Where Francis Arrived in Florence

On this the weekend of Palm Sunday, I attended a vigil mass in the small church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli. I mentioned in a recent post that by this church was where Saint Francis supposedly stayed on his first visit to Florence. Standing in front of the church before mass, I noticed a small, worn religious marker built into an old retaining wall across the narrow, busy street.

 And on closer inspection, read the words,

"Here arrived in 1211 for the first time in Florence Saint Francis of Assisi."  A special place.
Today I was passing through the city just as Palm Sunday morning services were getting underway at the Duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore. Across from the main entrance to the church, Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise", the east doors of the Baptistry, were wide open. Soon a procession was underway.

It's a short walk from the Baptistry to the Duomo. In a minute or so the procession was moving up the stairs and into the church.

With the principal clergy in red.

Many people were carrying olive branches, which Italians share on Palm Sunday in lieu of palms.
From there it was on to the Bargello to view more art, then to Amon, a very basic Egyptian sandwich shop that just happens to sell good falafel in the land of pizza and pasta.

Ciao.