Firenze
2018
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2021
Fucecchio. Panorama from the lookout of the city
Fucecchio is an Italian town of 23,076 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Florence in Tuscany, in the lower Valdarno.
2021
Lucca. The Cathedral of San Martino
The Cathedral of San Martino is the main Catholic place of worship in the city of Lucca. According to tradition, the cathedral was founded by San Frediano in the sixth century, then rebuilt by Anselmo da Baggio, bishop of the city, in 1060.
2008
Prato, Castle of the Emperor
The fort of the Alberti di Prato once stood on the site where the present castle is located, which was almost completely razed to the ground in 1107 during the siege of the troops of Matilde di Canossa; in its place another palace, called "Palazzolo", was rebuilt to house the nuncios of the emperors Arrigo VI of Svevia and Otto IV of Brunswick (of which two towers remain, those without battlements, which until 1767-68 had about the double the current height); the area affected by the Castle has always been strategic, so much so that there are documents dating back to 1035 which testify to the presence of an older "palatium"; this building was the nucleus of Castrum Prati, the village that stood upstream of the building which also possessed an ancient parish church (Santa Maria in Castello, which no longer exists). The commission for the construction was given by Frederick II to Riccardo da Lentini, probably starting from 1240. The castle, originally tangent to the second walls (XII century), was partially surrounded by a moat and connected to the Albertian prisons from which definition " of the prisons "the nearby Marian shrine took its name. It has eight towers and has inherent, as for the Castel del Monte, various symbolic aspects, both in the structure and in the portal. Once completed it should have been used as an important garrison of the empire, testifying to the presence of the emperor on the possessions of the north. However, its construction was interrupted around 1250, due to the premature death of the emperor, and the unfinished structure was later used for many other purposes. During the fourteenth century, under the Florentine dominion, the castle was connected to the third circle of walls by a covered corridor called "Corridore del Cassero" (ie: corridor of the castle) or more simply Cassero. In this way the Florentine troops could easily enter the city from outside the walls using a protected passage.
2009
Fiesole
2018
Fucecchio, parade of the districts 2018
The Palio delle Contrade Città di Fucecchio, commonly known as the Palio di Fucecchio, is an event reminiscent of a contest held in Fucecchio around 1200. Originally called Palio della Lancia, it takes place on the penultimate Sunday of May (except for the edition of 2017). The race includes two heats and a final, on horses mounted bareback by jockeys. The last historical edition of which we have news from the local historical archives dates back to June 14, 1863. It was only from the eighties that the carousel came back to life with regularity. The forerunner of the modern Palio was the "Fratres blood donors group", which in 1980 organized a pony race to promote blood donation. From the following year it was decided to organize a real Palio delle Contrade, with horses mounted in saddles. After an initial presence of sixteen districts, the number definitively dropped to the current twelve. From 1987 the saddle was abandoned, and the horses were mounted bareback. Since 1995, the FRATRES blood donors group left the Palio in the hands of the municipal administration, as it has grown a lot compared to how it was born. The event takes place inside the "ex quarry of Andrea" commonly called "La buca" by the locals: a natural racecourse suitable for horse racing. The land of the "hole" has been trodden by the strongest Italian jockeys: from Aceto to Cianchino, from Pesse to Trecciolino passing through other important jockeys such as Massimino II, Il Bufera, Bucefalo, Bastiano up to the youngest promises such as Gingillo, Lo Zedde , Bighino, Sgaibarre, Velvet, Tittia, Vittorio.
2021
Fucecchio, Tuscany, Italy. Panoramas
2021
Pisa, the Leaning Tower
The tower of Pisa (popularly known as the leaning tower and, in Pisa, the Campanile or the Tower) is the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, in the famous Piazza del Duomo of which it is the most famous monument due to the characteristic slope, symbol of Pisa and among the iconic symbols of Italy. It is a separate bell tower 57 meters high (58.36 meters considering the foundation plan) built over two centuries, between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. With a mass of 14 453 tons, the curved line predominates, with turns of blind arches and six floors of loggias. The slope is due to a subsidence of the underlying land which occurred in the early stages of construction. The inclination of the building measures 3.97 ° with respect to the vertical axis. The tower is managed by the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, a body that manages all the monuments in the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa. It was proposed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Work began on 9 August 1173. The foundations were left to rest for a whole year. Some studies attribute the authorship of the project to the Pisan architect Diotisalvi, who was building the baptistery at the same time. The similarities between the two buildings are in fact many, starting with the type of foundations. Others suggest instead Gherardi, while according to Vasari the works were started by Bonanno Pisano. Vasari's thesis was considered valid above all after the discovery in the vicinity of the bell tower of a tombstone with the name of Bonanno, walled up in the atrium of the building; moreover, in the nineteenth century an epigraphic fragment of pink material was always found in the surroundings, probably a cast on which a metal plate was cast, which is placed on the jamb of the building's entrance door. On this fragment we read, upside down: "Pisan citizen named Bonanno". This cast in all probability related to the royal door of the Cathedral, destroyed during the fire of 1595. The first phase of the works was interrupted in the middle of the third floor, due to the subsidence of the land on which the base of the bell tower stands. The softness of the ground, made up of normally consolidated soft clay, is the cause of the slope of the tower and, although to a lesser extent, of all the buildings in the square. The works resumed in 1275 under the guidance of Giovanni di Simone and Giovanni Pisano, adding another three floors to the previous building. In an attempt to straighten the tower, the three additional floors tend to curve away from the slope. The bell tower was completed in the middle of the following century, adding the belfry.
2021
Lucca, Tuscany. The basilica of San Frediano
The basilica of San Frediano is one of the oldest Catholic places of worship in Lucca, in Romanesque style, and is located in the homonymous square.
2021
Calci. The Charterhouse of Val Graziosa
The Certosa della Val Graziosa di Calci, commonly known as the Certosa di Pisa or also the Certosa di Calci, is located in the province of Pisa, in the municipality of Calci, in a flat area on the slopes of the Pisan mountains called "Val Graziosa".
2021
San Gimignano. The church of Sant'Agostino