PART II: FLORENCE

PART II: FLORENCE (Sunday-Wednesday)

Sunday, we took a train from Rome to Florence, which was by far my favorite of the three cities we visited. We checked into our hotel immediately, which was surprisingly very agreeable. It was student run, which originally gave me pause, but the place was clean, breakfast was included, and it was in a good location. After dropping our bags, we ran to the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David – the beauty that he is. Once again, textbooks just don’t do him justice. The Accademia is quite small, but included some other really beautiful works by Botticelli, Lippi, and Alloti as well. It also included a small instrument museum, which included a Stradivari violin and viola from the Medici Quintet. Dinner that night was amazing. We went to a place recommended to Sarah by her summer employers. Unfortunately, the meal cost us 50 euros each (ouch, and never again). Fortunately, our waiter, Antonio, was adorable. We spent three hours in the restaurant, and I’d be lying if we didn’t order dessert and then coffee just to stay a little longer. Antonio was very funny and enjoyed practicing his English (and charm) with us, even though he was a bit self-conscious about it. I think we were all blushing (even him). He was incredibly sad that we were leaving so soon and invited us back for drinks before we left, but our injured wallets (and better sense) prevented us from doing so.

The next day, we started off early at the Bargello museum, where we saw Donatello’s Davids, Giambologna’s Winged Mercury, and Brunelleschi and Ghiberti’s bronze competition panels for the baptistery doors (Ghiberti won), among other things. Next was Palazzo Vecchio, or Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici’s palace, which is now the mayor’s office. The palace is beautifully frescoed by Vasari and also served as the original home of Michelangelo’s David. We also explored the Loggia dei Lanzi, which is an outdoor sculpture garden in Piazza della Signoria, which is where Palazzo Vecchio is located. We ate lunch that day on the steps of the Duomo. While the Duomo’s exterior is beautifully ornate, I thought the inside was surprisingly quite plain! I guess it would have to be to counter the red, green and white marble plus frescoes on the outside! On our way to Santa Croce, we stopped and checked out the niches of Orsanmichele. Santa Croce was unfortunately undergoing some restorations on the inside and therefore we didn’t get the full effect, but we still got to see the final resting spots of some pretty big names, including Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelle, Rossini, Alberti, and Galileo. Not to mention the artwork covering the walls by Vasari, Donatello, Allori, Gaddi, Bartolini, Volterrano, and Giotto. How do you even describe a place like that? Oh, I’m forgetting something. Being the largest Franciscan church in the world, Santa Croce also contained the robe and girdle of St. Francis himself. Afterwards, we took my brother’s suggestion and instead of paying to climb to the top of the Duomo, we crossed the Arno and made the treck up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset. That was probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. Unfortunately, my camera crapped out and I have nothing to show for it, except for a crappy picture I took on my cell phone. After the sun went down behind a hill, we kept heading uphill until we came across San Miniato al Monte, one of Florence’s oldest churches. We happened to get there at just the right time because as we walked around this old, dark, frescoed church, we were able to hear the haunting chants of monks coming from the back of the church. These guys were pretty serious. By the time we left the church, the sunset had been replaced by a beautiful night sky marked with city lights. We worked our way back down to the water and walked along the Arno for a while, exploring Ponte Vecchio and its environs. Eventually we made our way over to a restaurant recommended by Sarah’s guidebook. It was a small neighborhood trattoria that gave you four choices for each course and that’s it. There was no menu; the owner was our menu. It was amazing.

The next day was devoted entirely to the Uffizi and nothing else. It took us all day, but we saw every piece of art in the building. Among the masterpieces were Botticelli’s Primavera and Birth of Venus, as well as a whole bunch of Annunciations, Adorations of the Magi, Pietàs, and Madonnas with child by everybody and their brother. I think I saw 75% of the world’s greatest works of art in one week.

The next morning, before catching our train to Venice that afternoon, we ran over to Palazzo Pitti – yet another Medici palace. We walked through the Appartamenti Monumentali, which are rooms furnished with portraits, chandeliers and tapestries from the time of the Medici. We saw the Galleria Palatina, which included more Italian Renaissance paintings (surprise!), and then finished up at Pitti with the Galleria d’Arte Moderna.