Florence: Visiting With Michelangelo, Machiavelli, & Galileo.

I discovered early in my (brief) research on Florence that the one place I knew I definitely wanted to visit was the Basilica di Santa Croce.

Similar to the other great cathedrals in the area, this one also was created from the white, green, and pink marble... Making it look like a confectionery.

There wasn't much of a crowd to get inside. In fact, it was pretty non-existent. And that baffled me. Still, I was happy. So I procured an audio guide tablet and went inside to learn the details.

And so much detail there was!

The basilica itself is simple - at first glance - in comparison to others in the area. There's less stained glass everywhere. The details are in the carving of the stone work and the ceiling. And of course, the frescoes that cover portions of the walls.

It was all lovely to look at. But the one thing that had drawn my to Santa Croce was this...

Michelangelo's tomb!

That is indeed him buried in there. His body was stolen by his nephew (I believe) from Rome, where he died. Rome wanted to keep him buried there. But his nephew brought him back to his home to rest, in Florence.

(Imagine stealing a dead body? This is why I insist on being cremated: Bodies are too much to deal with alive or dead. Your soul lives beyond the body. And really, having a body in death just keeps you grounded here.)

But not only was Michelangelo buried here... He has quite a few companions in the Basilica. Most notably, these guys...

To the left is Galileo's tomb, and to the right is Machiavelli's tomb.

Imagine the conversations the spirits of these fellows (and everyone buried here) have with each other! The talents they each had, the perspectives they formed and shared... Hell, I'd like to camp out in the basilica for one night, just to absorb the energy of these long-dead fellows!