On the Far Side of the Arno, Florence, Italy

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

We had spent two days in rather unsettled weather exploring the various sights of Florence, sights I will come back to in future posts. But when the sun appeared on our third day in the city it was time to see it from a different perspective, the far side of the River Arno.

Come with me please, for Jo’s Mond ay Walk this week. And click on any photo in the following galleries to open a captioned slideshow.

We crossed by the bridge nearest to our temporary home on Borgo Santa Croce: the Ponte alle Grazie. From here we had excellent views of the Ponte Vecchio in one direction and low morning clouds over the hills in the other direction.

Halfway across the bridge on the west side, facing the Ponte Vecchio, is a sculpture by local street artist, Clet. Called Common Man, the black metal figure appears to be stepping off the bridge into an abyss. The city authorities are apparently not keen on it and have removed it several times, but it always reappears! And it seems it’s a popular target for stickers, as it looked anything but black when we were there. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).