Treasure New and Old

Florence Day 3: A half day

We had a change of plans today. Instead of going to Pisa, we stayed in Florence for the morning and went to the National Museum and the Bridge of Gold. The National Museum has a lot of sculptures with pieces from Michelangelo to Raphael. We liked looking at the original bronze door designs which were entered into a contest in the late 1300’s for the baptistery. The Bridge of Gold is an actual bridge which is lined on both sides with jewelry stores. Per our guide book, leather makers used to line that bridge, but the smell was so bad, that the local leaders moved them to another area of town replacing them with silver and goldsmiths.