Firenze, Italy
ASTER VNIR Level 1B

 Firenze is Florence in French, and the name is derived from the word Òil fioreÓ in Italian and the word Òla fleurÓ in French which both mean ÒflowersÓ. Firenze is one of the best sightseeing places in Italy well known as the ÒCity of FlowersÓ. At the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, the city is spreading on both sides of the Arno River, which flows into the Terreno Sea. The city has a population of around 450,000 people, and it is the center of the Toscana Region. Firenze had been the cultural center of this area as the home of the Medici Family from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance period.

Such prominent figures as Dante, Botticelli, and Leonaldo da Vinci lived and left their excellent works during that period. Similar to the other cities in Italy, in Firenze, the Duomo with a reddish brown round rooftop called the ÒSanta Maria del FioreÓ is located in the center of the city, and many shops and museums are gathered around the area centering on the Duomo. The Duomo and the Uffizzu Museum to its south, and the Ponte Vecchio bridge on which the stores are lining up can be recognized in the image as the two white dots, the two rows of buildings, and the bridge a little to the west.

The picture: Overlooking the city from the Michelangelo Plaza at the south side of the Arno River. At the center is the Duomo.