In August, 2001, we went to Italy for 18 days. This page is still under construction. I had hoped to have it completed by the time we sent out our annual Christmas message; however, the project is taking more time than I anticipated. This is a photograph of the Grand Circle Tour group at Michealangelo Piazza on the hills above Florence. Scroll down and see some of the other photos I have from this fantastic trip.

The original photo

My first "reduction".

Cropping as recommended by Jim Tardio, a real artist, who has some great photographs of Italy

In the Roman Forum we visited the Temple of the Vestal Virgins in the Forum	Hail "Belli the Magnificent" the new Caesar of Rome.
Pottery for sale in Orvieto	The Cathedral in Orvieto was 300 years in the construction
We visited Piazza Michealangelo high above Florence	The Bapistry, Duomo, and Campanile in the Piazza Di San Giovanni in Florence at night
The silent court jester was the Master of Ceremonies at the Borghese Palace in Florence	Pauline Borghese, wife to Prince Borghese of Florence, was Napoleon's Sister and I'll bet he sat in this very chair
The Bapistry in Siena is colorfully decorated with religious frescos	The Duomo in Siena rivals that of Florence, Siena's traditional rival.
The Palio is a festival which culminates in a bareback horse race. Its history goes back to 1283. The 17 contrades compete for the honors. The victory goes to the first horse to cross the finish line whether it has a rider or not. One way to improve your chances of victory is to knock a competitor off his horse. The race lasts only 75 seconds by the competition is intense.	In July, 2001, the Unicorn contrade won the Palio and proudly desplays its flag above a streetlight in its district. Each district has its only animal and colors and you can tell which district of the town you are in by looking at the animal respresented on the street lamps and its colors.
A trip to Italy wouldn't be complete without a visit to the leaning tower of Pisa	Pinocchio was created by Carlo Collodi born near Pisa. Replicas of Pinocchio was the rage at all the street markets. A Christmas tree ornament was just what we needed to remember our trip.
A 16th century castle protects the bay in Rapallo on the Italian Riviera	We visited the fishing village of Camogli and had lunch overlooking the beaches and castle
We found a Tyrolian volksfest in the Dolomite Mountains above Bolzono	Cocktails before diner at "Stonehendge" in the piazza of the Hotel Europa in Bolzono
We sample a typical meal at the White Horse restaurant in Bolzono. Grappa, became a favorate after dinner drink.	In Italy paintings are not just for the walls.
Regardless of the cost, no trip to Venice would be complete without a gondola ride down the Grand Canal.	Fran enjoys her trip through the "back streets" of Venice.
	Fresh fish on the Grand Canal was the perfect way to end the day in Venice.
On our last day in Italy we stoped in the Piazza San Marco to admire the Basilica in Venice.	A view of the Grand Canal seen by Ernest Hemmingway from Harry's Bar