The Bell Tower and the Crypt

This morning, we had planned to climb the impressive bell tower that stands next to the Duomo, but we were disappointed to learn that it was undergoing repairs and was closed all week.  The 277-foot bell tower, or Campanile di Giotto, stands next to the cathedral and the baptistry, and rings throughout the day to mark the hours and to call worshipers to prayer.

Since the bell tower was closed, we went into the cathedral and visited the Crypt of Santa Reparata lying beneath the floor, which was unearthed during excavations in 1965.  It dates to the Fifth or Sixth Century, and the church above it was rebuilt several times, enlarged, and finally abandoned in 1379 to make room for the cathedral.  It contains many mosaics and tombstones, and also the remains of Filippo Brunelleschi.

We spent the afternoon exploring Florence some more and stopped for lunch at Trattoria Vecchia Griglia, an eatery on a busy street, the Via del Canto del Nelli, where we had some delicious zuppa fagioli.  This is a view (from Google Maps Street View) showing the little place, tucked between other sidewalk cafés and restaurants.  Note how the street is open to cars, bicycles, and pedestrians,  Exploring this city on foot means keeping your wits about you because of the traffic whizzing by on what you might think is a pedestrian street.

We enjoyed Bistrot 74 so much the night before last that we went there again.  The owner was mingling with guests, and I noticed that he was speaking German to a couple at another table, so I asked him how many languages he spoke.  He hesitated a minute (counting up in his head) and said, "Six."  We had found so far that he, and many other Italians, spoke English very well, and many other languages, too. The other night, we were offered a complimentary glass of limoncello after our dinner and we were offered the same tonight.  Limoncello is the second-most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner "digestif."  Wikipedia sternly says that it is “believed to aid digestion, even though there is not strong evidence to support this.”  We beg to differ! And we have come to enjoy it very much since our return from Italy.