Here is the town of Assisi. It is one of many hundred Italian towns that sit on a hill. It is known as the 'Hill of Paradise'. It had previously been called the 'Hill of Hell!'

As you may have guessed, I took this photo looking out of a car's rear window.

Here is a fountain in the town's central square, the Piazza del Commune.

Here is the most famous site at Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco (St. Francis). A very fine church it is. In the upper church there is a series of frescoes painted by Giotto depicting the life of St. Francis (with him accepting the stigmata and all that). The crypt is within the lower church.

Written on the lawn is 'Pax', which means 'peace' in latin.

Here is a fountain in the Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia. The figurine at the top is of Perugia, a symbol of fertility.

Here I am am with my folks tucking in at a  restaurant near Perugia.

Our next stop on the tour was Castiglione del Lago. Like most small Italian towns, it stands upon a hill.

...and some strange works of art outside.

I like the palm trees.

Castiligone del Lago looks over Lake Trasimeno. Here is a view over the lake, where there are some ducks.

We next went to Cortona. I slightly larger town on a hill. This section has been largely untouched since the Middle Ages. Once a year in June a crossbow competition (the Archidado) is held there.

Here is the Piazza Signorelli, named after artist Luca Signorelli. There had been a market there earlier in the day.

It's not quite as grand as the Basilica at Assisi, but it includes some pretty frescoes nonetheless.

Here is the chiesa di San Nicolo that lies at near the hill's summit. Unfortunately the church was closed for lunch when we visited, which annoyed my mum after the energy expended in climbing the hill.

Florence was the next destination. However we stayed at a hotel in Valdarno, about 50km to the south of Florence. The hotel was next to lake (much smaller than Lake Trasimeno).

It is called Il Duomo because it has a dome-shaped tower (St. Paul's style), which was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. Here is a view of the magnificent painting of the inside of the dome.

Here is a view of the outside world from the dome. Visible here is the Campanile (Bell Tower), designed by Giotto.

Here is another from the top of the Duomo. The Basilica di San Lorenzo is visible here.

This building, just outside the Duomo, is the Baptistery. On the doors are gilded bronze panels upon which are depictions of scenes from the Old Testament, carved by Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Here is one of the gates. Cain has just given Abel a good whack, in the top right panel.

Very near the duomo is the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. This is the most famous work at the museum, Pietà, sculpted by Michelangelo when he was nearly 80 years old. It was intend for his own tomb but ultimately he was unhappy with it and broke one Christ's arms and legs. His student, Tibero Calcagni, restored and finished it later.

The weather was mostly very good on this holiday. Not so on this particular day though. However, that did at least mean that the queues for the main sites were shorter than they might have been!

Here I am on the Ponte Vecchio.

There are lots of statues near Medusa's head (as you might expect?)

Here is Hercules and The Centaur, by Giambologna.

This one is The Rape of the Sabines, the last work by the same artist.

We visited the Palazzo Vecchio. The palace was built between 1298 & 1314. In 1530 King Cosimo I commissioned painter and architect Giorgio Vasari to jazz up the place with a few frescoes. He did a rather a good job!

On entering the first thing one sees is Michelozzo's splendid courtyard.

Here's a bit of Vasari's work, a long fresco in the Salone di Cinquecento, a large room which has been used for many a meeting and banquet.


Beloe are some more works found in the palace.

There is a room in which the trials of Hercules are depicted upon the ceiling. Here he is killing the Hydra.

Here's one of the many frescoes that lie within. It is  St. Philip the Apostle at the Temple of Mars by Filippino Lippi. To show these people that their god is false, he summons a dragon which crawls out of a crack in the ground before passing wind! Many of the crowd hold their noses but alas the son of the high priest is killed by the stench.

There was a museum at the basilica. The object on the right here contains somebody's fingerbone.

Perhaps the best of the artwork at Sant Maria Novella church was in the Spanish Chapel. Here is its altar. Around are paintings by Andrea Di Bonaiuton depicting scenes from The Passion, though not much of them appear in this shot.

Here are 7 ladies and 7 gentlemen.

Here is a shot of the Spanish chapel ceiling. Visible here is the final part of The Passion, the resurrection.

Here is another fresco by Di Bonaiuto in the chapel and is a mixture of five scenes. His design for the dome for the Duomo is shown, but didn't get to build it!