Other pictures and descripion of Orsanmichele can be found in this post! ;-)

the painting by Bernardo Daddi, "Madonna delle Grazie" and the tabernacle by Orcagna, inside Orsanmichele

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The church of Orsanmichele was originally a loggia that housed a market, built in the second half of XIII century, but soon people came to venerate an image of the Madonna, considered miraculous.
Il the second half of XIV century a fire destroyed both the loggia and the sacred image, so a new loggia was built and a new image of Madonna delle Grazie, painted by Bernardo Daddi was placed.

The arches of the new loggia soon had been closed, the market moved away and the building became a church. It was the church of the Arts, the powerful medieval corporations of Florence.
Inside the church of Orsanmichele the Madonna delle Grazie by Bernardo Daddi is placed inside a wonderful marble tabernacle made by Orcagna in 1349.

Orsanimchele is a little precious gothic jewel inside the heart of Florence, it sure deserve a visit! Entrance is free and some panels give information about the church and the precious paintings and sculptures housed in it.

Other pictures of Orsanmichele can be found in this post! ;-)

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The National Central Library of Florence is the biggest library of Italy and one of the biggest of whole Europe.

The library was founded in 1714 by Antonio Magliabechi, who donated his collection of 30,000 volumes to the city of Florence. By 1743 it was required that a copy of every work published in Tuscany be submitted to the library.
In 1861 its holdings were combined with those of the Biblioteca Palatina, and since 1870 the library has collected copies of all Italian publications.

Originally the collections were keeped in some rooms of the Uffizi Gallery, but since 1935 the library have been housed in a building designed by Cesare Bazzaniu and V. Mazzei, located along the Arno River in Santa Croce.

Unfortunately, a major flood of the Arno River in 1966 damaged nearly one-third of the library's holdings, most notably its periodicals and Palatine and Magliabechi collections. The Restoration Center was subsequently established and saved many of these priceless books. However, much work remains to be done and some items are forever lost.

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The Loggia del Porcellino, or Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, is located in the heart of Florence, just behind Ponte Vecchio.

The lodge was built around the second half of the XVI century by Giovan Battista del Tasso, and the famous fountain of the Porcellino (Piglet, but it's actually a wild boar!) was made by Pietro Tacca in 1640.

Under the lodge it used to be a silk and fabric market, now the market sells souvenirs, clothing and leather accessories.

Rubbing the piglet's nose brings fortune, so... rub, rub, rub!!! Now the nose is shiny from all this rubbing :-D

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Here are some picture i took during my last walk in the historical centre of Florence, in an incredibly hot afternoon... this summer Florence had been really hot, this is one of the hottest summers since 200 years... hope fall comes soon!

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