Florence - Day 4

We woke up just in time to be one of the first visitors to the Basilica de Santa Maria today.  The Basiclica is also referred to as "The Duomo."  The Basilica replaced the church of Santa Reparata, which dated back to the middle ages.  The church that we see today reflects the neo-Gothic style and was under construction from 1296 to 1436.  Francesco Talenti lead the construction, making the cathedral even bigger than its predessesor in order to symbolize the growing importance of Florence.  The dome, which is considered the most important architectural element of the church, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and remains today as the largest brick dome ever constructed.  The outside of the basillica is breathtaking - with the facade made up of green and pink marble and intricate detail.  The inside of the basilica is rather minimalistic, with the exception of the detailed marble floors, and beautiful painted ceiling which depicts The Last Judgement.  We wanted to get a closer look at the painted ceiling designed by Giorgio Vasari' and painted by his student,  Frederico Zuccari, so we decided to pay 6 Euro to climb the 463 steps to the top of the dome.  Not only were we able to get a better view of the painting, but we were able to get a full 360 degree view of Florence from above.  

Within the complex there is also the Bell Tower, which is designed in the same style and was completed in 1359 and stands 85 meters tall.  In addition, the Baptistry is located just right in front of the Basilica.  The Baptistry predates the cathedral.  It is believed that it was built on top of Roman Foundations, dating back to the 6th century!  The interior dates back to the 13th century and depicts stories from the bible via mosaics on the ceiling.   The most important feature of the Baptistry is its famous bronze doors, originally made of wood.  A competition was organized in 1401 to redesign the doors and was won by brunelleschi's biggest competitor, Ghiberti, who in 1452 completed the doors.  The doors are considered to be one of the first Renaissance artworks of its time, departing from the prevailing byzantine art style. Michaelangelo himself described this as Ghiberti's best work, referring to the doors as "The Gates of Paradise."  Today there only stands a replica of the doors.  THe original doors are now displayed at Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.   

After our hike back down from the dome, we headed back to the hotel, grabbing a few Americana's and pastries from the local bakery next door.  We then grabbed our driver for the day, Francesco, who drove us to 3 lovely Tuscan vineyards.

We decided to tour the Chianti Classico region, as this is the only region in the world that true and legitimate Chianti Classico is created.  It is the area from Florence to Siena and there are guidelines on exactly how the Classico is processed in order to receive the black rooster stamp we see today on the nape of the bottles.  

Casa Sola was our first stop.  It is an ancient, 300 acre estate that stands alone on top of a hill in the heart of the Chianti region.  The villa is surrounded by olive trees and vines, which are owned by the Gambaro family.  They produce high quality Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva, Supertuscan - Montarisiccio, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Maria was our tour guide for the day.  It was nice because we had a private tour of the entire estate.  Maria started at the vines and showed us the entire process from harvested the grapes to bottling the wine, it was very educational.  Casa Sola is somewhat of a smaller vineyard and do EVERYTHING by hand, while many big wineries you machine to pick the grapes.   The allows Casa Sola to hand pick and sort the grapes on each tree, to focus on creating quality instead of quantity.  After we toured the grounds, Maria took us upstairs and had an amazing spread of cheeses, meats, and a hearty tasting of the vineyards wines and olive oil.  We knew that it was near impossible to get a better tour, and were happy this was our first.  

Our second stop was Castello di Verranzzano, a very large commercialized winery.  This was pretty crowded with a tour bus and a few dozen people, so we decided not to do a tasting.  The Verranzzano, once being a castle, sits high up on a hill with a ton of beautiful flowers, amazing views, and large patios.  We had to meet our 4:30 appointment at Fattoria Casaloste so we hit the road after seeing the grounds for a half hour.  Casaoloste was our last winery for the day, and another one that we had a private tour, so we were able to connect with the owner and hear the families story.  This winery was even smaller than Casa Sola, and has had an impressive past guest list including Anthony Bordain and the Queen of Holland.  We tried their four signature blends, 3 of which were Chianti Classico. 

We got back to the hotel around 6:30 and made late dinner reservations at Il Santo Bevitore.  Their menu consisted of traditionally Tuscan foods, with a modern spin.  We ordered about half the menu, including their homemade biscotti, as well as a great bottle of Super Tuscan.  After dinner it was after midnight so we headed back toward the hotel to get a good nights rest for tomorrow's trip to Pisa and Siena.