Happy Halloween

“The scythe fell and lay in the grass like a lost smile.” 

From The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

The Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence (Dante is actually buried in Ravenna)

"When Truth shall strike their eyes through many a tear,

And make them own the Prophet in his tomb "

from The Prophecy of Dante

Lord Byron

Florence 2019

“Rejoice, Florence, seeing you are so great that over sea and land you flap your wings, and your name is widely known in Hell!”

 Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy 

The Statue of Neptune, Florence

"In 1559, Cosimo I de' Medici launched a competition to design a fountain at a time when a new aqueduct was also being built, the first to bring running water to the city.^[2] The plan was for a statue of Neptune as the primary element, in a chariot drawn by sea-horses, symbolizing Florence's command of the Mediterranean. Initially, Baccio Bandinelli was the sculptor chosen but he died before work began. Sculptor Ammannati was hired to take over and completed the work with assistants and collaborators. The face of Neptune is said to resemble that of the Grand Duke Cosimo.^[3]

The 4.2 meter tall Neptune figure, made of Apuan marble, was completed in 1565 in time for the wedding of Francesco de' Medici I to grand duchess Johanna of Austria.^[4] Florentines were not impressed and called the statue "Il Biancone" ("the white giant").^[5][6] The work on the basin and other aspects of the fountain required nearly ten years. Ammannati and his collaborators added around the perimeter of the basin in a mannerist style, reclining, bronze river gods, laughing satyrs and marble sea-horses emerging from the water. The pedestal on which the statue stands is in the center of the octagonal fountain. It is decorated with the mythical figures of Scylla and Charybdis. The final work was completed in December 1574. The statue on display today is a copy made in the 1800s when the original was moved to the National Museum.^[7][5]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Neptune,_Florence

In Florence our hotel opened the breakfast buffet at 7:00. We found by being up when it opened, we could have a nice meal and then hit the mean streets of Florence. This way we could avoid the crowds for a few hours. A lot of the museums opened a 8:15 so that helped. The fountain, a copy but impressive for all that, was turned on about 8:00. 

I really loved the coloured marble we saw in some statues and church architecture. 

“In that book which is my memory,
On the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you,
Appear the words, ‘Here begins a new life’.”

from Vita Nuova

Dante Alighieri