As summer barrels toward us and with that, throngs of travel-starved tourists in newly-opened Italy, I've been taking a hard look at our Firenze bucket list & ticking off items at any & every opportunity; this past Friday was Giotto's Bell Tower. It sits adjacent to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore & rises 82 meters, or 269 feet.
Caiden & I climbed the spiraling 414 steps in a narrow, dark, cool, ever-ascending walkway & were treated to panoramic vistas of Firenze, as well as an up close look at the Cupola di Brunelleschi (Brunelleschi's Dome). I am not a fan of heights & struggled atop Brunelleschi's Dome (which we visited 3 weeks earlier), but here I felt much safer as we were fully enclosed in wire fencing. It was fun for the two of us to point out all the monuments & neighborhoods we now know so well.
A smidge of history-- this campanille (bell tower) was started by Giotto di Bondone ("Giotto") in 1334. He passed before its completion, in 1357, so other artists (Pisano and Talenti) finished his vision.
There were 7 original bells: Campanone, La Misericordia, Apostolica, Annunziata, Mater Dei, L'Assunta, L'Immacolata; Campanone was the largest weighing 5385 kg (11,872 lbs). Today, 12 bells are housed at Giotto's Bell Tower, 5 retired & 7 still active. To learn more about these majestic sounding icons of Firenze, click here.
Reservations/tickets are required & must be purchased ahead of time. Go here to buy from the official website. Here you can also get tickets for Brunelleschi's Dome & its terraces. To visit the actual cathedral you don't need a ticket, it's free entrance & you'll know you're in the right spot when you see the dizzying long line wrapping around this magnificent monument. :)
While I, like you, try to avoid tourists traps, Giotto's Bell Tower & Brunelleschi's Dome aren't two of them, they're must-explores in Firenze.
PS Try & time your tour with when the bells are actually scheduled to ring.
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