One of the luxuries of travel is time. Time to go back to some place you couldn’t get enough of the day before or to snap that one photo of something that had caught your eye but got away. As I noted in the last entry, I had a bit of a rush getting to the Piazzale Michelangelo and the San Miniato al Monte that evening. I unfortunately have some vision issues in the dark, so before leaving Florence this time I made it a point to climb that hill again and retrace my steps in broad daylight. I hope you will indulge me in sharing my last glimpses of this great city…

So here I am back at that rose garden about halfway up the hill. Jean-Michel Folon (1934–2005) is one of my favorite modern sculptors and it is always a pleasure to encounter his work around the world.

BTW, did you catch that sculpture, entitled Partir, of a suitcase that framed the city below in my last post? Here it is again:

I think that particular artwork basically sums up everything about my blog :D. If you happen to pass through Florence when the roses are in bloom, you must take the time to enjoy this permanent exhibit at the Giardino delle Rose.

Finally at the top of the piazza, I get to put my new 20/15 vision (in daytime) to good use and look beyond the hill…

and across the river…

What a difference some sunlight can make! Feeling empowered by the sun, I hike up to the churches that I can now clearly make out. First, the Chiesa di San Salvatore al Monte:

Then the San Miniato al Monte,

with its large cemetery…

I have a train to catch so either I look for famous grave sites or re-tour the basilica. You probably think I’d opt for the former since I’ve posted so many photos of cemeteries around the world before, but I couldn’t get that musical experience out of my head since it happened so I went back inside.

One last look from the hill at the famous Duomo:

Arrivederci, Firenze!