even more
beautiful than the town. High upon one
of the near hills is the ancient Etruscan
city of Fiesole which anntedates Flor
ence but is now only shadow of it's
former self. 1t is very charming re-
sort, however, and is much frequented
by artists. Within the city of Florence
are several elevated points which afford
magnificent views, the chief of which is
hill on the south bank of the ArnO.
where the Piazzale Michael Angelo and
the Church of San Miniato are situated.
Viewed from this point the city is very
charming. At the foot of the hill. and
on the same side of the river are the
BObOli Gardens and the Pitt Palace.
Connected with the latter by covered
bridge is the Uffizi Gallery. Both these
immense buildings are crowded with
rare works of art. The chief part of the
city is built on the north side of the
Arno. The most prominent objects are
the huge dome of the Cathedral, the
neighboring Campanile, and the lesser
dome of the Baptistery. Nearer at
hand is the church of Santa Croce. the
Pantheon of Tuscany. At little dis
tance from the city are the hills, dotted
with villas, gardens and churches.
THE MEDICI MONUMENTS.
In beginning our sight seeing rounds
we went first to the church of San Lo-
renzo and the neighboring chapel of the
Medici family, not because these were
of the greatest interest, but for the rea
son that they were nearest our hotel.
The new SacIisty was built by Michael
Angelo between 1923 and 1929, and
contains several celebrated works by
that master. On the tomb of Giuliano
de Medici, Due de NemouIs, son of Lo-
renzo, the Magnificent, are his figures
"Day" and might" Opposite is the
statue of Lorenzo de Medici, Duke of
Urbino, grandson of Lorenzo the Mag
nificent, which is known as '1l Pensie-
r0," for the reason that the Duke is